Customer Reviews

Liberty! The American Revolution

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the most irritating things about studying the Revolution from an American perspective is that it's so totally iconized that you can't connect with it anymore. Everyone involved is seen as perfect gods or devils, and that elevation removes them from the sphere of normal humanity; you can't relate to them anymore. This book brings the Revolution back down to Earth, and doesn't just talk about battles. It focuses on people, on the politics behind the various events, on how people's personalities influenced pivotal decisions, and yes -- on the battle strategy and tactics as well. (Although I still think they iconized Washington a bit much -- nderstandable, I guess). It's the most comprehensive book on the Revolution, the most engaging, and a fabulous jumping-off point for anyone starting an in-depth study of that period in our history. I always hated history in school -- just a bunch of cartoonish propaganda, memorized names and dates. Books like this help to illustrate how living, and vital, and exciting history is. They help to illustrate that when you get right down to it, history is not only one of the most important subjects in the world, but really the only subject in the world. If you're even VAGUELY curious about the Revolution, buy this book. It'll be the first of many.

Fleming's book is not for everyone, since the inherent limitations of the format will turn off some readers wanting a more in depth analysis of the war, its causes, or its numerous battles and personalities. If you purchase the book thinking you are buying a beautifully illustrated, well-written coffee table book about the Revolution, with numerous interesting "asides" on topics ranging from the Liberty Bell, origins of the Flag, etc., then you will be richly rewarded with this purchase.

Fleming has done his research, and I thought the text was well-written and detailed enough to provide a well-rounded overview of the struggle. Many of the war's colorful characters, like Banastre Tarleton, Nathaniel Greene, Benedict Arnold, John Burgoyne and Samuel Adams, are explored well both in print and in the excellent illustrations. For those readers whose curiosity is piqued by this book, and who want a more thorough account of the war as well as a detailed discussion of the political and biographical backgrounds that Fleming cannot include here, I recommend Robert Leckie's excellent one volume George Washington's War.

The volume, 'Liberty! The American Revolution' by Thomas Fleming, is a companion volume to the wonderful PBS series by the same name, a six-part treatment of the period leading up to and including the American Revolution in the mid-to-late 1700s.

As Fleming shows in his text, the seeds of the American Revolution were planted long before the actual conflicts began. This was not an overnight decision on the part ofthe colonists or the British; intense negotiations and political attempts were made for years prior to the outbreak of hostilities. The colonists largely came from Britain; the leadership certainly looked to Britain for political, moral and cultural guidance, as well as primary trade and security vis-a-vis the Spanish, the French, and the Native Americans. American leaders were, by and large, British leaders too -- George Washington held a commission and fought with the British in the French and Indian War.

This was a family break-up in many ways -- Fleming's astute use of the actual words of the people of the time show the emotions that conflict, the love-hate relationship both sides embodied. The first chapter shows the beginnings of discontent on both sides, with the colonists beginning to be stressed over being ignored by the British leadership, and the British leadership, in the form of George III, newly ascended to the throne, and various high-powered ministers, feeling that the colonists were rather ungrateful toward their (so-they-considered-themselves-to-be) rightful lords.

Liberty, ironically, was what George III and his first minister, William Pitt, were all about. The Seven-Years War was won as a fight for liberty; the colonies in America and elsewhere were won over to Britain, who had a parliamentary democracy (however poorly enacted) as opposed to absolute monarchy (such as in France). So, the break-up between Britain and the American colonies becomes all the more troublesome -- not only were the opposing sides practically family, but largely believed the same things.

Fleming never makes the direct comparison, but one can get the sense of Jonathan Swift here, that the battles are fought over relatively minor things (like which side of the egg to crack) -- in the scheme of world politics then and now, the controversies were relatively slight. However, the issues of taxation, governance and respect were important, not perhaps so much for what they were, but for what they did portend as future treatment, and the colonists did not like being second-class citizens in a British-dominated world, even if, to the British leadership, being second-class British was better than being almost anything else. There was also the spectre of the Irish tyranny, perpetrated by the English, that loomed large as a possibility. Sadly, one cannot say that these fears were unjustified.

Fleming's book is intriguing, introducing sides to the conflict that one doesn't recall from grade-school and high-school civics classes -- the conflicts among the colonies themselves; the dissent among the colonies who often wanted a repair rather than a break with Britain; and the personal reflections and fears of the founding fathers and mothers (yes, there were many women involved in this process). Using diaries, correspondence, official documents and media reports of the time, Fleming weaves together a narrative history that achieves a good popular balance between historical detail and narrative reporting.

Fleming's admiration for the founding Americans, their bravery and their intelligence, is very apparent. Fleming's concern to present the British in a fair and balanced light is also apparent, and often portrayed as trying to be reasonable and responsive to many of the colonial concerns, if not always pleasant and courteous to the colonial leaders themselves. The writing is interesting and thoughtful, and done in a popular tone that gives personality to the people who figure in the events.

Fleming's final chapter looks at the aftermath of the war, and the struggle for unity as a nation. George Washington's statement that liberty could be both a blessing and curse was taken to heart -- when the Constitutional Convention met to amend the Articles of Confederation, it went far beyond its original mandate, and it was telling that not all colonies sent representatives, and not all that were sent agreed to stay through the proceedings.

The format of the book is quite nice to read -- there are pull-quotes, text boxes, full-colour pictures, drawings, maps, and charts. There are 'visual interest' items on every page, from grand paintings of conventions and major persons, to small details, such as the 'dove of peace' weathervane Washington installed at Mount Vernon prior to his depature to become President. The book is well-indexed, and matches the companion television series very well, but is also perfectly suitable as a stand-alone volume.

A great read in many ways, it makes a great gift for anyone (or to oneself) with an interest in history.

It is doubtful whether any other book on the American Revolution could compete with Thomas Fleming's 'Liberty' when it comes to artwork. This illustrated history is ablaze with colour- including great paintings of the Battle of Concord, the redcoats advancing up Breeds Hill (often mistakenly called Bunker Hill in other works),the fierce fire-fight at the Guildford Courthouse,Washington and von Steuben reviewing that ragged Continental army at Valley Forge, and much more. In fact, the failing of illustrated histories is that they often distract from the text or, alternatively, have an inadequate text (Fleming however, writes well and for an overview of the Revolution this is a fine book).The other distraction is the frequent stories within the story. Whilst giving additional information( eg on women in the revolution,the role of indians, or life in the 13 colonies etc) it tends to distract the readers attention from the main text. These criticisms aside, this book could never be described as dull-either in text or pictures- and is a good starting point for the general reader to learn more about America's beginnings as a nation.

Thomas Fleming has written a most comprehensive overview of the American revolution. He gives us the causes, the players, the conflict and the outcome. Extremely well organized and very well written. Nicely illustrated. The seperate sidebar articles give the reader ample background on such issues as what America was like and what Americans were like during the period. He tells us about slavery. He tells us about the German soldiers hired out to the British by the varius greedy princes. He tells us about George III who was personally a wonderful human being but a political want to be despot and cunning politician but narrowmindedness ultimately proved his undoing. He really does a great job.

Really a great book on the subject. Combined with the video cassets of the same name, this book makes a great and entertaining means for obtaining a basic view of the American revolution.

Too often our knowledge of the Revolutionary War is maimed by our simplistic grade school education. This introduction to this subject gives us a wall-to-wall view of the era. Both the British and Colonial sides of the conflict are given. In addition, the excellent illustrations and Mr. Fleming's great writing keeps us reading and looking at this book.

If you can find it and afford it, get it.

Thomas Flemming's coffee table companion to the television series Liberty is a good book to have around. It's the kind of easy-to-pick-up-and-browse book that will entertain and inform on a moment's notice. It's accessibility is a positive -- its the kind of book that children can pick up and browse, take in a few vignettes and become attracted to the Revolution at their own pace without the intimidation provided by a more typical history.

This is a well illustrated book making good use of period paintings and maps. The side vignettes on break out topics often provide fascinating highlights to the main story. The writing is good, although the amount of information provided classifies this book as an overview. The serious student may want the book for the illustrations, but the words cover the broad sweep of the war at a level they will already be familiar with. These factors make it an excellent introduction to the topic.

I have never seen the documentary series on which this book is base. But, who needs to see it on TV when you have high-quality color photographs of war paintings and artifacts, not to mention an in-depth narrative on the history of the American Revolution? The book is enough, and money well spent, especially for the student in your home.

I was sceptical when I started it; come on, a TV companion? How deep can that be? But I found this book thorough, vivid, and well-paced. Putting it down every night (over the four nights I read it) was very hard. Fleming illustrates how little actually separated the two sides ideologically, and how close we came to losing as a result. He also describes the participants in all thier humanity, from Washington's tirades against incompetent field commanders, to Greene's deliberate attempts to claim credit for Benedict Arnold's victorious actions at Saratoga, to Cornwallis being ordered to Yorktown during a snit by his superior ... and digging in to spite that superior, giving Washington and the French time to trap him. This book is a must have if one is to understand the ideals upon which this country is founded and the people who emplaced those ideals in the Constitution.

I continue to be surprised with these movie "companion" books (the Civil War by Geoffrey Ward and Panther by Mario Van Peebles are other notable works). This is an excellent summary of the Revolution and, at some levels, exceeds other more celebrated accounts. We get all kinds of "context" presented with the numerous pictures and paintings as well as little "side-bars" that richly describe,among other things, life in the 13 colonies, the Liberty Bell story and the truth concerning Betsey Ross and the American Flag. Fleming's writing is good, if not a tad "dry", but some details are covered better here than in other histories (the little-known battle of Monotomny as the British are retreating from Concorde is given excellent coverage, for example...). The post-war era up to and including the development and the signing of the Constitution is remarkably detailed and, from which, I learned much. The biggest critique that I'd discuss is the almost criminal lack of maps...these types of books generally make their reputations on the inclusion of excellent battle maps (again, Ward's "Civil War" is the standard), but they are very noticably lacking here. Finally, as other reviewers have stated, this should not be viewed as a comprehensive covering of the war, but it is an excellent introduction and, notwithstanding the movie, completely stands on it's own.