I joined a history book club and we finally finished up the book The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson. Because it’s a whale of a book at 700+ page (100+ pages were notes), we broke it down and discussed it in two different months (April and May). I do admit that I still need to finish up a few chapters, as I skipped some in the middle when it slowed down.
Overall, The British Are Coming is a fascinating read because of the British perspective on the Revolution, but I do wish that it were not so detailed. I know, that sounds weird, but there are too many quotes. There is not a Revolutionary diary that Atkinson is not quoting from and I usually felt he was being a bit wordy and needed to get to the point quicker. The book focused more on the battles and I was also hoping for a bit more about the cast of characters, as we know those Founders were doing things and traveling all over the place. This is part one of three book series and it only covers about three years.
Here is the book blurb “From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable fighting force. It is a gripping saga alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathanael Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who becomes a brilliant battle captain; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves to be the wiliest of diplomats; George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost. The story is also told from the British perspective, making the mortal conflict between the redcoats and the rebels all the more compelling” (https://revolutiontrilogy.com/books/the-british-are-coming/).
I do recommend the book, but it really makes you wonder how the Americans actually won the Revolution with all their dumb mistakes, lack of money, lack of soldiers, lack of shoes, etc.
The next book we are reading is The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John Barry.
