From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War; The Saga of America's Expansion [Paperback]

Robert Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1994

A dramatic narrative history continuing Robert Leckie's popular series on the history of the United States that covers the first 50 years following the American Revolution."Another colorful, absorbing historical narrative from Leckie....Vivid, engrossing." "--Kirkus Reviews"

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Leckie continues his drums-and-bugles approach to history, following his None Died in Vain ( LJ 8/90) and George Washington's War ( LJ 8/92). Unfortunately, he has not been affected by recent trends toward political correctness, and this latest title is as weak as its predecessors, containing stereotypes to offend almost any group. From early pages in which Islamic culture is portrayed as incapable of producing a road, through images of slouching Indians and treacherous and incompetent Hispanics, Leckie presents an anecdotal and WASP-oriented view of the growth of the United States between 1812 and 1847, a view more commonly found in obsolete textbooks. This is regrettable, because he can tell a good story--one only wishes that he would write for the 1990s rather than the 1950s.-- Stanley Planton, Ohio Univ.
Chillicothe Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Leckie generally follows a chronological line, but he does indulge in numerous and fascinating digressions on the foibles and eccentricities of key players in the chronicle, such as "Buck" Travis and Winfield Scott. While his views concerning the "morality" of expansionism are well hidden, he displays a fine eye for the absurdities and ironies that always accompany the nobility and adventure of such a grand endeavor. By the conclusion of the Mexican War, the area of the continental U.S. had essentially been determined. Tragically, as Leckie eloquently indicates in his concluding chapter, the "nature" of these new territories (slave or free) was far from resolved. It would take a great war to settle that controversy. The general reader should find this a useful, highly informative, and easily digested survey. Jay Freeman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060922540
• ISBN-13: 978-0060922542
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,034,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mistitled, but don't let that bother you, February 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Cockeysville, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War; The Saga of America's Expansion (Paperback)

This book is readable, intelligent and intellectual without being incomprehensible, and doesn't get bogged down in theory. In other words, not a book for professional historians, but for laypeople with a keen interest in American history. The main (really, only) flaw is that the book is badly mistitled. It does NOT tell the story of America's expansion, it narrates the US's three main conflicts betwen the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. This is minor, but irritating.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable But Not Filling, May 15, 2000

By 

Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War; The Saga of America's Expansion (Paperback)

This book is a good introduction to the Wars Between the Revolution and the Civil War. Unfortunatly, it does not cover much of the rest of the "Expansion" story of the US as the title suggests.

The book is breezy, with interesting facts and stories. The author likes describing the personalities of those who make his history, but one suspects he takes a lot of "writer's license" with personality traits / reactions he probably does not have any sources for.

The book is best when shedding light on little known conflicts such as the Barbary War and the War of 1812. Also interesting, are the "early" indian wars of the south and midwest. These conflicts have long receeded into American Memory and it is difficult to find much describing what were at their times major influences on our policy and history.

The book is interesting the way a long magazine article is. You keep reading because it is an interesting story, but realize that there are gaps that if filled, would more completely tell the tale.

The author probably makes a good deal of inference about motives and states of mind with many of the sagas.

Ok, not great. Quick Read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful summary of a little covered era in U.S. history..., December 23, 2004

By 

Thomas Moody - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War; The Saga of America's Expansion (Paperback)

As the title suggests, this work covers the WARS fought between the Revolution and the Civil War, giving little regard to the political climate or social climate of these "expansion" times. Still, Robert Leckie presents a well written narrative that is useful to those who's expertise in American history does not cover this area. Not to be used for research and having questionable research documentation, this book is a good introduction to this era and the general reader as well as the amateur historian (again those not well-versed in this area) would do well to use this as a starting point.

Starting with the end of the Revolution, Leckie's narrative takes the reader to the beginnings of the War of 1812. Correctly assessing that conflict as one where the fledgling U.S. government exercises it's newly gained independence by confronting Great Britan over illegal naval impressments, Leckie covers this conflict in a largley episodic nature. Choosing to discuss the battles that were of prime importance only, we get little to no political or diplomatic perspective...indeed the Treaty of Ghent signaling the end of the War is largely forced upon the reader with little diplomatic buildup and the Louisiana Purchase is given relatively short shrift.

Leckie's success with this work is his ability to give short, concise but entirely comprehensive biographies of the major characters of the era. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Tecumseh, James Monroe, Winfield Scott and Jean Laffite take center stage throughout the chapters that cover the War of 1812 and beyond. This portion of the book makes for good reading and further enforces Leckie's reputation as a historian/storyteller. Post war expansion and frontier fighting capably sets up the last half of the book, Texas Independence and the Mexican-American War.

Blaming the Texas Revolution on the absurd Mexican government policy of unabated immigration, Leckie discusses the causes and personalities that led to the famous struggles at the Alamo, Goliad and San Jacinto. The treacherous and manipulating Santa Anna leads the Mexican forces against the famous trio of William Travis, James Bowie and Davey Crockett at the Alamo and Leckie's narrative really stands out at this point. Converging the Texas Inedependence conflict succinctly into the larger Mexican-American War, Leckie brings to life such personalities as Zachary Taylor, James Knox Polk and a host of future Civil War leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Ulysses "Sam" Grant, and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. These chapters finally succeed in being comprehensive as the political as well as the military actions are well integrated as we follow the broad struggles from Texas to California culminating with the Mexican surrender outside Mexico City.

Robert Leckie's reputation as a broad-sweeping historian is further enhanced with "From Sea to Shining Sea". Notably lacking some important aspects that would make this work more cohesive, Leckie nontheless succeeds in bringing this little covered era in U.S. history to light. Well written and pleasing to read, the reader gains some remarkable insight into this period and should use this as the starting point for further study.