Overview

Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war--the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.

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Reviews

"[T]he writing is lively, and [Jack] offers a serious reminder of the brutality of the American Revolution.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""James C. Lewis offers a solid and at times enthusiastic reading. He doesn't add false drama, letting the author's story carry the listener...The book is an enlightening listening experience."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Kelly opens this fast-paced military history in 1754 as the young Lieutenant Colonel Washington, devoid of formal military training, prepares to confront the French over control of North America's Western frontier...The writing is lively, and he offers a serious reminder of the brutality of the American Revolution."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Kelly's fast-paced work is packed with anecdotes of noteworthy generals including the duplicitous Benedict Arnold, the cunning Nathanael Greene, George Washington's chief of artillery Henry Knox, and the freethinking hero Ethan Allen; all of whom were making it up as they went along...A highly engaging read."" -- ""Library Journal"" ""Lively narrative of the Revolutionary War realistically assesses the motley collection of men who led the military struggle against Britain, revealing both their strengths and weaknesses."" -- ""Wall Street Journal"""

Author Information

Jack Kelly is a journalist, novelist, and historian. He has contributed to American Heritage, American Legacy, Invention & Technology, among other national periodicals, and he is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in nonfiction literature, as well as the author of Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive That Changed the World. He has appeared on the History Channel, been interviewed on National Public Radio, and conducted book signings across the country. He lives near Kingston in New York's Hudson Valley, where much of the action of the Revolutionary War took place. James C. Lewis, an AudioFile Earphones Award winner, is a voice actor in New York City and can also be seen in television commercials. His voice is often heard as a hard-boiled detective, but his work covers a wide range. Earlier in his career, he was a television weatherman and a political reporter.

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