The American Revolutionary War

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The author delivers a compelling interpretation of the Revolutionary War with intricate details of the battles and descriptions of the individuals who were a part of this intriguing part of American history. Ferling does a great job breaking this historical event into four unique segments, which assist the reader in understanding various components of the war. The breakdowns define distinct areas of the Revolutionary War, which allows the reader to grasp small and understand parts of this historical event, enabling the reader to put these elements together with a better understanding of the Revolutionary War. Ferling, does a great job with this; his four breakouts which are “Going to War”, “The War in the North”, The War in the South” and finally “American Victory”, give a great visually to each area he has decided to break the war into. Given the length of this book, many could consider this an intimidating read; however, Ferling’s ability to keep the story moving freely keeps the book from bogging down. For me the most interesting part of the book was how Ferling described the onset of the American colonist going to war with the British. He was able to in my opinion show how America in those early days struggled and attempted to define themselves, while at the same time stand up for what they felt was right. The interesting thing about this particular book is the author did not focus on one particular character. Ferling, introduced men like, General Israel Putnam, Benedict Arnold, Henry Lee, and Henry Knox who were instrumental to the Continental Army. However, many he called attention to where individuals, who were not as prominent as men, were like George Washington, John Paul Jones or even Paul Revere, who most people... ... middle of paper ... ...n regards to the Revolutionary War. Ferling was able to cover a broad topic, yet go in enough detail to keep the reader interested. As I mentioned earlier, his research was excellent, and this came through with his pictorial examples and his writing. I have not read many books about this particular period in American History; however, I believe the author has a great compassion and insight for this particular subject. Ferling was able through his writing to explain these events in such a way, that those who read the book, will not only gain a better understanding of the Revolutionary War, but also enjoy learning as they read and excellent deliberation about the colonies and their early struggles to become and independent nation. Works Cited John Ferling, Almost a Miracle, The American Victory In the War of Independence, New York: Oxford University Press. 2007

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