America's victory came as a surprise to many people. How did untrained American generals; essentially military amateurs at the outbreak of war; and their ragged; half-starved troops manage to defeat British professionals? To what extent did the quality of British military leadership affect the outcome? Was the American success due to the British commanders' incompetence and faulty strategy; or were timing and opportunity more responsible for Washington and his colleagues' achievement? This book provides superbly balanced portraits of the British and American leadership. Renowned historians have contributed concise; remarkably informative; and authoritative essays on generals of both sides. The military gallery includes such Americans as George Washington; Nathaniel Greene; Benedict Arnold; Marquis de Lafayette; and eight others. The British are well-represented by Thomas Gage; Sir William Howe; Charles Lord Cornwallis; and seven others.Each piece not only explores the subject's personality and exploits; but interprets his contribution to victory or defeat. In the process the scholarship never loses sight of the brave; touchy; brilliant; and flawed personalities who fought beside and against one another. Rarely; if ever; has one volume offered such stimulating commentary and insights into key commanders of the Revolutionary War.
#703947 in Books 1999-11-29Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 7.75 x 1.00l; 2.08 #File Name: 0030210399624 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Great OverviewBy Levi AntrimI had to use this book in one of my undergraduate classes as a German major. This book is extremely helpful. It gives a great overview of German history. It has questions at the end of each section to check your understanding. It uses academic enough of language as to be authentic; but not so complicated of German as to scare away the not so expert German readers. I bought this book after I graduated from my undergraduate; because the course I took didn't finish the book and I wanted to know how it ended. This book is great.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Eh...By tinadrawsstuffYou'll be all right if you're an upper-level student of the language and you're trying to tackle the text. Still; keep a dictionary close because there isn't a glossary to be had (which is too bad because this thing could friggin' use one). Definitely not a light read; but the chapters are concise and it's not entirely uninformative once you finally understand what it says.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A little more torn up than I expected; but ...By The SutliffsA little more torn up than I expected; but the content was thankfully unaffected by natural wear and tear.
