On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Britain, a whelp attacking its mother. The slogan "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights" said it all: we had had it with British interference in our trade and shipping.

But it's one thing to tangle with a bigger dog, another to whip it. How we brought it off is the story told in this book.

"THE AGE OF FIGHTING SAIL is a history of the War of 1812--the war that made America a world power and, paradoxically, an isolationist one." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)