Reviews

Leckie, who has written popular histories of the American Civil War, World War II, the Korean War, and others, now offers a fife-and-drum account of the American Revolution. This book, like his others, is long on anecdote and short on analysis. Leckie drags out many tired commonplaces, casting the patriots as heroes and the British as villains, and he focuses on kings and generals rather than common soldiers or a people at war. Leckie's deft vignettes of leaders and his belief that ``right'' won in the end give his account energy and conviction, but his old-school reading of the causes and conduct of the war and his total neglect of its consequences limit the book's worth.--Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia

This fast-paced, vivid narrative enhances Leckie's reputation as a popular military historian ( Delivered from Evil ; None Died in Vain ). A storyteller in the tradition of Bruce Catton, he perceives the origins of the American Revolution in the colonists' increasingly pervasive drive for independence and describes the revolution's success as the consequence of American victories in battle. Leckie has high praise for the fighting men on both sides. The British adapted unfamiliar kinds of warfare; the Americans developed the endurance and discipline they needed to make good on their defiance of the crown. The work's principal strength, however, is its juxtaposition of colorful depictions of the war's principal figures with exciting accounts of the major campaigns. The book is a reminder of what history can be when written by a master. (Sept.)