A stimulating look at the American Revolution by a diligent historian and talented writer.
A fresh view of Britain’s attempt to quash an independence movement that didn’t have to occur.
The British defeat in America was as unnecessary as the war. The colonists never wanted to separate from England; they were willing to pay taxes and support the king. Leading from abroad demanded unrealistic goals and provided insufficient resources. Different strategy, improved leadership at home, and better field commanders would have made a world of difference. The king’s fixation on gaining control of the corridor along the Hudson to Canada was an impossible task, illustrated by Gen. John Burgoyne’s loss at Saratoga. Throughout the war, the English reliance on loyalist support was delusional; any who might have joined them were put off by English and Hessian atrocities. Daughan’s (The Shining Sea: David Porter and the Epic Voyage of the U.S.S. Essex During the War of 1812, 2013, etc.) broad background in the naval history of the period and his inclusion of the English view comprises a portrait of a different revolution than the one taught in textbooks. The English leaders spent more time squabbling with each other than fighting battles. Too often, advantages were not pressed and defeats were snatched from the jaws of victory. Particularly absurd was the failure, without explanation, of Henry Clinton to press the attack on West Point after Benedict Arnold was exposed. It was scheduled within days, but he held back. George Washington had a similar amount of trouble, with subordinates undermining his authority and even, in the case of Gen. Charles Lee, ignoring orders. Throughout the war, Washington’s troops were undersupplied, hungry, and unpaid, and he didn’t even have a standing army until after the evacuation of New York. What Washington had was the ability to reinforce his army, something the British could not do. These stories are fascinating—egos run rampant, and myriad opportunities go by the wayside—and Daughan brings all his subjects to vivid life.
A stimulating look at the American Revolution by a diligent historian and talented writer.Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-393-24572-1
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Chronology, photographs and personal knowledge combine to make a memorable commemorative presentation.
Jackie Kennedy's secret service agent Hill and co-author McCubbin team up for a follow-up to Mrs. Kennedy and Me (2012) in this well-illustrated narrative of those five days 50 years ago when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Since Hill was part of the secret service detail assigned to protect the president and his wife, his firsthand account of those days is unique. The chronological approach, beginning before the presidential party even left the nation's capital on Nov. 21, shows Kennedy promoting his “New Frontier” policy and how he was received by Texans in San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth before his arrival in Dallas. A crowd of more than 8,000 greeted him in Houston, and thousands more waited until 11 p.m. to greet the president at his stop in Fort Worth. Photographs highlight the enthusiasm of those who came to the airports and the routes the motorcades followed on that first day. At the Houston Coliseum, Kennedy addressed the leaders who were building NASA for the planned moon landing he had initiated. Hostile ads and flyers circulated in Dallas, but the president and his wife stopped their motorcade to respond to schoolchildren who held up a banner asking the president to stop and shake their hands. Hill recounts how, after Lee Harvey Oswald fired his fatal shots, he jumped onto the back of the presidential limousine. He was present at Parkland Hospital, where the president was declared dead, and on the plane when Lyndon Johnson was sworn in. Hill also reports the funeral procession and the ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. “[Kennedy] would have not wanted his legacy, fifty years later, to be a debate about the details of his death,” writes the author. “Rather, he would want people to focus on the values and ideals in which he so passionately believed.”
Chronology, photographs and personal knowledge combine to make a memorable commemorative presentation.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4767-3149-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
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