DOC George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution by Robert Leckie in History

Review

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful. An excellent; very readable chronicle of the RevolutionBy J. MullinSome historians; such as Shelby Foote; have a natural ability to assimilate tremendous amounts of historical and biographical data; and weave it all into a very approachable story that reads almost like a novel. Leckie has accomplished a similar feat with this book; which is the best book I have read on the American Revolution. Short on maps and without footnotes; the book nevertheless tells as complete a story as can be hoped for in a one volume account of the war; with excellent biograophical sketches of many of the major and minor players such as Benedict Arnold; John Andre;John Burgoyne; Banastre Tarleton; Horatio Gates; Samuel Adams; and Nathaniel Greene; and countless others. He keeps the action in context; filling in readers with important contemporary details from the internal squabbling of the Continental Congress as well as British Parliament; without getting too bogged down in irrelevant detail. The passages about the treason of Arnold; and Arnold's tremendous military accomplishments and mistreatment by Congress leading up to his betrayal; were particularly riveting. There have been many books written about the Civil War; and most general readers with a passing interest in history (like myself) are familiar with most major Civil War battles and generals. However there is a dearth of knowledge and material about the battle for American independence. While we all know what happened at Yorktown; this book is suspenseful and will fill in the considerable gaps in our knowledge of this important time in the nation's history. I recommend this book with enthusiasm.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. If you read only one Revolutionary War book; this is it.By Arcane ThoughtThis is the best one volume history of the American Revolution you will get. It covers all the pertinent history. All throughout the book are chapters between the events giving mini biographies of the main players of this period. I liked how the author didn't talk down to the reader. He used big words and through in rare pieces of information the reader of say a celebrity news anchors book wouldn't even get. The modern history is just an action novel without much substance and much virtue signalling.This book should be in print and not have to be bought used. It is important people know that this Revolution really was a civil war. The parts about the Tories and Patriots killing each other was eye opening. Most books I have read on the subject don't even mention that aspect of the war. The modern history just gravitates to the great man philosophy. And while I love my founding fathers they were just men not gods.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Overview of the American Revolution!By Michael TaylorLeckie has written an excellent account of the much overlooked American War of Independence. His writing style is interesting: full of anecdoctal notes on several historical figures; reads like a novel; and is simple without insulting your intelligence.I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the character of King George; the Howe brothers; Charles Lee; Benedict Arnold; Nathaniel Greene; Daniel Morgan; Charles Cornwallis; and especially George Washington.The major complaints I had: the maps (too few and lacked detail); lack of footnotes; and no pictures. The maps' lack of detail made it difficult sometimes to follow troop movements and more should have been developed to cover more of the battles covered in the book. Listing footnotes would have helped immensely to validate what the author said about certain people and events and to help separate his opinion from actual recorded history. Having more pictures would have also helped by adding more of a human element to the book. For example; Leckie on mentioned that Lord Rawdon and Charles Lee were two of the ugliest men in the Revolution while John Laurens and John Andre were impressive looking men who drove the ladies wild. It would have been interesting to at least see some potraits of them and form your own opinion! It also would have been nice to see some drawings of the various battles that Leckie so vividly portrayed.I still highly recommend the book as an excellent introductory and comprehensive study of the Revolution and look forward to reading more of Leckie's titles.Read and enjoy!