Customer Reviews

A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a very thorough and well researched book that covers all the battles of the American Revolution. I liked the way that it covers the battles also in chronological order, providing the British perspective and American perspective leading up to the battle, the terrain, giving the leaders, and numbers of troops of each side, the casualties, and the aftermath. The main part of the battles highlights the fighting along with a map for most of the battles. The major battles have more pages of coverage of course, but the minor ones even provide some depth and detail. One suggestion: since this is essentially a reference listing of the battles and not a total history of the American Revolutionary War, before reading this book, you may want to pick up a good basic book on the American Revolution to get an understanding of the lead up to the war, the major causes, and the campaigns. However, for folks knowledgeable about the American Revolutionary War, this is an excellent book, and well worth the investment, and can be for everyone with some background reading.

A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution is a superior, thorough, and succinct work that illuminates the dawn of our country for future generations. The authors provide an unbiased and clearly formatted book that allows the reader to see the battles that shaped the Revolutionary War. This book can serve as a comprehensive review of the entire war, or can afford the reader with a reference for specific battles and leaders. The authors took great care to use current military terminology to add a modern context to events that occurred over 200 years ago. In this respect, I feel they are to be commended because readers of this outstanding book can relate our early struggles as a nation to events occurring today. Thoroughly enjoyable, great read, this book owns a special place on my bookshelf.

I did not realize that any history on the battles of our own revolutionary war could be written in a way that made it so interesting and insightful. Theodore Savas and David Dameron have compiled a book that is absolutely second to none in this genre. The book is simply called "Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution"; however, what is inside their book is anything but simple. It is packed with facts and data and told in a narrative that makes for easy reading and understanding.

The authors have created a format that will make any history buff salivate in pure joy. There are maps of all the battles with great details on them. There are facts about the opposing forces so you understand who had what advantages in manpower or weapons. There is even an analysis of what each army was trying to do and what resulted. This is the kind of book that makes history easily understood. I learned something new almost on ever single page of this book and I am very well read on the subject. The research is top notch.

This book is suitable for all readers including teenagers. It is history unlike you have ever read before. The MWSA gives this book our highest rating of FIVE STARS but it is really a TEN STAR accounting of the war!

This book receives this reviewer's personal endorsement as a must buy and have in your own private collection book! I loved this book!

MWSA - 2006 Gold Star Book Award for History

Of the half dozen or so encyclopedic works on the American Revolution, two have stood out in their treatment of the war's military aspects.
One--Mark Mayo Boatner's 2006 revision of Encyclopedia of the American Revolution--is a magnificant achievement but its $345 retail price is formidable. And while Boatner's work is much broader in its coverage--describing even mere skirmishes--it does not describe all battles in the depth that the Savas and Dameron guide does. The Savas and Dameron guide does an outstanding job of setting the battles of the Revolution in their strategic and geographic context. Further, it does so in very clear, concise writing. For this reason, this book should be of interest not just to historians and college students but to general readers with more than a passing interest in their nation's history. Fortunately, thereasonable price will make it affordable to such readers.
Dr. Michael Hughes, military history editor

Thousands of books are published every year. For some subjects like the American Civil War, it's been speculated that there's a new book every minute. Few, however, are ever accorded the status of classic. Classic are those timeless literary works that are as relevant today as the day it was written. They continue to be read long after the original author is gone. Classics set the watermark by which newer works are judged. For the American Revolution, students and scholars alike have long acknowledged that Mark Boatner's Encyclopedia of the American Revolution is one of those classics.

Theodore Savas and J. David Dameron's A Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution is a new book that deserves a place alongside of Boatner's Encylopedia. Heavily research, the authors describe the battles of the American Revolution on this continent, on the high seas and aboard. Each battle provides the perspective of the belligerents, a table of organization, the outcome affect and an excellent map illustrating unit movement and terrain. Since the authors also describe the battle site as it is seen today, A Guide To The Battles of the American Revolution is an ideal travel companion for those disposed towards visiting historic sites.

Whether one is a casual reader of the American Revolution or a serious scholar, A Guide To The Battles of the American Revolution is destined to become a standard reference that will attain classic status. One can only hope that the authors collaborate to write on other American wars.

I have just finished reading, " A Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution" and have to say it is THE ONE indispensable book on the subject. The research was incredible and extremely detailed. This book should be kept nearby when reading any other book on the subject.
Each battle is subdivided into the American perspective,British perspective (both their outlook and officers), terrain, weather, maps,actual battle, outcome and what the area is like now.
The book reads like fiction due the authors' ability to link the battles into a common historical thread. It is gratifying to see so much information in a book of this size.
If General Howe had been this organized we would all be drinking tea and not spending our money on overpriced coffee.:-)

"A Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution" is a 288-page, nicely illustrated, comprehensive, informed and informative history of every single engagement between American and British forces during the six year war of the American Revolution from first shots fired at Bunker Hill to the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781 resulting in the final defeat of the English and the emancipation of the colonies from British rule. Co-written by Theodore Savas (author and managing director of Sava Beatie) and David Dameron (author and historian), "A Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution" is organized with each military engagement entry beginning with introductory details (date of the battle, location, commanders, opposing forces, terrain, weather, time of day), followed by both Colonial and British perspectives of the unfolding military situation, a detailed and unbiased account of what actually transpired, a discussion of numbers and losses, an assessment of the consequences of the battle, and suggestions for further reading. A work of impressive historical scholarship, "A Guide To The Battles Of The American Revolution" is thoroughly 'reader friend' and a very welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library American History collections in general, and American Military History collections in particular.

This is the best overall book I have viewed and read on the American Revolution in a long time. Even if you do not have a lot of previous knowledge of the battles and background of the war the war it is easy to read and understand. The forward, introductory section, and futher reading sections after each battle are excellant. Even the Naval War is covered. This should be a required book in all High School and College history courses. This will go on my shelf next to Boatners Encyclopedia of the American revolution. Many thanks to the Authors.

"A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution" is an excellent title for anyone who wants to know more basics on several Revolutionary War engangements (major and minor). Whether summarizing major battles (Bunker Hill, Guilford Courthouse, Saratoga, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Brandywine, Germantown, etc.) or smaller engagements, each chapter follows the same basic format:
1. Date
2. Region
3. Commanders and number of men
4. Time of day and weather conditions
5. British perspective
6. American perspective
7. Terrain
8. Summary of engagement
9. Casualties
10. Outcome
11. Remains of the battlefield (if any)

If you are looking for a book with more detailed battle descriptions, then I would suggest looking for titles that focus on a single battle or campaign. However, if you are looking for a book that summarizes several aspects of an engagement, then this is the one!

Read and enjoy. Highly recommended.

This is a difficult review to write and I finally settled on four stars. The authors have filled an important niche in Revolutionary War literature, one providing summaries of all important (but not all!) battles of the Revolutionary War for quick reference. This by itself is extremely useful even though the mere act of summarizing actions necessarily leaves much out and can create impressions of neatness on the battlefield that does not reflect reality. In some summaries the authors mention difficulties in reconciling contradictory reports, and indeed, sometimes it is impossible to reconcile some reports into a summary. In those cases, one can only mention the conflicting viewpoints and leave the situation open to further study. Without such presentation, the summary is hardly definitive but rather more of a educated guess, and such qualification is needed so that an uninformed reader does not take the summary as gospel.

I applaud the authors for attempting to present casualties as a means of constructing a scorecard, but a major word of caution is needed here. Often the casualties on the American side were understated due to a lack of efficient staff work, and militia casualties often went totally unreported. Desertion almost always was a factor, as was the fact that many soldiers going missing and then sometimes returning after the battle, sometimes not. The captured number of Americans must be taken from the British reports, and these were often inflated. In short, the casualties on one's own side were usually understated, while those of the enemy were over-estimated. In addition, the number of killed did not include those mortally wounded which sometimes represented a major portion of those reported as wounded. Not only that, but of the Americans captured by the British, few ever returned to fight again. Some 20,000 Americans died in British captivity (not all soldiers), and those paroled or exchanged were usually too feeble to fight again and many expired within months of release. So the actual American casualties in killed (killed in battle, died of wounds, died in captivity, or died soon after parole or exchange, can be assumed to approach 70% of the total casualties. Rebellion was/is truly a serious business.

Another plus point in this work was the inclusion of many often totally overlooked campaigns and battles in popular history. The Cherokee Campaign comes immediately to mind, and this was important since it led to the Southerners eventually expelling the Cherokees and creating the "Trail of Tears." Americans tend to forget the Cherokees supported the British and attacked patriots from the rear while the British attacked from the front. This was not forgiven in the Carolinas and Tennessee, and the Cherokees later paid dearly for their actions.

I felt the book was excellent within the scope of what the work presents and would have deserved five stars except for two factors. The first is certain errors in proofing. For example at White Plains, Rahl took up a position beyond the American right, not the left. At Quebec, Morgan actually made his way into Lower Town, rather than turning into the Upper Town as shown by the map. Unfortunately, there were a number of such mistakes that the authors would be well-advised to correct in later editions.

The second factor is that this work does not include all battles -- Short Hills and the various skirmishes in New York and Connecticut during the siege of New York in 1778-1781 (one in which Washington's Lifeguard was roughly handled) are missing. Perhaps these and others that do not immediately come to mind could be included in a later edition.

All in all, this work is well recommended.