Overview

A great military history about the early days of the American Revolution, Thomas A. Desjardin's Through a Howling Wilderness is also a timeless adventure narrative that tells of heroic acts, men pitted against nature's fury, and a fledgling nation's fight against a tyrannical oppressor. Before Benedict Arnold was branded a traitor, he was one of the colonies' most valuable leaders. In September 1775, eleven hundred soldiers boarded ships in Massachusetts, bound for the Maine wilderness. They had volunteered for a secret mission, under Arnold's command to march and paddle nearly two hundred miles and seize British Quebec. Before they reached the Canadian border, hundreds died, a hurricane destroyed canoes and equipment and many deserted. In the midst of a howling blizzard, the remaining troops attacked Quebec and almost took Canada from the British simultaneously weakening the British hand against Washington. With the enigmatic Benedict Arnold at its center, Desjardin has written one of the great American adventure stories.

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9780312339050

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Reviews

Desjardin is able to portray fascinating, vivid characters, more human and more credible than the leaders who organized the expedition. -- Associated Press [A] stirring account...Desjardin has salted his account with great bits of regional history. -- The Boston Globe In an age of bloated, overstuffed history books...Desjardin has pulled off this feat in just 240 pages of terse, well-hewn prose. -- The Bangor Daily News Thoroughly researched and well written, this is likely to be the standard history of the campaign for some time to come. -- Booklist Desjardin recounts the march in descriptive, detailed prose studded with visceral imagery . . . A vivid narrative of a vital American event.' -- Kirkus Reviews [A] highly readable book. -- The Journal Star One of the great adventure sagas in American history . . . This is a story that helped shape the American Revolution, dramatically told in this highly readable new book. --James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered A model of accessible, vigorous narrative history, Through a Howling Wilderness re-creates an important but largely forgotten episode in early American history and tells a fascinating story in the bargain. --Jackson Lears, Board of Governors Professor of History, Rutgers University

"""Desjardin is able to portray fascinating, vivid characters, more human and more credible than the leaders who organized the expedition."" --Associated Press ""[A] stirring account...Desjardin has salted his account with great bits of regional history."" --The Boston Globe ""In an age of bloated, overstuffed history books...Desjardin has pulled off this feat in just 240 pages of terse, well-hewn prose."" --The Bangor Daily News ""Thoroughly researched and well written, this is likely to be the standard history of the campaign for some time to come."" --Booklist ""Desjardin recounts the march in descriptive, detailed prose studded with visceral imagery . . . A vivid narrative of a vital American event.'"" --Kirkus Reviews ""[A] highly readable book."" --The Journal Star ""One of the great adventure sagas in American history . . . This is a story that helped shape the American Revolution, dramatically told in this highly readable new book."" --James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered ""A model of accessible, vigorous narrative history, Through a Howling Wilderness re-creates an important but largely forgotten episode in early American history and tells a fascinating story in the bargain."" --Jackson Lears, Board of Governors Professor of History, Rutgers University"

Author Information

THOMAS DESJARDIN is the Historic Site Specialist for the State of Maine. He is the author of Stand Firm, Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign and These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory.

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