Editorial Content for The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Atkinson's nearly thousand-page account of the struggle between the Americans and the British offers a deeply researched and amazingly absorbing story.
"This extraordinary retelling is not for the casual reader, though it’s hard to imagine being in better hands than Atkinson’s."
In this second volume of his trilogy that covers the period between the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 by the British and the siege of Charleston, Atkinson brings readers into each battle --- from the famous ones to the skirmishes. He explains how three significant British campaigns affected the course of the war: General John Burgoyne's 1777 surrender at Saratoga, which persuaded the French to ally with America; General William Howe's 1778 defeat of George Washington's Continental Army and occupation of Philadelphia (which the British later left); and British efforts to capture Savannah and Charleston. He also points out that this was a fight against both external enemies and determined local loyalists.
There is an easy flow to the author's writing. The players are introduced and their background stories sketched before the military activities take over. Drawing on numerous eyewitness accounts, Atkinson brings readers into each scene with an abundance of details --- including the materials from which Washington’s false teeth were fashioned, a description of Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who was “thick as he was tall, spoke with a stutter and was possibly narcoleptic,” and the sleeping arrangements of the troops in Morristown.
This extraordinary retelling is not for the casual reader, though it’s hard to imagine being in better hands than Atkinson’s. As he navigates the paths of soldiers from one battleground to the next through the most difficult years of the war, readers are likewise navigating a dense and demanding story. However, the payoff is considerable --- an understanding of what our countrymen suffered to give us our freedom, and some comprehension of life in the 18th century in a terrain so different from our own.
Teaser
The first 21 months of the American Revolution --- which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton --- was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force. Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated. Fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans. Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution.
Promo
The first 21 months of the American Revolution --- which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton --- was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force. Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated. Fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans. Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution.
About the Book
In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE BRITISH ARE COMING, George Washington’s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.
The first 21 months of the American Revolution --- which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton --- was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force.
Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated. Fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.
Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men and material he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans --- even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.
Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.
Audiobook available, read by Grover Gardner
