Customer Reviews:
Good military history.......2007-06-15
I finally got around to reading this and I must say it's pretty good. The battles are well researched and remain pretty clear as to what's going no. There's not much who, what, where, when, what's a flank? syndrome. The illustrations and battle schematics were helpful. I only wish there were more.
Some of the generals make out great. Tarleton and Greene look like geniuses. Which to some extent they were, but not as much as Wood makes them out to be. The only knock against Greene is that he never decidedly defeated Cornwallis, allowing him to "escape" to Virginia. While Tarleton could probably be called a butcher...or jerk.
Others are not spared, Benjamin Lincoln for example, is written off briefly as a bad general. One could argue that Lincoln was not really a bad general because his subordinates refused to co-operate with him or they failed him at crucial moments. Regardless of those 0pinions Washington thought fairly highly of him as he allowed Lincoln to accept Cornwallis's sword at Yorktown.
Wood does a decent job with sources. He gives the title of where his secondary information came from. But if you've ever seen a copy of the "Encyclopedia of the American Revolution" it's not going to be easy to find a three line quote. The author also includes a nice essay on sources. Although short the list points the reader in the right direction. Having been a historian and currently a library science person bibliographies are necessary for historical research. Sorry, you can't Google everything...yet.
Overall, this is an excellent book for dispelling that old myth of the yeoman farmer dropping the plow, picking up the family Kentucky rifle and laying waste to the British Army one shot - one kill style. Also a nice introduction to some of the more in-depth studies of the major battles, especially Saratoga.
Excellent choice.......2007-05-24
I picked this book up at a used bookstore just to have for my collection, but I have been amazed at how well this historical book is written. While it is not an all encompassing history of every battle, the author takes the chosen battles and does a fantastic job of putting the reader in the midst of the chaos. Some might have stated this book is biased toward the Patriot cause, but there is plenty in here to show that neither side was perfect nor totally morale in their actions. I think it does a good job of showing faults and failures on both sides.
Good, But Rather Biased Account.......2006-07-08
This is a good account of some of the major battles of the Revolution, but the author's bias is so decidely pro-rebel that it takes away from the quality of the book. First, the selection of battles is very slanted. All American victories, with references made only to some of the other engagements. Thus we have no Monmouth, Brandywine, Germantown, Camden, etc. This makes hardly for a balanced account of the war.
The author consistantly seems to downgrade rebel casualties while usually increasing British ones. A noted example is Guiford Courthouse. While a costly British victory with perhaps more losses sustained, the author neglects to point out how knocked about Greene's army really was. The rebel army was shattered by mass desertions of nearly all its militia componet during and after the battle and was in no condition to take the field for some time. Also, the author praises Greene no end, yet it appears that he took little real part in the actual battle other than to order a retreat! None of this is mentioned in Wood's mostly Star-Spangled account!
This work reminds me of many of John Elting's books that were also decidely pro-American in outlook and often lacked non-bias. This is also a somewhat dated work. Readers would do well to balance this book with newer, more scholarly works that take an even-handed approach to the Revolution. Too many American historians get carried away with the Spirit of 76 element in their writings. The result is patriotic flag waving which some reviewers above perhaps never get tired of, but which does not always provide good, balanced history.
Hugely biased........2006-06-21
The authors use of words make the British Redcoat seem foolish and weak. If this book is meant to be about the battles of the revolution then why are all the American victories listed and yet not all of the British ones? Makes no sense to me seeing as the British won most of the battles.
If you want to read a 'false feel good propoganda' type of book then feel free to go for this one BUT take everything you read with a massive pinch of salt. It's these type of books that have completely churned factual history into a euphoria of false patriotic rhetoric.
Rebels and Redcoats will provide you with a far more comprehensive and factual base from which to look at the war from.
fix bayonets! Prepare to charge muskets!.......2005-03-04
As this is my first book on the Revolutionary War since High school, I was excited to see what I missed as an student and to learn more of the military history behind the war.
This work is splendidly researched and written and was difficult to put down. The book covers all the major actions of the war of independece from Bunker Hill through to the siege of Yorktown in riveting detail. The author claims it is not a history of the revolutionary war but of its battles. Here he does not dissapoint! His descriptions of the maneuvers and actions are great. During the Guilford Courthouse battle, after hearing the sounds of battle, I too, saw the redcoats comming out of the woods to engage the Maryland and Virginia Continentals!
One can easily follow the strategic maneuvering and the reasons behind them from the viewpoint of both armies from the excellent maps provided. 16 pages of fine illustrations of all the major players both British and American grace the pages.
This book is a must have for any military history buff who wants to learn or relearn the major battles of the war of Independence.
Book Description
Including both attention to strategic policies in Britain and France and personal accounts of colonial soldiers, The War for American Independence provides an unprecedented view of America's struggle for independence in its world context. With wit, clarity, and dramatic effect, Samuel B. Griffith II vivifies the characters and incidents of the period on both sides of the Atlantic, drawing from personal diaries and letters, newspaper accounts, and detailed battle maps to create a unique alternative to standard histories of the period.
This enduring and exceptionally readable resource, first published in 1976 under the title In Defense of the Public Liberty: Britain, America, and the Struggle for Independence from 1760 to the Surrender at Yorktown in 1781, was honored with the Sons of Liberty Award for the best book on the American Revolution.
Customer Reviews:
Very enjoyable.......2007-03-15
The aspect of Griffith's work that makes it so worthwhile is its hearkening to the great tradition of blending compelling narrative prose style with factual content. This style has largely disappeared due to increased specialization within academia on one hand and a reliance on simplicity to reach lay readers by popular writers on the other. Griffith assumes his readers are familiar with the Revolution thus enriching his book with subtlety and eloquence missing from a standard overview like Middlekauff's redundant The Glorious Cause.
If one is new to learning about this period I wouldn't read this first. However, after youve scaled through enough Wood, Ketcham etc., pick this gem up and appreciate an old fashioned gripping story.
Fabulous research of a world changing time.......2006-11-09
Not having an real idea of the events of the time as we did not cover it at school I thoroughly enjoyed the research and well written history of the War. It was well detailed particularly covering both the British and American political issues, althought it felt like the author tired and wound up the final years very quickly. Dispite that a very good account and an relatively easy read for a subject like this. Thank you Author for the reseacrh which was obviously huge !.Written by a Kiwi(New Zealander) discovering American history for the first time.
The War for American Independence.......2005-08-21
An extremely well written and comprehensive volume on growing estrangement between Great Britain and the American colonies, and on the course of the Revolutionary War. The narrative flows easily from the viewpoint of the British to that of the Americans, enabling the reader to see both sides of the conflict.
Strangely paced.......2004-03-02
The book is actually quite good, however it is hard to understand to what audience he aims it. At times the book seems to assume a good level of previous familiarity with the American Revolution from which he would add a greater military and political background than you were familiar with (specially a more foreign background which is rather nice). However, at other points he changes and quotes the Declaration of independence and some of its writing for a whole chapter.
Probably a good book for people who are not historically illiterate, but are also not historians. Bad book as an introduction, probably a good second book on the American Revolution.
Riveting!.......2002-07-30
This is by far the best book on the American revolution I have ever read. The author incorporates extensive excerpts from documents and correspondence of all the major participants of the war. I really got a sense of the true thoughts, feelings, and motivations of Washington, Benedict Arnold, Franklin, and so on. Griffith's research was extremely thorough and his insights enlightening. The British point of view is well presented and balanced as well. Eminently readable! Highest recommendation for anyone interested in how and why the revolution took place from a scholarly yet entertaining author.
Book Description
"A remarkable chronicle. Davis's characterizations of the various commanders are sharp; his descriptions of the terrain concise. The graphic explanations of arms and logistics will delight the technically minded."--John Toland, New York Times Book Revi
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, strange, but ultimately unsatisfying.......2003-03-31
If you are looking for a detailed account of the Cowpens and/or Guilford Courthouse battles, look elsewhere (I much prefer Babit's "A Devil of a Whipping" for Cowpens). But there is a fair amount of detail of the marching and skirmishing between the two. Unfortunately, the few maps do little to support the text. The Guilford Courthouse map is cramped by trying to show the entire battle on one page and DOESN'T HAVE A SCALE. Considering that an entire chapter is devoted to Cowan's Ford, one might expect it to show up somewhere on a map. It would also have been nice to see the march routes on a map. The primary redeeming social value of the book is the last chapter on "The Lessons." The author does some quality analysis of what could have been learned.
Book Description
In March of 1781, Nathaniel Greene's militia and cavalry withstood a punishing frontal assault by Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse deep in North Carolina territory. Although the British won the battle, fought on March 15, 1781, it left the British so weak that the Americans' road to victory at Yorktown began there.
Da Capo's new "Battleground America" series offers a unique approach to the battles and battlefields of America. Each book in the series highlights a small American battlefield-sometimes a small portion of a much larger battlefield-and tells the story of the brave soldiers who fought there. Using soldiers' memoirs, letters and diaries, as well as contemporary illustrations, the human ordeal of battle comes to life on the page.
All of the units, important individuals, and actions of each engagement on the battlefield are described in a clear and concise narrative. Detailed maps complement the text and illustrate small unit action at each stage of the battle. Then-and-now photographs tie the dramatic events of the past to the modern battlefield site and highlight the importance of terrain in battle. The present-day historical site of the battle is described in detail with suggestions for touring.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating Focused Treatment.......2003-04-15
As a long time fan of the American Revolution, I happily purchased this title. I was pleasantly surprised. Although it is not a long book, it is very tightly focused on the leading participants, Greene and Cornwallis, as they head toward their monumental battle at Guilford Courthouse.
The background and information provided on the men, strategies, backgrounds, and development of the campaign is outstanding, as are the maps, which are the best I have ever seen on this battle. The writing is also outstanding--very flowing and poetic, and yet scholarly, complex, and fast-paced. The author has a literary "hook" at the beginning and end of every chapter. Indeed, the begins with Greene surveying the field at Guilford and deploying his men--and then goes back in time and marches the armies in place.
Highly recommended.
Amazon.com
It's easy to forget that the British won most of the battles during the American Revolution. The Americans certainly carried the day at Saratoga and Yorktown, but they were beaten again and again by their enemy elsewhere--and often badly. So it's especially odd that the Battle of Cowpens, fought in South Carolina on January 17, 1781, isn't better remembered in American imagination. As author Lawrence E. Babits shows, Cowpens was the Continental troops' greatest tactical moment--and it marked a crucial turning point in the war.
The fight itself was fairly brief, and the outcome lopsided--it was "a devil of a whipping," as American leader Daniel Morgan said at the time. Babits provides a richly detailed account of the battle, including an especially good overview of the weapons and tactics used by troops of the time. An archaeologist by training, Babits approaches Cowpens with the familiar meticulousness of his profession; this is an important piece of scholarship on the military history of the American Revolution. --John J. Miller
Book Description
The battle of Cowpens was a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War in the South and stands as perhaps the finest American tactical demonstration of the entire war. On 17 January 1781, Daniel Morgan's force of Continental troops and militia routed British regulars and Loyalists under the command of Banastre Tarleton. The victory at Cowpens helped put the British army on the road to the Yorktown surrender and, ultimately, cleared the way for American independence.
Here, Lawrence Babits provides a brand-new interpretation of this pivotal South Carolina battle. Whereas previous accounts relied on often inaccurate histories and a small sampling of participant narratives, Babits uses veterans' sworn pension statements, long-forgotten published accounts, and a thorough knowledge of weaponry, tactics, and the art of moving men across the landscape. He identifies where individuals were on the battlefield, when they were there, and what they saw--creating an absorbing common soldier's version of the conflict. His minute-by-minute account of the fighting explains what happened and why and, in the process, refutes much of the mythology that has clouded our picture of the battle.
Babits put the events at Cowpens into a sequence that makes sense given the landscape, the drill manual, the time frame, and participants' accounts. He presents an accurate accounting of the numbers involved and the battle's length. Using veterans' statements and an analysis of wounds, he shows how actions by North Carolina militia and American cavalry affected the battle at critical times. And, by fitting together clues from a number of incomplete and disparate narratives, he answers questions the participants themselves could not, such as why South Carolina militiamen ran toward dragoons they feared and what caused the "mistaken order" on the Continental right flank.
Customer Reviews:
big shot brit vs. grampa hick.......2007-03-23
first off i would like to apoligise for my terrible writing any way its a very good book. i love history and despite the fact im a kid and should be thanking my luky stars for being born during vidoe game heaven,i a greatly disapinted i aint some farm boy in 1801.this book really opens up what it was like during the chilly january day.very exiting book,witch unless its the stocks cant be echeived easily.literly every footstep is taken acout of(well not every foot but it seems like it).it shows brity much every stinkin casualty on the american side but not the brits because so many of them died or was wounded.it shows who all the officers were.he shows the layout nicely.it shows each stage of the battle with too is done nicely. a very good acount of a pretty much unknown battle.witch is very disapionting because personelly i think that without the victory there would probobly be no yorktown do to the fact that cornwallis had now very limited calvery support.although small in size it was a very important battle.witch the author itepts to be make this be seen.overall its very good and recomend it to anyone who loves this all so importent war.
Devilishly Baffling.......2007-03-22
Lawrence Babits' tale of the Battle of Cowpens gives an extraordinarily detailed account of individual officers and soldiers by name, unit and wounds received. Perhaps my expectations were different, but I found this book a somewhat baffling recitation of minutia related to the Americans who participated in this battle. There are many maps which help clarify unit positions and movements. The best part of the book is the detailed explanation of company and regimatal units and why each unit responded the way it did.
It became exceedingly clear from the narrative that William Washington's (second cousin to George) cavalry turned the tide in favor of Daniel Morgan and the American rebels. Read this book if you are interested in the minute detail related to this battle. But if you are looking for a broader perspective of how Cowpens dovetails with the rest of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas there are many, far better books to satisfy your goal.
Oh dear..........2006-06-26
The one battle where the Americans managed to win properly against an out-numbered British force of regulars. Tarleton was a fantastic soldier and cavalry officer but he certainly was not a General. Had Cornwallis or Clinton been there the battle would have been different. It's amazing how a book has been written on this ONE battle. Perhaps an American author might like to write seperate books on the The Battle of Savannah? Maybe Germantown? Or even *shock* Camden? All decisive British victories with massive American casualties.
It's interesting to note that Daniel Morgan told his troops that they must on no account cross bayonets with British redcoats at Cowpens. Only goes to prove the melee superiority of British soldiers over US soldiers.
Tarleton has his revenge not long after this battle though at Torrance's Tavern where he taunted his dragoons to remember Cowpens. 300 Continental Dragoons, Infantry and Militia were massacred in the ensuing Melee.
A clever fresh source for an old battle.......2006-03-16
Pension applications....who would have believed they could be plumbed to reconstruct the most important battle leading up to Yorktown? Morgan's battleplan is on par with Lee's at Chancellorsville of the following century as a daring and creative deployment of a hodgepodge of resources. It was brilliant, and this telling of the story is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the final and most decisive phase of the American Revolution. I cannot recommend it hughly enough!
Battle of Cowpens.......2005-09-10
Excellant History of one of the decisive, but perhaps lesser known battle of the Revolution
Average customer rating:
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The Battle Of Yorktown (Events That Shaped America)
Sabrina Crewe , and
Dale Anderson
Manufacturer: Gareth Stevens Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
 General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Revolution & Founding
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Battles
| Revolution & Founding
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0836834127 |
Average customer rating:
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The Battle of Yorktown (The Atlas of Famous Battles of the American Revolution)
Wendy Vierow
Manufacturer: PowerKids Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Military & Wars
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Colonial & Revolutionary
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Battles
| Revolution & Founding
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0823963314 |
Book Description
Remains an exceptionally comprehensive source work for the American Revolution, invaluable for its seventy-six-chapter narrative history of the war and especially its 41 specially prepared topographical illustrations of all the major battlefields, created for the original 1881 publication, each accompanied by a capsule summary of the battle involved, the opposing forces, the events, the outcome, notes, and the references available at the time. Reprint edition. 2006: 806 pages. Softcover. (Scholar's Bookshelf)
Book Description
"Each of the twelve authors deftly plumb the depths of documentary sources, literary analyses, personal observations, biographical and historical accounts to improve vastly on the seemingly two-dimensional nature of the pirate"
—The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History
"With this collection, those swashbuckling heroes, or villains, ranging the wide seas in search of pillage and plunder, become individuals and groups situated firmly within their own geographic, political, economic, and historical contexts."
—Journal of Folklore Research
The romantic fiction of pirates as swashbuckling marauders terrorizing the high seas has long eclipsed historical fact.
Bandits at Sea offers a long-overdue corrective to the mythology and the mystique which has plagued the study of pirates and served to deny them their rightful legitimacy as subjects of investigation.
With essays by the foremost scholars on these countercultural "social bandits"
as
Lingua Franca recently dubbed them
this collection examines various aspects of the phenomenon in the three main areas where it occurred: the Caribbean/Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and East Asia. We come to understand who pirates were, as well as the socio-economic contexts under which they developed and flourished.
Comparisons between various types of piracy illustrate differences in practice and purpose between pirates of different areas; social histories, including examinations of women pirates and their historical significance and circumstances, offer similar insight into the personal lives of pirates from diverse regions. Far from serving as dens of thieves, pirate ships were often highly regulated microcosms of democracy. The crews of pirate vessels knew that majority rule, racial equality and equitable division of spoils were crucial for their survival, marking them as significantly more liberal than national governments.
Scholars, students and a general audience ever intrigued by tales
and now truths
of piracy on the high seas will welcome
Bandits at Sea.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful collection of research!.......2003-08-07
This book is a collection of scholarly essays on the subject of historical piracy the world over. It's divided into two sections, "Situating Piracy" and "Pirates in Action."
Essays in the first section are more general/historical, discussing piracy in general as a career, its effects on local economies and politics, its role in warfare and trade. Personally I didn't much care for this section, largely because I'm more of a scholar of the story of the individual and i already have a pretty good working grasp of how piracy related to these other areas of societal structure. I imagine though that if you are relatively new to piratical research this section would be very handy in getting a grasp on this sort of background and "worldview" perspective.
The second section focuses more on specific pirates/crews/ships/cultures, and spans a wide range of topics, from Cheng I Sao's Chinese pirate fleet, to minorities in piracy (gays, blacks, women, etc), to the little-known pirate culture of the Adriatic Uskoks. This section I found to be completely engrossing and wonderfully rich with research and detail, on subjects one rarely sees explored in depth (though perhaps moreso of late as piracy scholarship becomes wider-known and more popular as a subject of academic research).
There's a section of illustration plates in the center of the book, comprised of various historical/period woodcuts, engravings, maps, portraits, diagrams, and other media, including a facinating diagram of the "genealogy" of pirate crews in the golden age of piracy--apparently all pirate crews at the time could be traced through the training of the captains, who sprang off from whose crews to man their own ships, which all originated with two "paterfamilias" pirate captains, Hornigold and Low.
I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in piratical research!
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A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution
The War for American Independence: From 1760 to the Surrender at Yorktown in 1781
Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution
Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived It (Da Capo Paperback)
A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens
