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Liberty the American Revolution Paperback – January 1, 2004
Purchase options and add-ons
- PublisherViking
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2004
- ISBN-100965067084
- ISBN-13978-0965067089
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Product details
- ASIN : B000NW9B8W
- Publisher : Viking (January 1, 2004)
- ISBN-10 : 0965067084
- ISBN-13 : 978-0965067089
- Item Weight : 8.1 ounces
- Best Sellers Rank: #733,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,485 in U.S. Revolution & Founding History
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
"How do you write a book?" 24 year old Thomas Fleming asked bestselling writer Fulton Oursler in 1951. "Write four pages a day," Oursler said. "Every day except Sunday. Whether you feel like it or not. Inspiration consists of putting the seat of your pants on the chair at your desk." Fleming has followed this advice to good effect. His latest effort, "The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers," is his 50th published book. Twenty three of them have been novels. He is the only writer in the history of the Book of the Month Club to have main selections in fiction and in nonfiction. Many have won prizes. Recently he received the Burack Prize from Boston University for lifetime achievement. In nonfiction he has specialized in the American Revolution. He sees Intimate Lives as a perfect combination of his double talent as a novelist and historian. "Novelists focus on the imtimate side of life. This is the first time anyone has looked at the intimate side of the lives of these famous Americans, with an historian's eyes." Fleming was born in Jersey City, the son of a powerful local politician. He has had a lifetime interest in American politics. He also wrote a history of West Point which the New York Times called "the best...ever written." Military history is another strong interest. He lives in New York with his wife, Alice Fleming, who is a gifted writer of books for young readers.
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In addition, no one I have read shows us the contribution that horses made and their suffering as well. I did take exception to Fleming telling us that Benedict Arnold and James Wilkerson shot their horses in the head when they left Canada which I found disconcerting, disturbing and gratuitous. He did not comment on it or make any point about it one way or the other. It did not seem at all justifiable and if not, I do think that Fleming should have made such an observation.
While it is intimidating to question a historian the stature of Fleming nonetheless, I do take issue with his disdainful attitude toward the British Parliament because only 2% of the population elected the House of Commons. To me we need more balance and perspective; better 2% than 0% as was the case in almost every other country except in the American colonies. I have a deep appreciation for those 2% British elections in spite of their limitations. It still embodied the concept of the consent of the governed.
Without the eternal rights of Englishman guaranteed in the colonial Charters rooted in the British constitution, the American colonies would not have made such advances including consent of the governed, & elected lower houses with the power of the purse. It reminds me of Isaac Newton who said that if he had seen further than other men it was because he was standing on the shoulders of giants. Similarly if the American colonies had progressed more in widening the base of participation in government, it was because they also had been standing on the shoulders of giants. The Americans had learned liberty from the British.
There is no time to go on and do an in-depth review I might do but let me add this one thing. There is one person more than any other single individual who is responsible for the American Revolution and that is King George III and I did not think Fleming put that squarely on his head to my satisfaction. The king had no concept or appreciation for what those written charters meant and what the American colonists had done to govern themselves before he came to the throne in 1760 during the French and Indian War.
Regardless of my caveats, I love this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. I was sorry when it was done. If you have any interest in the American Revolution, you will find it as compelling as I did. I wanted more attention to Benedict Arnold and it took
too many pages before Fleming finally properly depicted the American General Horatio Gates for the coward that he was. Fleming never quite gave enough credit for the bravery, and bold leadership provided by Arnold on the battle field.
There are so many good quotations all through the book that you will want to record some of them. However I must disagree with Fleming when he said the choice was between American liberty vs British liberty. The choice was between American liberty and British soft tyranny under King George III, make no mistake.
- Fleming's recounting of the years leading up to the revolution. Provided a lot of insight into the British actions and colonial sentiments that motivated the colonials to revolt.
- The sections going over the British political scene before and during the Revolution, particularly the battles between George III and his opponents. This is a part of the story that many Americans aren't that familiar with, but contributed heavily to the outbreak of war and also impacted how it was prosecuted.
- The handling of the first two years of the war, from Lexington and Concord to Saratoga. This part of the book is packed with details about major battles and strategic decisions, but is rarely dull.
- The final chapter of the book, which covers the messy years immediately following the war and the creation of the Constitution. It drives home just how close the war's achievements came to being undone, and also how fraught with tension the negotiations of the Constitutional Convention were.
- Fleming's ability to convey just how much the actions of individuals and small groups of people changed the course of history. By modern standards, this was a war fought by a fairly small number of troops, and the fighting took place over a large land mass over the course of 6 years. As a result, on both the American and British sides, the bravery, cowardice, foresight, and incompetence of individuals and small groups had monumental consequences time and time again.
What I thought could've been handled better:
- The section dealing with the fighting that took place from 1778 to 1781, at least prior to the Battle of Yorktown. Much of this felt rushed, especially the parts dealing with the fighting in the South.
- There often wasn't enough attention given to discussing the attitudes and motivations of those who sided with the British, whether Native Americans worried about the Americans' westward push, loyalists uneasy with revolutionary upheaval or Benedict Arnold, whose betrayal came after a series of slights and injustices that sent him over the edge. Likewise, the conflicted attitudes that many British soldiers and officers had about the Americans, and how that influenced the prosecution of the war, was only occasionally referenced.
- Some of the commentary about George Washington felt a little haiographic. Washington was a great leader, one who deserves a lot of credit for keeping an army that was often freezing, starving, and/or unpaid from disintegrating. But his track record as a tactician was quite mixed, and this felt glossed over.
Overall, though, this was a pretty good read. Recommended for those who want to become more familiar with the United States' formative years and some of the key figures that defined them.
Top reviews from other countries
I studied the American War of Independence for my GCE O level but this account left me astounded. I always knew that the American revolutionaries from the rioters to the Politicians and Fighting military were from the same basic stock as those British who had upheld the same principles for centuries. Unfortunately, over the centuries, particularly since our Civil War in Britain, a controlling elitist society had been established but still with some amazingly great men such as William Pitt and William Wilberforce. However the spirit of freedom was never extinguished even though George Third was not restrained as he should have been.
The Revolution only just succeeded mainly because of the Atlantic barrier and because of the similar natures and upbringing of the combatants.
On both sides some ludicrous command decisions were being continually made and as Benedict Arnold found, those who were in command were often in place because of who they knew rather than for what they knew. It smacked of the same elitism that was in charge in England.
America’s salvation came from the gung ho risk takers and from George Washington who was steadfast from beginning to end. He did what the British have always usually been good at in war. He played his enemy at their own game and added a dash of inspiration and pure courage.
I was disappointed that the British used German troops to help them. I am even more disappointed that the Americans used French.
The great tragedy was in that friends and family fought each other. Britain is so proud of its offshoot dominions that grew and prospered and came immediately to the aid of the home country particularly in two world wars . At any other time America would never have needed or wanted total independence but that is history. It happened and a Great Nation was born and stood as a symbol of Liberty for us all.
However Britain went first to stand for Liberty in two world wars and I am very proud of that.
The pictures in this book are lavish and make you want to visit the museums and galleries which hold them. So too does the description of the battlefields where the action took place, if only they weren't 2000 miles away. I only have two criticisms with this book, firstly, sometimes the text veers off into unecessary anacdotal account in order to create a human story. Secondly, why hasn't the TV series been converted into PAL for British viewing?
Anyone with an interest in this period of history should make this required reading. Nothing is dumbed down, and that which needs further explanation is presented in an engaging manner. Even those people that don't necessarily get into history might enjoy it.