The British Are Coming

Posted on 27 March 2017 by Rick Atkinson

In the initial volume of the Revolution Trilogy Rick Atkinson recounts the first twenty one months of America s violent war for independence From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world s most formidable fighting force It is a saga alive with astonishing characters Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery Nathanael Greene, the bumpkin who becomes a brilliant battle captain Benjamin Franklin, who proves to be the wiliest of diplomats George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost The story is also told from the British perspective, making the mortal conflict between the redcoats and the rebels all thecompelling. Read The British Are Coming author Rick Atkinson – kino-fada.fr The odds were heavily stacked against the Americans no colonial rebellion had ever succeeded in casting off imperial shackles But, as Voltaire had observed, history is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up Whenever I read about the Amercian Revolution, I m always struck by the enormity of the task our founding fathers were facing They were not prepared for war, not in the least They had no navy, no standing army, very few officers with milita The odds were heavily stacked against the Americans no colonial rebellion had ever succeeded in casting off imperial shackles But, as Voltaire had observed, history is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up Whenever I read about the Amercian Revolution, I m always struck by the enormity of the task our founding fathers were facing They were not prepared for war, not in the least They had no navy, no standing army, very few officers with military experience, a slipshod government, and they lacked any kind of plan as to how the war was to be won And yet, somehow, despite the odds, they prevailed But I m getting ahead of myself I guess it isn t a spoiler to say that the rebels do win the war, but with this first of three volumes...Anyone who has read Rick Atkinson s The Liberation Trilogy will understand that when he begins another massive examination of another war, the reader must follow And right away And so, although I had not scheduled the Revolutionary War on my reading journey this year, and although the Revolutionary War is not my war, I really had no choice but to read this immediately I was not disappointed.This is a military history, but the story would not be complete without Ben Franklin s seducing the Fr Anyone who has read Rick Atkinson s The Liberation Trilogy will understand that when he begins another massive examination of another war, the reader must follow And right away And so, although I had not scheduled the Revolutionary War on my reading journey this year, and although the Revolutionary War is not my war, I really had no choice but to read this immediately I was not disappointed.This is a military history, but the story would not be complete without Ben Franklin s seducing the French He is but one of many wonderfully drawn characters Nathan Hale, Marie Antoinette, Beaumarchais, Ezra Lee and the Turtle , and Admiral HoweGive us Black Dick, his sailors boasted..And George Washington, of course I was... The British are Coming The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775 1777 is a meticulously and deeply researched history of the American Revolution by renowned historian Rick Atkinson This first volume of the anticipated Revolution Trilogy was riveting as you watch the struggling Continental Army up against the mighty and formidable forces of the British Army and Royal Navy dispatched by King George III This is the story of the newly formed colonies in America and their struggle, not onl The British are Coming The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775 1777 is a meticulously and deeply researched history of the American Revolution by renowned historian Rick Atkinson This first volume of the anticipated Revolution Trilogy was riveting as you watch the struggling Continental Army up against the mighty and formidable forces of the British Army and Royal Navy dispatched by King George III This is the story of the newly formed colonies in America and their struggle, not only for freedom, but to forge a new democratic nation Atkinson describes the first twenty one months of the American Revolution with the battles at Lexington and Concord, to those at Trenton and Princeton, told in painful detail We see each of these battles, not only from the point of view of ...This is a remarkable history of the first two years of the American Revolution The research is deep and the topics covered are broad Atkinson has chosen to write not only on the military campaigns but also the political currents at play in America, England and France,and on the personalities that shaped the decisions on both sides The narrative is told in chronological order making it easy to follow the events as they unfolded and making the connections between various dimensions clear to see This is a remarkable history of the first two years of the American Revolution The research is deep and the topics covered are broad Atkinson has chosen to write not only on the military campaigns but also the political currents at play in America, England and France,and on the personalities that shaped the decisions on both sides The narrative is told in chronological order making it easy to follow the events as they unfolded and making the connections between various dimensions clear to see One gets a clear understanding of the context that underlies the action taken by both sides in the early years of the conflict.One of the problems of military histories, and I have read many, is the difficulty of following the movements and actions of combat, owing especially to lack of knowledge of terrain and of sorting out the confusion of multiple engagements happeni...A masterful detailed account and the first volume in Atkinson s planned series of Histories of the American Revolution American War of Independence.My only small issue was a perceived bias of the American author for the American rebels.It seemed at times that the British were all fools and or rogues and all the Americans were fighting the British despite some references to Loyalists, when most figures show one third of Americans were rebels, one third were Loyalists and one third tried to stay n A masterful detailed account and the first volume in Atkinson s planned series of Histories of the American Revolution American War of Independence.My only small issue was a perceived bias of the American author for the American rebels.It seemed at times that the British were all fools and or rogues and all the Americans were fighting the British despite some references to Loyalists, when most figures show one third of Americans were rebels, one third ...This book does an excellent job of covering the first few years of the Revolutionary War from all angles British and American, General and foot soldier, military battles and political battles I think the length is about right for such a formidable task Key battles and characters are covered in detail without lingering too long on any one subject With so many people featured, no one figure is covered at the length of an individual biography, but the essence of many individuals are captured I This book does an excellent job of covering the first few years of the Revolutionary War from all angles British and American, General and foot soldier, military battles and political battles I think the length is about right for such a formidable task Key battles and characters are covered in detail without lingering too long on any one subject With so many people featured, no one figure is covered at the length of an individual biography, but the essence of many individuals are captured I was particularly impressed by the depth that was provided on George Washington, who is often seen by historians as a bit steely and impenetrable Washington went through a profound depression during the first few years of the war, and this is pulled into focus by some of the letters to his confidants that are quoted He was commanding an army that was lacking men, supplies, order or experience His ability was constantly questioned, and he ...When the British army of regulars captured American troops during the Battle of New York, they contemptuously noted how they were surprised to see so many ordinary people among them tanners, brewers, farmers, metal workers, carpenters and the like That observation in one sense summed up the difference between the British and American causes a ragtag group of ordinary citizens with little battle experience pitted against a professional, experienced and disciplined army belonging to a nation t When the British army of regulars captured American troops during the Battle of New York, they contemptuously noted how they were surprised to see so many ordinary people among them tanners, brewers, farmers, metal workers, carpenters and the like That observation in one sense summed up the difference between the British and American causes a ragtag group of ordinary citizens with little battle experience pitted against a professional, experienced and disciplined army belonging to a nation that then possessed the biggest empire since the Roman Empire The latter were fighting for imperial power, the former for conducting an experiment in individual rights and freedom The former improbably won.Rick Atkinson shows us how in this densely packed, rousing military history of the first two years of the Revolutionary War The Americans kept on foiling the British throu...This is a very good general overview of the American Revolution told from a military perspective Or rather, it s the first part of a trilogy on the Revolution and covers from the early days in Boston 1774 5 to the battles of Trenton and Princeton 1776 7 The highlight of the book is the author s military understanding and ability to express it in words There is little that is superfluous here, although the author does display a skill at integrating interesting tangents in ways that enhanci This is a very good general overview of the American Revolution told from a military perspective Or rather, it s the first part of a trilogy on the Revolution and covers from the early days in Boston 1774 5 to the battles of Trenton and Princeton 1776 7 The highlight of the book is the author s military understanding and ability to express it in words There is little that is superfluous here, although the author does display a skill at integrating interesting tangents in ways that enhancing rather than distracting from the account The prose is excellent and keeps the reader engaged, and the chapter titles are well chosen, being mainly taken from the statements of contemporaries, such as Washington s the retrograde motion of things after the defeat at Fort Washington or a sentimental manner of making war after...For those who are fans of Rick Atkinson s tremendous Liberation Trilogy covering the US involvement in WWII, this may be slightly disappointing In my opinion it s not quite as good the prose style isn t super tight, and I ve become a bit disenchanted with the historical present voice that modern historians use to make history feelimmediate did he use it in the Liberation Trilogy I don t remember it being as prominent.One of the things that was great about the Liberation Trilogy was For those who are fans of Rick Atkinson s tremendous Liberation Trilogy covering the US involvement in WWII, this may be slightly disappointing In my opinion it s not quite as good the prose style isn t super tight, and I ve become a bit disenchanted with the historical present voice that modern historians use to make history feelimmediate did he use it in the Liberation Trilogy I don t remember it being as prominent.One of the things that was great about the Liberation Trilogy was that it really leaned in to de mythologizing WWII, particularly the US command structure which was often thoroughly mediocre Patton in particular is a commander who, while competent, has a mythology far out of whack with his actual abilities and accomplishments If there is any period of US history that could stand to be de mythologized, the American Revolution is certainly it, and I was looking forward to something quite sk...3 1 2 StarsMilitary history is not much my thing, but this was a group read for GR Nonfiction Side Reads Also I wanted to read as part of my stack of American Revolution North American to US History study in honor of US Independence Day.At first I was unsure about committing to this book due to the amount of details and number of pages Now I am glad I have read the book I knew enough to feel adequately conversant about some aspects of the American Revolution and fully able to Follow any discu 3 1 2 StarsMilitary history is not much my thing, but this was a group read for GR Nonfiction Side Reads Also I wanted to read as part of my stack of American Revolution North American to US History study in honor of US Independence Day.At first I was unsure about committing to this book due to the amount of details and number...Atkinson offers an appealing mix of academic rigor and entertaining prose This is both a history and an expertly rendered story about the early stages of the American Revolutionary War.If you think you know a lot about this critical time during our history, rea...Rick Atkinson s flair for the colorful detail of a country at war is demonstrated again in The British are Coming I ve long been a fan of Atkinson, and his Liberation Trilogy , and am delighted that he has brought his research and writing talents to the early battles of the Revolutionary War in Volume 1 of the Revolution Trilogy.Atkinson brings the horror and glory of battle vividly to life with quotes from the actors themselves, from the lowliest to the the most exalted His descriptions of Rick Atkinson s flair for the colorful detail of a country at war is demonstrated again in The British are Coming I ve long been a fan of Atkinson, and his Liberation Trilogy , and am delighted that he has brought his research and writing talents to the early battles of the Revolutionary War in Volume 1 of the Revolution Trilogy.Atkinson brings the horror and glory of battle vividly to life with quotes from the actors themselves, from the lowliest to the the most exalted His descriptions of...As histories go, a good one Eminently readable, as they say, with chapters jumping from this front say, Quebec to that front how s about Boston or New York to that front Bad King George Trifecta in Not So Jolly Olde.Civil Wars are the nastiest, and the Brits considered this one of those oxymoronic messes One of the earlier proofs that you can t win wars on another country s turf, especially if the army fights unfair read from behind rocks and trees instead of in the open in bright As histories go, a good one Eminently readable, as they say, with chapters jumping from this front say, Quebec to that front how s about Boston or New York to that front Bad King George Trifecta in Not So Jolly Olde.Civil Wars are the nastiest, and the Brits considered this one of those oxymoronic messes One of the earlier proofs that you can t win wars on another country s turf, especially if the army fights unfair read from behind rocks and trees instead of in the open in bright red coats The Brits brought their Hessian friends, too, a particularly despised tribe of fighter that, along with some Brits, had no problem with engaging in war s worst aspects plunder, rape, etc Throw in Tories and the fact that many in those times thought mankind had reached its nadir, behavior wise, and you about hav...

27 March 2017

Rick Atkinson