George Washington's Great Gamble

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Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 0071743170
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (717 download)

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Book Synopsis George Washington's Great Gamble by : James L. Nelson

Download or read book George Washington's Great Gamble written by James L. Nelson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2010-05-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One shining yet overlooked moment that changed the course of the Revolutionary War In the opening months of 1781, General George Washington feared his army would fail to survive another campaign season. The spring and summer only served to reinforce his despair, but in late summer the changing circumstances of war presented a once-in-a-war opportunity for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his own troops with French reinforcements drove Lord Cornwallis's forces to the Chesapeake. The Battle of the Capes would prove the only time the French ever fought the Royal Navy to a draw, and for the British army it was a catastrophe. Cornwallis confidently retreated to Yorktown, expecting to be evacuated by a British fleet that never arrived. In the end he had no choice but to surrender. Although the war sputtered on another two years, its outcome was never in doubt after Yorktown. General Washington's Great Gamble is the story of the greatest naval engagement of the American Revolution. It is also a study in leadership, good and bad, political machinations and the wild, unpredictable circumstances that led to the extraordinary confluence of military and naval resources at that time and place. Topics include: Looking South; Sea Power for the General; Arnold; Copper Bottoms; Head of Elk; The Battle of Cape Henry; An Attempt to Conquer Virginia; Greene and Cornwallis: Looking North; The American Command; The Battle of Guilford Courthouse; Pyrrhic Victory; Reinforcing the Chesapeake; "[T]he enemy have turned so much of their attention to the Southern States..."; The Battle of Blandford; The British War at Sea; Juncture; "I am inclined to think well of York..."; The Promise of a Fleet; The Battle of Green Springs; The March on New York; An Operation to the Southward; The Arrival of De Grasse; The Battle of the Capes;Cornwallis Surrenders

George Washington's Westchester Gamble

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Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1625842139
Total Pages : 189 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (258 download)

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Book Synopsis George Washington's Westchester Gamble by : Richard Borkow

Download or read book George Washington's Westchester Gamble written by Richard Borkow and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05-31 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at Westchester County’s place in the American Revolution and Washington’s plan to trick Cornwallis and march to Yorktown. During the summer of 1781, the armies of Generals Washington and Rochambeau were encamped in lower Westchester County at Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hartsdale, Edgemont, and White Plains. It was a time of military deadlock and grim prospects for the allied Americans and French. Washington recognized that a decisive victory was needed, or America would never achieve independence. In August, he marched these soldiers to Virginia to face General Cornwallis and his redcoats. Washington risked all on this march. Its success required secrecy, and he prepared an elaborate deception to convince the British that Manhattan, not Virginia, was the target of the allied armies. Local historian Richard Borkow presents this exciting story of the Westchester encampment and Washington’s great gamble that saved the United States. Praise for George Washington’s Westchester Gamble “Borkow has done a first-rate job of telling the story of the American Revolution in Westchester County and putting dramatic events there in the context of the larger war--especially the decision to march to Yorktown.” —Thomas Fleming, author of The Perils of Peace “Just when it seemed that the subject of the American Revolution had been thoroughly explored, Richard Borkow has given us a fresh look at the war's culminating event—the 1781 march of French and American troops to Virginia.” —Joseph Wheelan, author of Jefferson’s War and Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade

Jefferson's Great Gamble

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Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 140223435X
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis Jefferson's Great Gamble by : Charles Cerami

Download or read book Jefferson's Great Gamble written by Charles Cerami and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2004-03-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller! The fascinating story of how four great men fought for the Louisiana Purchase, changing the future of our nation. Jefferson's Great Gamble tells the incredible story of how four leaders of an upstart nation—Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Livingston—risked the future of their country and their own careers; outwitted Napoleon Bonaparte, the world's most powerful ruler; and secured a new future for the United States of America. For two years before the Louisiana Purchase, the nine principal players in the deal watched France and the United States approach the brink of war over the most coveted spot on the planet: a bustling port known as New Orleans. And until the breakthrough moment when a deal was secured, the men who steered their countries through the tense and often beguiling negotiations knew only that the futures of both nations were at stake. Jefferson's Great Gamble is an extraordinary work that redefines one of the most important and overlooked events in American history. To read Jefferson's Great Gamble is to experience the tense days and nights leading to a decision that changed the face of the world. From the early American infighting to the heated French negotiations to the battle needed years later to secure the purchase, this new history is a story of dedicated men, each driven by love of country, who created an event that Robert Livingston called "the noblest work of our lives."

Losing America, Securing an Empire

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Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476646171
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Losing America, Securing an Empire by : Daniel H. Boone

Download or read book Losing America, Securing an Empire written by Daniel H. Boone and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-07-29 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American Revolution is seen as a colossal defeat of the powerful British Empire by colonial rebels. Yet the British emerged from the conflict in better shape than the newly independent United States. After the revolution became a global conflict with the entry of France, Spain and later the Netherlands on the American side, Britain's desire to maintain prestige in Europe through dominance of her many colonies--particularly the West Indies and India--was the driving force behind British strategy. Military victories late in the war, along with retention of the rest of the empire, allowed Britain to remain a significant power. This history explores the view that Great Britain did not really "lose" the Revolutionary War.

With Fire and Sword

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Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1429968079
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis With Fire and Sword by : James L. Nelson

Download or read book With Fire and Sword written by James L. Nelson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterful history of the first set-piece battle of the Revolutionary War, James L. Nelson's WithFire and Sword offers critical new insights into one of the most important actions of our country's founding. On June 17, 1775, the entire dynamic of the newborn American Revolution was changed. If the Battle of Lexington and Concord was, in the immortal words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the "shot heard round the world," Bunker Hill was the volley that rocked Britain's Parliament and the ministry of King George III to its core. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first hostile engagement of the Revolution between two organized armies, and the first time that a genuine American army had ever taken the field. It gave the British their first inkling that the Colonial rabble-in-arms they had envisioned might actually prove to be a formidable fighting force. In this book, award-winning author James L. Nelson tells the exciting and dramatic story of the fight that changed the face of the American Revolution. He looks at the events leading up to that fateful day, the personalities on both the British and American sides who made momentous decisions, and the bloody outcome of those crucial choices, which would affect the British strategy on the battlefield throughout the coming six more years of active warfare.

Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence

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Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 039324573X
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (932 download)

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Book Synopsis Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence by : George C. Daughan

Download or read book Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence written by George C. Daughan and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2016-06-13 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of the fight for the Hudson River Valley, control of which, both the Americans and the British firmly believed, would determine the outcome of the Revolutionary War. No part of the country was more contested during the American Revolution than New York City, the Hudson River, and the surrounding counties. Political and military leaders on both sides viewed the Hudson River Valley as the American jugular, which, if cut, would quickly bleed the rebellion to death. So in 1776, King George III sent the largest amphibious force ever assembled to seize Manhattan and use it as a base from which to push up the Hudson River Valley for a grand rendezvous at Albany with an impressive army driving down from Canada. George Washington and every other patriot leader shared the king’s fixation with the Hudson. Generations of American and British historians have held the same view. In fact, one of the few things that scholars have agreed upon is that the British strategy, though disastrously executed, should have been swift and effective. Until now, no one has argued that this plan of action was lunacy from the beginning. Revolution on the Hudson makes the bold new argument that Britain’s attempt to cut off New England never would have worked, and that doggedly pursuing dominance of the Hudson ultimately cost the crown her colonies. It unpacks intricate military maneuvers on land and sea, introduces the personalities presiding over each side’s strategy, and reinterprets the vagaries of colonial politics to offer a thrilling response to one of our most vexing historical questions: How could a fledgling nation have defeated the most powerful war machine of the era? George C. Daughan—winner of the prestigious Samuel Eliot Morrison Award for Naval Literature—integrates the war’s naval elements with its political, military, economic, and social dimensions to create a major new study of the American Revolution. Revolution on the Hudson offers a much clearer understanding of our founding conflict, and how it transformed a rebellion that Britain should have crushed into a war they could never win.

In the Hurricane's Eye

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143111450
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis In the Hurricane's Eye by : Nathaniel Philbrick

Download or read book In the Hurricane's Eye written by Nathaniel Philbrick and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Nathaniel Philbrick is a masterly storyteller. Here he seeks to elevate the naval battles between the French and British to a central place in the history of the American Revolution. He succeeds, marvelously."--The New York Times Book Review The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower. In the concluding volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick tells the thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5, 1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of the Chesapeake—fought without a single American ship—made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea.

Confidence and Character

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Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1625648367
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (256 download)

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Book Synopsis Confidence and Character by : James A. Pingel

Download or read book Confidence and Character written by James A. Pingel and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-12-09 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: His birthday was once celebrated as a national holiday and his portrait once adorned the walls of almost every classroom in the United States. He was a victorious Revolutionary War general, a crucial influence in the creation of the Constitution, and the first President of the United States. Today, unfortunately, many only know America's first hero and the "Father of His Country" as a slaveholder with wooden teeth or as the somber-looking man on the one-dollar bill. To many, he remains a distant, mysterious, and unapproachable figure from a day long gone. The truth about George Washington, however, is much different. He was America's most successful, venerated, and indispensable founding father. So who was this man? What made him such a singularly successful leader? What lessons can be learned from his life? Confidence and Character: The Religious Life of George Washington examines religion's impact on the private and public man. Too often ignored, underemphasized, suppressed, or distorted, Washington's religious faith fundamentally inspired and nurtured his worldview, vocational performance, and leadership. This is the Washington we need to get to know and learn from, even today.

Washington’s Marines

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Publisher : Savas Beatie
ISBN 13 : 1611216273
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (112 download)

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Book Synopsis Washington’s Marines by : Jason Q. Bohm

Download or read book Washington’s Marines written by Jason Q. Bohm and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2023-05-04 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fighting prowess of United States Marines is second to none, but few know of the Corps’ humble beginnings and what it achieved during the early years of the American Revolution. That oversight is fully rectified by Jason Bohm’s eye-opening Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775-1777. The story begins with the oppressive days that drove America into a conflict for which it was ill-prepared, when thirteen independent colonies commenced a war against the world’s most powerful military with nothing more than local militias, privateers, and other ad hoc units. The Continental Congress rushed to form an army and placed George Washington in command, but soon realized that America needed men who could fight on the sea and on land to win its freedom. Enter the Marines. Bohm artfully tells the story of the creation of the Continental Marines and the men who led them during the parallel paths followed by the Army and Marines in the opening years of the war and through the early successes and failures at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Canada, Boston, Charleston, and more. As Washington struggled to preserve his command after defeats in New York and New Jersey in 1776, the nascent U.S. Navy and Marines deployed the first American fleet, conducted their first amphibious operation, and waged a war on the rivers and seas to block British reinforcements and capture critically needed supplies. Desperate times forced Congress to detach the Continental Marines from the Navy to join the embattled army as Washington sought an “important stroke” to defeat his adversary. Washington’s Marines joined their fellow soldiers in a protracted land campaign that culminated in turning-point victories at Trenton, Assunpink Creek, and Princeton. This chapter of the Continental Marines ends in Morristown, New Jersey, when Washington granted Henry Knox’s request to leverage the Marines’ expertise with naval guns to fill the depleted ranks of the army’s artillery during the “Forage War.” Washington’s Marines is the first complete study of its kind to weave the men, strategy, performance, and personalities of the Corps’ formative early years into a single compelling account. The sweeping prose relies heavily on primary research and the author’s own extensive military knowledge. Enhanced with original maps and illustrations, Washington’s Marines will take its place as one of the finest studies of its kind.

Washington and Hamilton

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Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1492609846
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (926 download)

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Book Synopsis Washington and Hamilton by : Tony Williams

Download or read book Washington and Hamilton written by Tony Williams and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Untold Story of the Extraordinary Alliance That Forged Our Nation and the Unlikely Duo Behind It: George Washington & Alexander Hamilton In the wake of the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers faced a daunting task: overcome their competing visions to build a new nation, the likes of which the world had never seen. As hostile debates raged over how to protect their new hard-won freedoms, two men formed an improbable partnership that would launch the fledgling United States: George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Washington and Hamilton chronicles the unlikely collaboration between these two conflicting characters at the heart of our national narrative: Washington, the indispensable general devoted to classical virtues, and Hamilton, an ambitious officer and lawyer eager for fame of the noblest kind. Working together, they laid the groundwork for the institutions that govern the United States to this day and protected each other from bitter attacks from Jefferson and Madison, who considered their policies a betrayal of the republican ideals they had fought for. Yet while Washington and Hamilton's different personalities often led to fruitful collaboration, their conflicting ideals also tested the boundaries of their relationship—and threatened the future of the new republic. From the rumblings of the American Revolution through the fractious Constitutional Convention and America's turbulent first years, this captivating history reveals the stunning impact of this unlikely duo that set the United States on the path to becoming a superpower.

George Washington's War

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Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1402228791
Total Pages : 594 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis George Washington's War by : Bruce Chadwick

Download or read book George Washington's War written by Bruce Chadwick and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2005-02 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How a young general shaped a nation -- a fascinating account of George Washington as he faced a war and came out as America's first president The American Revolution was won not on the battlefields, but through the mind of George Washington. One of America's founding fathers, Washington's story is one that influenced how our entire nation was built. A compulsively readable narrative and extensive history, George Washington's War illuminates how during the war's winter months the young general created a new model of leadership that became the model for the American presidency. Through hardships, loss, and the brutal conditions of war, Washington led his men with cunning and grace, demonstrating the strong and endearing qualities that led him to become America's most beloved patriot.

The World Turned Upside Down

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Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1647001021
Total Pages : 333 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis The World Turned Upside Down by : Tim Grove

Download or read book The World Turned Upside Down written by Tim Grove and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dramatic, gripping history of the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution, told through vastly different perspectives In October 1781, American, French, and British forces converged on a small village named Yorktown—a place that the British would try to forget and Americans would forever remember. In his riveting, balanced, and thoroughly researched account of the Revolutionary War’s last pivotal conflict, author–historian Tim Grove follows the true stories of American, French, and British players, whose lives intersected at Yorktown. Through very different viewpoints—from General George Washington to the notorious traitor Benedict Arnold, from young French hero Lafayette to British General Lord Cornwallis, and an enslaved man named James who became a spy, The World Turned Upside Down tells the story of bold decisions made by famous military leaders, as well as the everyday courage shown by civilians. For every side involved, the world forever turned upside down at Yorktown. Profusely illustrated with archival images, broadsides, and letters, the book includes a timeline, endnotes, bibliography and index.

A Night in the Tropics

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Publisher : Vantage Press, Inc
ISBN 13 : 9780533149810
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (498 download)

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Book Synopsis A Night in the Tropics by : Louis Joseph Barbier

Download or read book A Night in the Tropics written by Louis Joseph Barbier and published by Vantage Press, Inc. This book was released on 2007 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's cities are awash in a flood of Panamanian cocaine. Navy vet John Kincaid has been selected by the White House to head an specialized undercover team to steal organizational and bank records for the world's largest drug network. A Night in the Tropicsis a tale of romance, sultry tropical nights, and unflagging dedication.

An Overview of the American Revolution

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Publisher : Mitchell Lane
ISBN 13 : 1545746109
Total Pages : 63 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (457 download)

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Book Synopsis An Overview of the American Revolution by : Jim Whiting

Download or read book An Overview of the American Revolution written by Jim Whiting and published by Mitchell Lane. This book was released on 2019-09-04 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tells the story of the American Revolution in narrative form using primary source documents from this time period.

Benedict Arnold's Navy

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Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 0071502246
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (715 download)

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Book Synopsis Benedict Arnold's Navy by : James L. Nelson

Download or read book Benedict Arnold's Navy written by James L. Nelson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2006-05-12 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic story of one man’s devotion to the American cause In October 1776, four years before Benedict Arnold’s treasonous attempt to hand control of the Hudson River to the British, his patch-work fleet on Lake Champlain was all that stood between British forces and a swift end to the American rebellion. Benedict Arnold’s Navy is the dramatic chronicle of that desperate battle and of the extraordinary events that occurred on the American Revolution’s critical northern front. Written with captivating narrative vitality, this landmark book shows how Benedict Arnold’s fearless leadership against staggering odds in a northern wilderness secured for America the independence that he would later try to betray. Praise for James L. Nelson: "James Nelson is a master both of his period and of the English language." --Patrick O'Brian, author of Master and Commander "James L. Nelson tells this story with clarity and literary skill and with such ease and order that the reader feels he is attending a dissertation on history given by a consummate lecturer." --Ron Berthel, Associated Press, on Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, winner of the American Library Association’s 2004 Award for Best Military History "It is, by far, the best Civil War novel I’ve read; reeking of battle, duty, heroism and tragedy. It’s a triumph of imagination and good, taut writing . . . " --Bernard Cornwell on Glory in the Name, winner of the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award

The Hidden History of America at War

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Publisher : Hachette Books
ISBN 13 : 1401330789
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis The Hidden History of America at War by : Kenneth C. Davis

Download or read book The Hidden History of America at War written by Kenneth C. Davis and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multi-million-copy bestselling historian Kenneth C. Davis sets his sights on war stories in The Hidden History of America at War. In prose that will remind you of "the best teacher you ever had" (People Magazine), Davis brings to life six emblematic battles, revealing untold tales that span our nation's history, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq. Along the way, he illuminates why we go to war, who fights, the grunt's-eye view of combat, and how these conflicts reshaped our military and national identity. From the Battle of Yorktown (1781), where a fledgling America learned hard lessons about what kind of military it would need to survive, to Fallujah (2004), which epitomized the dawn of the privatization of war, Hidden History of America at War takes readers inside the battlefield, introducing them to key characters and events that will shatter myths, misconceptions, and romanticism, replacing them with rich insight.

Valiant Ambition

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0593511395
Total Pages : 481 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (935 download)

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Book Synopsis Valiant Ambition by : Nathaniel Philbrick

Download or read book Valiant Ambition written by Nathaniel Philbrick and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-06-28 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller Winner of the George Washington Prize A surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold, from the New York Times bestselling author of In The Heart of the Sea, Mayflower, and In the Hurricane's Eye. "May be one of the greatest what-if books of the age—a volume that turns one of America’s best-known narratives on its head.”—Boston Globe "Clear and insightful, [Valiant Ambition] consolidates Philbrick's reputation as one of America's foremost practitioners of narrative nonfiction."—Wall Street Journal In the second book of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns to the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington evacuated New York after a devastating defeat by the British army. Three weeks later, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeded in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have lost the war. As this book ends, four years later Washington has vanquished his demons, and Arnold has fled to the enemy. America was forced at last to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from withinComplex, controversial, and dramatic, Valiant Ambition is a portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation.