Customer Reviews

The Crossing (American Voyages)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

if you like the A&E movie, this book answers lots of questions left unanswered and is quite interesting--by the same writer as the screenplay

I bought this after seeing the A&E movie and I really enjoyed it. It's relatively short and easy to read since it focuses on character and personalities rather than dry facts. The narrative flows so well that you really feel as if you're there in the room or on the embankments with Washington, a young Hamilton, et al. Even though the book is listed as fiction, it appears to have been well researched and the book does contain notes and a bibliography. I was never interested in this period of US history before, but this piqued my interest and now I'm planning to read more "scholarly" works to get a more in-depth understanding of the era.

if you remember freedom road, you'll like this retelling of washington's recrossing the delaware river--with a new introduction by 85 year old howard fast

I read this based on the fact that I enjoyed the movie adaptation so much. The movie credits characterized it as "a novel", but if it is a novelized telling, I can't say that I cared for the almost complete "third person" way in which it was done. If Howard Fast could write such great dialogue for the screenplay, I'm not sure why he didn't do it for the book itself. I believe it would have had a more readable flow to it. It couldn't seem to decide if it was a novel or a factual narrative. His historical notes in the back were more interestingly told than the "story" itself. I may have thought better of it if I had read the book first, but after the screenplay, it was a disappointment.

I've read the historical accounts of the Delaware Crossing and the subsequent battle of Trenton. However, Howard Fast's work puts you inside the head of the characters. Granted some of this can be done with historical documents, but it can be clumsy and certainly less literate than this book. It's not a true history book, but it's a great way to get started or to help you visualize what happened.

having just viewed the a&e presentation on television,i was surprised to see general horatio gates present at the meeting or council of war that washington held at the merrick house. i can find no fact in actual histories that place gates at this meeting.since this is a novel perhaps the author is allowed some deviation from history.