Customer Reviews

A Short History of the American Revolution

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

 

 

I thought this short history covered the Revolution very well. Most of these type books are very "textbook-ish", but Stokesbury manages to convey the essential history with some color and excitement that makes this stand out. Some details that aren't extensively covered in other more celebrated accounts are clearly told here along with the major stories. Also, and to my great surprise, the maps that are provided are plentiful and clearly anotated that the other more comprehensive accounts lack. I would recommend that anyone interested in the Revolution, but not intimate with all the details, read this book as an introduction.

This is a marvellous book which manages to keep the reader's interest throughout its length and is one of the best start points for anyone who wishes to learn more about the American War of Independence, without swimming in a sea of useless details. I read this book keeping Craig Symonds's ¨Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution¨ on the other hand and I must say that these two works make the ideal pair for the beginner on the subject. Stokesbury's book may be short but this doesn't mean that it lacks analysis or criticism of the various strategies and tactics employed by the opponents- quite the contrary.

If you are looking for a well written and informative one-volume account of the Revolutionary War then go no further. This book will probably not just meet your expectations but surpass them.

Stokesbury's "A Short History of The American Revolution" is a well written, well researched, and honest account of The American fight for independance from the British Crown. I especially appreciated Mr Stokesbury's wit and humor that is sprinkled here and there throughout the book.

At 320pp (283pp main text), this is a nice-size introduction (or review) of the causes and events of the American Revolutionary War. It concentrates on the military aspects, but there are a few helpful digressions on things like the politics in London or the new American Congress (which had to change cities from time to time).

The chapters are as follows:

1) The Causes of War
2) Decision and Indecision
3) Action and Inaction
4) Creating States and Armies
5) War in the Grand Manner
6) The Northern Campaign of 1776
7) Small Mercies
8) March and Countermarch
9) "Agin Burgoyne"
10) The War at Sea
11) Progression and Regression
12) The War Moves South
13) By Land and by Sea
14) Seasons of Disaster
15) The Climax of the War
16) The World War
17) Peacemaking
18) Endings and Beginnings

The writing is generally quite good -- flows well, not too flowery, and the author seems to enjoy his subject. Stokesbury keeps to a mostly chronological account of the major events, battles, campaigns, etc., though, with so many things going on simultaneously, he understandably needs to back up and tell what was going on in place B or C while he was discussing the events of place A. He also occasionally sidesteps into some background information, such as why tensions were high between two individuals, colonies, or nations.

From time to time, the author throws in a military or diplomatic term (or some other, old-fashioned word) that I didn't know. I usually got the gist of it from the context, but a brief glossary of such terms would have been helpful. (After all, someone reading a "brief history" is probably not going to be real familiar with such terminology.)

Once in awhile, I would have to stop and backtrack to remind myself who a particular person was, but maybe that is just me. Also, it sometimes was unclear which year it was, since the narrative sometimes has to temporarily jump backwards in time.

Typical of many such historical volumes, the half-dozen maps are barely adequate and could have benefited from simply showing troop and fleet movements. I would have liked several more maps, too, particularly for the battles -- at least the major ones.

Also, typical of brief overviews/introductions, there are no end/footnotes. However, there is a wonderful, 8-page "Suggestions for Further Reading" section with brief comments, and, of course, an index.

I caught a few typos, including some in the bibliography. (For example, a misspelled author's name, or the first & last names switched, or flipped two digits in the year published.) These are really just annoyances, but a copy-editor should have caught them.

Overall, Professor Stokesbury has done an admirable job in producing a quite readable, informative, concise overview of the causes, events, and circumstances in which the American Revolution was fought. Recommended!

Content: 4
Style & Structure: 3.5
Average Score: 3.75, rounded up to 4

I was able get a quick jump in my knowledge about the Revolution, but it took some work to navigate through this book. I found myself frequently flipping back to previous pages to figure out who he is talking about, where the action is taking place, or even what year it is! It's a bit like driving for many miles without seeing a speed limit sign...one is forced to guess. A reader would do the same amount of work by diving into a full-length, well-written account of this war. On the positive side, the author provides some interesting parallels between his topic and other situations in history, even by adding some humor. It helps to provide more flavor to the reading. He also provides alternatives to some of his assertions, which is the fair thing to do.

For anybody wanting a GREAT overview of this war. The author does a tremendous job of cutting out the FAT and sticking to the core information. You wont get bogged down in chapter after chapter of useless and trivial information. The author only covers the truly crucial things.
I pretty much knew nothing of this event and after reading this book I was able to impress many people. lol. That is not why I read it. I read it because i feel that every American should. After this book I was so inspired with Amer. history, I read a big book on the Civil war.
Some of the minor but interesting points that I remember( I took plenty of notes too on the book so I will never forget) are how difficult it was to fight a war with 17th century communications, the fact that most English opposed the war , and finally the uneasy alliance of the Americans and French. Also some of the most brutal battles in the war were not between Yank and Englishmen it was between Torry and Patriot.
Who would of thought that half of New Yorkers were torries who supported the English Crown.

as in his other "short historys...", stokesbury manages to hit all major events of the war in a concise, managable, and intersting way. He is informative yet entertaining. A must for any american revolution buff, novice or expert.

This book is exactly the type of book that has students across America saying "I hate history." If you are interested in personal storytelling, this is NOT the book for you. I had to read it for the Teaching American History Grant course work, otherwise I would have donated it to the "Gosh I just wasted $15 and ten hours of my life file (it's round...holds things like discarded napkins, etc.)"