Book Review (sort of)

I've been trying to read Sarah McCulloh Lemmon's Frustrated Patriots: North Carolina and the War of 1812 for a few weeks now. I finally had to stop, even though I wasn't quite finished with the book. It is unusual for me to stop reading a book when I've already gotten 2/3 of the way through it, but this time I had to make an exception. This book was published in the year I was born, and unfortunately is the only full-length study of North Carolina's role in the War of 1812. The real problem, for me anyway, is the author's writing style. This book has threatened to put me to sleep on numerous occasions and just seems very tedious to get through. I just could not continue slogging through this book any longer.

As a reference source, this book is serviceable; there is plenty of good information in the book that is useful when researching a particular topic. I did enjoy the first chapter, which discussed North Carolina politics in the period immediately prior to the war. The book is not without some merit. I understand the the state's War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee has discussed possibly reprinting this book (which has been out of print for quite some time, not surprisingly). I'd rather see someone tackle the project of writing a completely new history of North Carolina's role in the conflict. A fresh treatment is definitely needed.