Amid a great collection of scholarship and narrative history on the Revolutionary War and the American struggle for independence; there is a gaping hole; one that John Ferling's latest book; Whirlwind; will fill. Books chronicling the Revolution have largely ranged from multivolume tomes that appeal to scholars and the most serious general readers to microhistories that necessarily gloss over swaths of Independence-era history with only cursory treatment. Written in Ferling's engaging and narrative-driven style that made books like Independence and The Ascent of George Washington critical and commercial successes; Whirlwind is a fast-paced and scrupulously told one-volume history of this epochal time. Balancing social and political concerns of the period and perspectives of the average American revolutionary with a careful examination of the war itself; Ferling has crafted the ideal book for armchair military history buffs; a book about the causes of the American Revolution; the war that won it; and the meaning of the Revolution overall. Combining careful scholarship; arresting detail; and illustrative storytelling; Whirlwind is a unique and compelling addition to any collection of books on the American Revolution.
#2298976 in Books 2014-10-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 6.25 x .75l; .0 #File Name: 161117385X152 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Important aspect of South Carolina history well toldBy ChasSuperb work of Lowcountry history with lots of detail; and excellent historical research. A bit scholarly in it's writing approach; but it has a wealth of interesting stories.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Your sure got me on this one!By Martin D. FairleyThis book is the worst case of over "overwriting" I've seen in a long time. Where one descriptive phrase is needed three are put in place! Use of the english pronunciation in places names and nouns seems to be avoided at any cost.....What should be an interesting and informative read turns into a trudge thru a thick mud of verbiage.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This short book has both an archaeological and a sociological focus--low country watermen; often slaves; and their canoes.By lyndonbrechtThis is an odd; short book I ran across by accident. It's short; but an interesting read. There are two aspects to this book; really. One is the archaeological record of canoes and such craft in the coastal SC area (and near Charleston); and the other is that the "watermen" were extremely diverse; very often slaves. The "patroon" refers to the captain; often a slave; and the Periaguas are canoes of various kinds; crewed by mostly slaves. These watermen have substantial amounts of time unsupervised and hence developed more independence than field slaves (apparently owners did not like the watermen and field hands to mix).This gets quickly complicated. Slaves in the Charleston and lowcountry region were a mix of Indian and African slaves; both groups having ancient traditions of watercraft. Some slaves were Irish; sent to Barbados by Cromwell; with a sizable number of Badians migrating to South Carolina with their money; their bondsmen and bondswomen and their approaches to life. There was also considerable settlement of Protestant refugees from France; called Huguenots; many of whom originated in maritime regions of France. Many slaves came from Angola and spoke Portuguese; and others came from the West Indies; where some of them seem to have picked up elements of Indian seacraft (the Caribs for example; were noted for voyaging; often on raids). The ethnic traditions included voyaging for trade; war and fishing. All these things mixed. And it wasn't just traditional kinds of canoes; some slaves learned European style shipbuilding and worked along side whites and others constructing fairly sizable ocean-going ships.The book has some interesting pictures of boats from around 1900; although its focus is the 1700s. It doesn't really consider how the melded traditions developed in the 1800s; but does observe that some elements persisted into the 1900s; and that the coastal and internal waterway trade was important. Slaves seem to have sometimes used boats to attempt escape (Spanish Florida was not so far away).
