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.