THE REAL REVOLUTION

Charging war elephants, bank failures in Scotland and Daniel Boone all play a part in this “transnational” study of the American Revolution, the final installment in a trilogy, which, with Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado (2000) and John Winthrop, Oliver Cromwell, and the Land of Promise (2004), covers early English explorations of the New World through the American Revolution. Aronson here offers a new way to look at the subject, supplying the global context often neglected in textbooks and demonstrating how the lessons of the Revolution are relevant today. Robert Clive and the East India Company, George Washington and James Wolfe are the major players here in the history as theater format used in the three volumes. The handsome text is fully illustrated with excellent archival prints, portraits, engravings and maps (not seen in the uncorrected proofs), and the bibliography is superb, including works for adults and younger readers. Web sites are included and extensive source notes are informative. A strong choice for history classrooms and a must for all libraries. (cast of characters, timeline) (Nonfiction. 12+)