[.ca] Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805 (ISBN 0786714042)

Readable History:
Joseph Wheelan has put together a comfortably readable narrative history of the United States involvement with the Barbary Corsairs. He has provided a modest amount of background to set the stage for the actual events centered around the period from 1801-1812. His history ranges from the American capital to the shores of Tripoli, dealing with politicians, diplomats and military officers. Much of the story focuses on the events that transpired in the Mediterranean Sea, remote from the direction of the politicians in the United States. Memorable names like Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Isaac Hull and David Porter feature prominently. While they may not have been Nelson's 'band of brothers', they were the core of the United States navy that, along with it's new super frigates (Constitution, President and United States), stood toe to toe with the British fleet during the War of 1812. Wheelan's history does not fail to cover William Eaton's cross desert march that brought the conflict to the Barbary shores in earnest. With due credit given to Presley O'Bannon, lieutenant in the fledgling United States Marines. The one complaint I have of the book is that the author insists on trying to make some tenuous connection between the war with the Barbary Corsairs and the United States current 'War on Terror'. The only real similarity between the corsairs and the current terrorists is that they both involve the regions of North Africa and Middle East. Fortunately, he gives up the effort within the first 100 pages and gets on with the narrative.

Fascinating, enlightening:
The Tripolitan War recieves little coverage in U.S. History Survey courses, and that's a shame, because it was in this war that the likes of Stephen Decatur cut his teeth in preparation for the to Rev War II in 1812. It is also the first time a U.S. soldier died in a foreign land, and the first time the U.S. stood up to a bunch of punk bullies fat off of European coddling who deserved to get their butts spanked. The first attempted "regime change", the first "special op" war w/ native foot soldiers, and sadly, the first time the U.S. backed out of a committment to a foreign ally. Quite like today. There is a lot of good information in this book, not just a fairly detailed account of the Tripolitan War, but soft cinematic character studies of the major characters (Eaton, Decatur, Jefferson, the Bey), impressive "camoes" by the likes of Lord Nelson, and a nice ethnography of the Northern African character following the Spanish reconqest of Iberia. It is an enjoyable read as well, and quite possibly a page turner to him who knows little about the era and is not quite sure how the "story" ends. A more enjoyable read than most fiction, and educational. What more can you ask?

Deserves a read:
The major reason to read this book is that there simply aren't enough books that try to give a reasonably comprehensive history of the the Tripolitan War and US policy at the time. A lot of books focusing on the war are more concerned with the naval history, and "the birth of the US Navy." That is all well and good, but the politics, policy, and financial aspects of the war deserve a lot of attention in a single volume as well as the remarkable achievements of the young Navy in the Mediterranean. Important lessons can be drawn from our experience and applied today. However, the subtitle: "America's First War on Terror" is hyperbolic. This is understandable, though, since it will augment the book's sale, and there is nothing wrong with a book out there on this topic that is accessible to us laymen. Also, the heavy use of "The Terror" in the early chapters in referring to the piracy gets a little worn. On the other hand, Roger Albin's vituperative response to the book is totally over the top, since author Wheelan barely discusses September 11 in the preface, and nowhere in the text (see the index). It is left to the reader to draw direct (or indirect) parallels. The Barbary states weren't terrorists as we understand them today. Tactics of terror were used by these mercenary states, as were "liberal" justifications of their piracy through Koranic verse, but we should be careful about blurring those vile and venal potentates with the far more sophisticated and apocalyptic terrorists of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda's global political vision is far scarier, far more dangerous, and warrants a far more unrelenting and thorough destruction than the Barbary states did. However, important lessons can be gained from studying this early naval war: (1) It was an expeditionary war that depended on mobility, improvisation, and unorthodox tactics; (2) Some enemies cannot be engaged with dialogue, or speech as we know it, but only through force and violence; (3) American domestic politics (Congress particularly) heavily favors half-measures and mediocre solutions while allowing domestic partisan fights to obscure our understanding of the enemy; and, (4) A confused domestic response undermined the country's diplomatic capital, allowing opponents to infer weakness and exploit us, compromising the military response. Also, the inexplicable silliness of the Navy's first cruise in the Med should also be a major lesson about keeping objectives clear and firmly in mind. Currently, those weaknesses are highly instructive, and not as some sort of validation of current policies. Addressing them reduces the country's vulnerability, and allows us to exercise power abroad more coherently and more successfully. We can also draw lessons from the great strength's of this war via this book, which were the personalities of its heroes. William Eaton, with his brazeness, creativity, and unrelenting spirit, is a great example of the American creatively making the best out of a confusing situation with the limited resources he's been allowed. For all of his often sad flaws, he should be studied by everyone. I think JEFFERSON'S WAR merits three-and-a-half stars, mainly from the uninspiring writing, and a tendency towards a style that favors really breathless and overwritten narrative. What I really like about this book, though, is he gives a succinct, yet accurate history of the Barbary states' relations to Europe up to Tripoli's war with America, which I think is really important. Europe was tolerating the piracy in the Mediterannean for hundreds of years, so claiming that the Napoleonic Wars explains the lack of European puissance is inadequate to say the least. Also, you will see from reading excerpts of Adams', Jefferson's, and Eaton's, letters 'et al' that the pride and dignity of a young nation being extorted by pirates was just as important to them as was its economic health; both of which were explicitly being fought for with Jefferson's policies and the US Navy's actions, and both of which are thoroughly explored in Wheelan's text, any reviewers' arguments about Wheelan's "implications" to the contrary. A more rigorous, and I think an equally readable book, is Michael Kitzen's TRIPOLI AND THE UNITED STATES AT WAR, which is sadly out of print. It's primarily based on U.S. documents, and does a great job with William Eaton's letters.

America wins its first war against a terrorist foe:
Joseph Wheelan has provided us with a timely book in Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801-1805. In this age where the United States is fighting terrorists in the middle east, Wheelan has given us a historical background of the American struggles against the Barbary states. The Barbary States (Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers) were engaged in what Wheelan describes as terrorism - capturing American ships and enslaving their passengers simply because they were Christians and not Moslems. The wars appear to be an extension of the age-old religious wars that have been ongoing for thousands of years. However, President Jefferson decided that he would end the battle between America and the Barbary States by fighting a military conflict with the aggressors. Wheelan does a fantastic job of describing the individual military endeavors during the war, and he provides us with top-notch descriptions of the acts undertaken by the enslaving Barbarians against the Christian prisoners. I enjoyed the book tremendously, and would recommend it to all as reading on a subject that is not well known in our nation's history. However, the last few chapters of the book really start to slide outside of the expectations based on the title - Wheelan dives into the War of 1812 against the British and the ongoing fight against the Barbary states into the Madison administration. These small detractors notwithstanding, the book is an excellent addition to the literature on America's early naval history.

A Fresh New Look:
This is a wonderful fresh new look. In 1801 Jefferson dispatched the newly created U.S Navy to deal with the state-sponsored piracy of the Barbary states, Tunis, Algiers and Morocco. This book paints Jefferson as a President willing to extent American values and principles overseas by fighting America's 'first war on terror'. Although this language is slightly clichéd and not entirely accurate in the 19th century sense, nevertheless the book gives a resounding argument behind why terror and unlawfulness must be punished and that appeasement never works in the face of unfettered aggression. Probably the most interesting aspect of this war was that the fledgling America was willing to go all the way across an ocean under the vary eyes of the Europeans America had rebelled against, to fight a nameless enemy only to protect American merchant interests. In many ways this was a forward thinking war. Smacking of Palmerstons later 'gunboat diplomacy' this war against the Tripoli showed how a newly formed idealistic republic was willing to go around the globe to protect is citizens from barbarism. A wonderful read, the authors style is quick and witty, and the writing is lucid and action packed. Any student of American history will enjoy this new take on Jefferson and the young American navy just as anyone interested in today's war on terror will enjoy its 19th century antecedents. Seth J. Frantzman