Description

In the second volume of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson’s acclaimed trilogy on the American Revolution, following his bestselling work The British Are Coming, George Washington’s army struggles in the delicate balance between victory and disaster.

The opening twenty-one months of the Revolution—from Lexington to Princeton—witnessed an ill-equipped, worn-down group of soldiers and militiamen desperately fighting to create a new country. By the winter of 1777, the Continental Army had narrowly avoided total defeat at the hands of the world’s most powerful military force.

Two years into the conflict, Britain’s King George III remains adamant about crushing rebellion in his colonies. However, his mission has grown increasingly complicated. The expense of fighting a stubborn enemy across the Atlantic Ocean has skyrocketed, and intelligence suggests the French and Spanish are considering alliances with the Americans, potentially changing the course of the war.

Rick Atkinson delivers an engrossing narrative documenting the crucial middle period of the Revolution. Benjamin Franklin works from Paris to secure French support, while George Washington, stationed in Pennsylvania, urgently appeals to Congress for the men, supplies, and funds he desperately requires. Meanwhile, British commander General William Howe, based in New York and leading the largest British army ever sent abroad, prepares a new offensive but begins to doubt whether victory can still be achieved.

Atkinson vividly recounts epic clashes at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, alongside the brutal, heartbreaking winter encampment at Valley Forge, capturing the escalating sacrifices demanded of every American dedicated to liberty.

Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Revolution’s start, Atkinson’s expertly researched narrative presents not only compelling drama and detailed history but also a fresh examination of the responsibilities and sacrifices democracy demands from its citizens.