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VALCOUR

Name: VALCOUR
Author: Jack Kelly
ISBN: 978-1-250-24711-7

THE 1776 CAMPAIGN THAT SAVED THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY

by Jack Kelly ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2021

A boon for fans of Revolutionary-era military history.

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An expert chronicle of an early Revolutionary War operation that deserves to be better known. Journalist and historian Kelly reminds readers that the summer of 1776 saw the end of the rebels’ first major campaign, and it wasn’t led by Washington, who was then engaged in his disastrous Long Island battles. A year earlier, a two-pronged American invasion of Canada had captured Montreal before disintegrating in the face of resistance, disease, and brutal winter weather. In June 1776, the miserable soldiers retreated to the Lake Champlain area. Few doubted that the victorious Canadians, reinforced by newly arrived British regiments, would follow. Breaking through the lake’s defenses, including the decrepit Fort Ticonderoga, would open the road to the Hudson River and the heart of the Colonies. The author describes four months of frantic activity around the lake, culminating in the October 1776 naval battle off Valcour Island in Lake Champlain. Led by Benedict Arnold, who “exerted his authority by means of a steely will, a profane tongue, and a hot temper,” the inferior American forces were overwhelmed after a brutal battle. However, the onset of winter persuaded the British to withdraw and return the following spring, when they met disaster in the form of a reinforced opponent at the Battle of Saratoga. Most historians agree that Valcour was a decisive campaign and that the three generals responsible (Philip Schuyler, Horatio Gates, and Arnold) performed well—even though all ended the war in disgrace. As in Band of Giants (2014), Kelly demonstrates his firm grasp of the period’s history and characters. Not content with biographies of the major figures and a fine account of the preparations and battle, he ably describes the military culture of the times, the self-defeating politics of the Continental Congress, the design and operation of the various ships, and the tactical problems of fighting on lakes versus the ocean. A boon for fans of Revolutionary-era military history.

Pub Date: April 6, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-250-24711-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

HISTORY | HISTORICAL & MILITARY | MILITARY | UNITED STATES

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NIGHT

by Elie Wiesel & translated by Marion Wiesel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2006

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...

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Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.

He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.

Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006

ISBN: 0374500010

Page Count: 120

Publisher: Hill & Wang

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006

Categories:

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | HOLOCAUST | HISTORY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | GENERAL HISTORY

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FILLED WITH FIRE AND LIGHT
by Elie Wiesel ; edited by Alan Rosen

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THE TALE OF A NIGGUN
by Elie Wiesel ; illustrated by Mark Podwal

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NIGHT
by Elie Wiesel ; translated by Marion Wiesel

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWELVE SHIPWRECKS

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A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWELVE SHIPWRECKS

by David Gibbins ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024

Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.

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A popular novelist turns his hand to historical writing, focusing on what shipwrecks can tell us.

There’s something inherently romantic about shipwrecks: the mystery, the drama of disaster, the prospect of lost treasure. Gibbins, who’s found acclaim as an author of historical fiction, has long been fascinated with them, and his expertise in both archaeology and diving provides a tone of solid authority to his latest book. The author has personally dived on more than half the wrecks discussed in the book; for the other cases, he draws on historical records and accounts. “Wrecks offer special access to history at all…levels,” he writes. “Unlike many archaeological sites, a wreck represents a single event in which most of the objects were in use at that time and can often be closely dated. What might seem hazy in other evidence can be sharply defined, pointing the way to fresh insights.” Gibbins covers a wide variety of cases, including wrecks dating from classical times; a ship torpedoed during World War II; a Viking longship; a ship of Arab origin that foundered in Indonesian waters in the ninth century; the Mary Rose, the flagship of the navy of Henry VIII; and an Arctic exploring vessel, the Terror (for more on that ship, read Paul Watson’s Ice Ghost). Underwater excavation often produces valuable artifacts, but Gibbins is equally interested in the material that reveals the society of the time. He does an excellent job of placing each wreck within a broader context, as well as examining the human elements of the story. The result is a book that will appeal to readers with an interest in maritime history and who would enjoy a different, and enlightening, perspective.

Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.