Rating: 
Summary: Confusing
Review: This is a very difficult read: It IS difficult to read and it is impossible to agree with. The author takes his reader down so many side streets and back alleys that at times the story being told is lost. A clearer rendition would improve readability, define the fact trail and clarify the necessary interpretations. More time should have been spent focusing on the very real threat of war with France and the intensity of the negotiation. Less time should have been spent on the character development of the principal players. I came away feeling the story was forced to fit a preordained conclusion. At a minimum, the fact interpretation is faulty. For example, Louisiana became a state in 1812. The Battle of New Orleans was fought in 1815. How could the Battle of New Orleans have "finally secured" the Louisiana Purchase when a part, and at the time, the key part, of the original purchase had been admitted to the Union over two years earlier? If we went to war over the Brits stealing our citizens off our ships, does the author really think we would have allowed them to keep a state? Especially when the battle was fought 2 weeks after the war ended? This is not as good an effort as it could have been. This book is clouded at best.
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