ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am deeply indebted to many people for their generous help in writing this book, beginning with my wife, Kay, who has provided consistent support and sage advice through the vicissitudes of what is an all-consuming task over a long period. My gifted agent, Rob McQuilkin of Lippincott Massie McQuilkin, provided astute guidance and much needed encouragement through the various stages of the project, from initial conception to final publication. Lara Heimert, executive editor at Basic Books, improved the manuscript immeasurably by her brilliant critiques offered at critical moments. Associate editor Alex Littlefield assisted her and made an enormous contribution to the quality of the final product. Vice Admiral George Emery, U.S. Navy (Retired), generously shared his incomparable knowledge of the naval aspects of the War of 1812, reading the entire manuscript with great care and providing detailed, thoughtful advice. My nephew, Michael Daughan, who has worked for the navy his entire career and has an avid interest and broad knowledge of the early history of the service, read and brilliantly criticized the entire manuscript twice, improving it significantly. My daughter, Mary Daughan Sheft, read and commented on the text with her usual skill and insight. Kay Mariea, Perseus’s director of editorial services, oversaw editorial production with good humor and great expertise.

I also want to thank my friend Alexander (Sandy) Brook, Maine’s legendary editor, publisher, and writer, for his consistent encouragement; my son-in-law, Mark Sheft; and my brother William (Jerry) Daughan for their unfailing support as well.

A work that encompasses the entire history of the War of 1812 must inevitably draw on the studies of innumerable scholars and writers; they are listed in the endnotes and bibliography. I was particularly blessed by the exceptional outpouring of thoughtful scholarship that has appeared in the last twenty-five years. I also want to thank my former students and colleagues at the Air Force Academy, Connecticut College, and the Coast Guard Academy and my teachers at the University of New Hampshire, Stanford, and Harvard who excited my long-standing interest in the great issues of war and peace that are at the heart of this book and my previous work, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy—From the Revolution to the War of 1812.