Review by Booklist Review
The American Revolution was an arduous struggle. Ferling captures the essence of America's prolonged battle for independence, a fight the British initially expected to resolve in just a few years. Ferling highlights pivotal moments that reveal why the British believed they could swiftly suppress the rebellion. However, as European powers like France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic joined the conflict, Britain's challenges mounted. Even after seven grueling years, the war's outcome remained uncertain. George Washington called the eventual victory "nothing short of miraculous." This miracle was achieved with the support of the European autocratic and royalist nations that aided the American rebels. These rebels, after 1776, waged a republican revolution, aiming for an egalitarian society and, for some, a democratic political system. The book delves into why these nations fought, their war aims, strategies, diplomacy, the war's outcome, the human toll, the peace settlement, and the unexpected consequences of the conflict. For readers of American history, this is a must-have volume to complete any collection covering the fight for democracy as we approach the sestercentennial.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The American Revolution, emphasizing contributions from European powers. Ferling, author of 15 previous histories of the Revolutionary War period, strains mightily to find a new approach, and the result is an excellent history of the run-up and battles of the American Revolution with more than the usual diversions describing how other nations reacted. He reminds readers that France suffered badly in the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763, losing battles, ships, and colonies. Yearning for revenge, its leaders perked up when the American colonies rebelled, and the colonists themselves, in the form of the Continental Congress, yearned for France to join them. Ferling emphasizes that America's ultimate victory required massive European aid in the form of arms, trained soldiers, sailors, money, and even gunpowder. Since well before the Declaration of Independence, the colonies were importing supplies from France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Still awash in debt from the Seven Years' War, France had no interest in another, but it reconsidered after America's spectacular 1778 victory at Saratoga and soon persuaded Spain, which had also suffered in 1763, to join. The consequences may surprise readers. Almost immediately London transferred one third of its colonial army to Canada and the West Indies and thereafter gave priority to war with its traditional enemy. America's ecstasy at France's entry soon evaporated. A French fleet arrived to support a massive combined operation that fizzled, after which the fleet sailed off, and the war entered a painful three-year stalemate, during which Washington took little action until the French returned and made the Yorktown campaign possible. Scholars have not ignored European participation, but Ferling writes better than most of them and pays more attention than academics to the campaigns and commanders. From battles to international relations, an outstanding introduction to the American Revolution. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
