Washington, DC — The War of 1812 and the Rise of the U.S. Navy (National Geographic Books; on sale March 27, 2012; hardcover; $30) is the U.S. Navy's official commemorative book of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. It presents a sweeping panorama of a defining moment in the American story and is a must-read for maritime aficionados and general history buffs. The book depicts the first true global conflict of a young and expanding nation and was produced by the Naval History and Heritage Command as an authoritative history of the naval War of 1812.

Renowned historian Douglas Brinkley states in his foreword that this is the most "intellectually engaging" book he has encountered on the War of 1812. With its spectacular illustrations — from privateer recruiting posters to prints depicting famous naval duels to frigate ship models chiseled out of bone by prisoners of war — "every page brings the War of 1812 vividly to life," he writes. The book, broken into chapters covering the periods 1812 to 1815, shares fresh historical recollections, personal reminiscences of the war and detailed histories through vibrant images and intimate stories.

The preface is provided by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, and the afterword is written by Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations.

The U.S. Navy's commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner will comprise a series of public events in historically significant locations in partnership with OpSail. Highlights include visits by U.S. and foreign warships and tall ships, as well as air shows. Dates and locations:

• New Orleans: April 17-23
• Fort Lauderdale, Fla: April 25-30
• New York City: May 23-30
• Portland, Maine: Dates TBD
• Norfolk, Va: June 2-12
• Baltimore: June 13-19
• Boston: June 29-July 6
• New London, Conn: July 7-9

About the Authors

David A. Taylor is the author of the award-winning books "Soul of a People: The WPA Writers' Project Uncovers Depression America," "Ginseng, the Divine Root" and "Success: Stories," a fiction collection. His work has appeared in such publications as Smithsonian, The Washington Post, Village Voice, The American Scholar and Outside. Taylor has written and co-produced documentary films for PBS, the National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel and the Smithsonian Channel, including "Soul of a People," which was nominated for a 2010 Writers Guild award.

Mark Collins Jenkins, a former archivist at the National Geographic Society, has written on a wide range of historical topics. His books include "The Civil War: A Virtual History," "Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend," "The Book of Marvels: An Explorer's Miscellany," "Odysseys and Photographs: Four National Geographic Field Men" and "Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic."

Douglas Brinkley is professor of history at Rice University and the author of a number of award-winning and bestselling books, including "The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation" (with Stephen Ambrose), "The World War II Memorial," "The Great Deluge" and "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America." Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He is a regular commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair magazine.

America’s Privateer: Lynx and the War of 1812, J. Dennis Robinson. Lynx Educational Foundation, 184 pages, with 190 color photos, paintings and maps, oversize hardcover, $34.95.

One of the great things about tall ships is that you can’t go wrong with a good picture. Virtually all large sailing vessels are photogenic to a fault, particularly when all the sails are run out, and the boat is almost sliding across the water. Lynx is no exception. The new coffee-table book, America’s Privateer: Lynx and the War of 1812, published by the Newport Beach, Calif.-based Lynx Educational Foundation, takes maximum advantage of this camera-loving vessel, while author J. Dennis Robinson engages the reader with an interesting, if sometimes over-the-top story.

Launched in 2001, Lynx is a replica of type of highly-maneuverable topsail schooner with distinctive raking masts and a unique purpose: prey on British merchant vessels and warships on behalf of the U.S. government. The modern Lynx was inspired by a similar ship of the same name built near Baltimore during the War of 1812, and although her career lasted less than a year, her story, particularly her design, inspired maritime historian Howard Chapelle, which included a drawing of her in his landmark book, The Search for Speed Under Sail. Businessman and history buff Woodson K. Woods saw the drawing and decided he wanted a boat just like it.

The original Lynx sailed with a “letter of marque,” a license to attack enemy ships. During the War of 1812, the U.S. issued these licenses—a common practice among nations at the time—to expand the number of ships that could engage a powerful adversary, in this case, the Royal Navy. Investors would build a ship specifically designed for “privateering” in hopes of taking cargo or ships and selling them for a huge profit. Although patriotism certainly played a role in these “cruizes of opportunity,” a single prize could make a man (the investors at least) rich. Robinson makes a convincing case that privateers are an under-appreciated aspect of the War of 1812. But that doesn’t make the investors, captains, and crews admirable people. Privateers weren’t pirates, in the sense that they operated within the law. But their methods and ultimate motivation were hardly much different.

Woods’ much nobler motivation for building the modern Lynx was educational; he envisioned a platform on which young people could discover the nation’s maritime history, specifically the history of the War of 1812. He asked designer Melbourne Smith, who also designed the brig Niagara and the schooner Californian, to create Lynx. Robinson takes great pains to show how Lynx was constructed by amazing craftsmen and women at Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine. The story of towing the 99-ton Lynx across a bridge to its launch site is harrowing. And Robinson manages to reveal a little bit of Woods’ character, beyond his love of country. “[Woods] ‘blessed’ the project by tying red bunting in every corner of the boat shop to ward off witches and evil spirits,” Robinson writes.

A prolific writer of local history and editor of SeacoastNH.com, Robinson sometimes falls in the trap of many maritime writers: too much “salty talk” and an almost hagiographic treatment of life on the water. Although I have never gone to sea, it’s clear enough to me that even in the 21st century, it’s a dangerous, unpredictable, and sometimes ruinous way to make a living. That was certainly the case for the original Lynx. But America’s Privateer is valuable because its gorgeous layout, stunning imagery (some photos by Woods), and intelligent description of the historic and modern Lynx are sure to spark conversations wherever it’s found.

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Here are character sketches from Bet: Stowaway Daughter

Lisbet “Bet” Lindstrom – As the daughter of an experienced sea captain, 13-year-old Bet is familiar with life at sea, but only through the stories her father and his friends have told when they visit her home in Seattle. She’s not really prepared for life aboard the three-masted schooner J.M. Carson, but she adjusts rapidly. Back on land, she likes to hang out with her friend Millie Hall, who both attend Isaac Stevens Junior High School, and her cat, Biscuits and Gravy, Biscuits for short. Bet’s mother left the family when Bet was very young. All Bet knows about her mother is a picture of her holding Bet as a baby. Bet describes herself as “tall, big girl for my age, which is 13, and I have a square face. I don’t think of myself as pretty, but I’m not ugly either. Average maybe. I’m not fat, but I’m pretty strong.” She has no brothers or sisters or other close family in Seattle. Her father’s brother, Jacob, lives in San Francisco. Her favorite movie is Tarzan: The Ape Man, and her favorite singer is Jeanette McDonald, whom Bet thinks is very pretty with an angelic voice.

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Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure, by Patrick G. Cox. AuthorHouse, 266 pages, softcover, $18.00.

Authors of nautical fiction never seem to tire of the Napoleonic Wars, continuously mining the conflict between France and Great Britain for new characters and ideas. South African writer Patrick G. Cox has opened a fresh series in the genre with the story of a teenage Midshipman Harry Nelson-Heron, the son of minor Irish gentry, who is transferred to the new 74-gun HMS Spartan with his boyhood friend, Ferghal O’Connor. Great Britain and France have just signed the Peace of Amiens, which amounted to little more than a truce between the European superpowers of the day.

Harry and his friend, along with the other Spartans, are assigned to guard a convoy of prison ships bound for New South Wales, Australia, with a cargo of people sentenced to exile Down Under. Along the way, Harry encounters the expected adventures, including a fleet of slavers off the coast of Africa. Cox is at his best as Harry goes into battle with pirates, which attack one of the prison ships with a xebec, a ship with two means of propulsion: lateen sails and oars. Cox has mastered the culture and language of the period in both description and dialog. The final moments of the xebec skirmish are truly exciting, ending with an image that reminds the reader of the horrible fate of slaves on the losing side.

Cox’s historical tale is fairly conventional with themes readers expect from coming of age stories. However, Cox weaves an interesting, but separate thread into this novel, a parallel story of the launching of a large spacecraft in orbit above Mars. The year is 2202, and the warship Vanguard is fitting out for its first assignment under the command of Captain James O’Niall Heron. Though the surnames are the same, and the “nautical” feel of the shipboard culture is similar to its Napoleonic mirror, the relationship between the two Herons isn’t clear. That said, the progress of the story implies that each will have something to teach the other.

With his parallel stories, Cox is attempting to breathe new life into an old genre, and Their Lordships Request ends with a promise that the two threads will converge into one, creating the exciting possibility of something original. The next two books in the series—Out of Time and The Enemy is Within—are definitely on my reading list.

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Watch an interview with Patrick Cox about the family inspiration for his character Harry Heron.