Real history

I appreciated the authors attempts to portray the historical facts with minimum inferences and assumptions. The use of various documents from multiple sides helped. I am usually skeptical of the accounts I read (both historical and current) and therefore I was pleased to read an effort to relate the events as fairly as possible. Recommended reading. ( )

Excellent overview of the Revolutionary War. A fascinating read, I learned a lot. ( )

Very detailed, yet concise narrative about the American Revolution. There were many tidbits of information I'd not read before sprinkled throughout the book. The style and tone were welcoming, with just the slightest bit of academia thrown in.

The book focuses more on battles, skirmishes, and such than it does politics. That said, the politics that are discussed seems far more focused on Britain's leaders and the decisions they made. Sure, folks like Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hancock, etc. are mentioned. But we got much more detail about what was driving the officials in London than we did those in Philadelphia (maybe because the American leaders were a much more loosely and novice bunch).

Author John Ferling also seems to take a different view of some commonly told stories than his contemporaries. For example, he doesn't think the Conway Cabal was as serious of a threat to Washington as many other historians.

Nevertheless, this is a very well researched, well written book about the American Revolution. Highly recommended! ( )

Luck, chance, weather, skill, personalities, perseverance, and so much more than I was ever taught in school came into play during the War of Independence. That the United States actually won the fight for its independence really is almost a miracle. ( )

This was a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. Ferling's detailed descriptions of the battle lines and strategies are very informative but more maps would have been helpful. One account I found informative was his account of British Captain Ferguson's opportunity to take out Washington at Brandywine with clear shot to his back. He passed on it because he viewed it as cowardly and dishonorable as a soldier to do so. I found Mr. Ferling to be pretty tough on Washington both as a general and a human being. He describes him mostly as vain, indecisive, insecure, parsimonious, and obsessed with his own reputation. My guess is that, like most of us, he was all of these things at one time or another, but the author seems to me to go out of his way to point to these for almost every failure of the continental army. I guess it does serve to humanize Washington if you have him on a pedestal. His analysis of the war in the south is excellent and I especially liked reading about the Battle of Kings Mountain which was new to me. I didn't know that virtually all the participants on both sides were Americans, Loyalists vs. Patriots. Coincidentally, Ferguson figures in this battle also as he leads the Loyalist militia. ( )