by John Ferling
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Product Description
In this gripping chronicle of America's struggle for independence, award-winning historian John Ferling transports readers to the grim realities of that war, capturing an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle."
Almost a Miracle offers an illuminating portrait of America's triumph, offering vivid descriptions of all the major engagements, from the first shots fired on Lexington Green to the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, revealing how these battles often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity, and surprise. The author paints sharp-eyed portraits of the key figures in the war, including General Washington and other American officers and civilian leaders. Some do not always measure up to their iconic reputations, including Washington himself. Others, such as the quirky, acerbic Charles Lee, are seen in a much better light than usual. The book also examines the many faceless men who soldiered, often for years on end, braving untold dangers and enduring abounding miseries. The author explains why they served and sacrificed, and sees them as the forgotten heroes who won American independence. Ferling's narrative is also filled with compassion for the men who comprised the British army and who, like their American counterparts, struggled and died at an astonishing rate in this harsh war. Nor does Ferling ignore the naval war, describing dangerous patrols and grand and dazzling naval actions.
Finally, Almost a Miracle takes readers inside the legislative chambers and plush offices of diplomats to reveal countless decisions that altered the course of this war. The story that unfolds is at times a tale of folly, at times one of appalling misinformation and confusion, and now and then one of insightful and dauntless statesmanship.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent all-around, 2008-08-22
This is a solid book. It's sure to please both the casual reader who picks up a history book now and then, as well as those who are really into the American revolution as a particular interest/hobby. Both types of reader will find this book rewarding.
I'm an avid reader of books about the American Revolution, and was asking myself whether yet another general book covering the whole set of events would be worthwhile, especially a 600 page one. The short answer is: yes, it's worthwhile.
It covers familiar territory: the revolutionary war. However, many other American Revolution books tend to focus on the events leading up to the war and then the beginning of the fighting, and thus have a geographic focus on the Northeast where the early stuff happened (e.g. Boston Tea Party, Shot Heard Round The World, Continental Congress, Saratoga, etc). The latter years of the war - that is to say, the last 80-85 % of it - and the war's expansive geography across the colonies (and indeed overseas) are often neglected. The main contribution of this particular volume is in extending the war temporally and geographically for the reader, to articulate what really took place - a long, drawn out affair across a huge swath of space and time. The war, as most know, ended in the South, and while it's obvious that somehow we got from Boston to Yorktown during this fight, the migration of the war to and then through the south is not familiar history. This book definitely fills in the gap, covering the broad scope of the war in ways that not many books on this topic do.
Well-written, interesting, and well-researched, this book is an excellent addition to anyone's Revolution collection. I see it as a good companion volume to some of the other main books such as 1776. It's a good introductory/general overview of the war for those who intend later to dig further into specialized or narrower topics.
I would have to agree with a few of the commenters below, who were taken slightly aback by the critical or perhaps just anti-fawning lens through which some of the main protagonists (Washington, Franklin, etc.) are viewed. That did get slightly irritating; the modern reader hardly needs to be told that historical figures are full of flaws, as we are frequently assaulted by historians whose raison d'etre is to minimize and "humanize" through reduction the larger-than-life figures that pop up now and then throughout history. In the case of understanding the revolutionary era, under-emphasizing the heroic personalities of major players like Washington tends to lead to over-emphasis of the capabilities and achievements of secondary players such as Lee, which may not be presenting the situation accurately. While slightly discontent with this aspect of the book, I felt that it stopped a few yards short of being "revisionist" or hyper-critical in a cloying post-modern sense, so I'm not dinging Ferling a star, and am giving the book a Solid Five.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Best Book on the American Revolution, 2008-07-28
This is the best book that I've read on the American Revolution. Unlike some other good books, it covers the whole story from the start until the end and every aspect of the war including the overseas negotiations, the unknown war around New York between 1779-1781, and does an especially good job of covering the southern war.
Unlike other good books on the American Revolution, which don't really give the Southern campaign much emphasis, this one does, because the events of late 1780 and early 1781, including Kings Mountain, Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse did lead Cornwallis to move to Virginia which of course led to the concluding battle at Yorktown. The author lays out quite well that the patriot uprising in South Carolina after the loss at Camden was a key event of the American Revolution, because the patriots in South Carolina and North Carolina and the overmountain men in Tennessee rose up to fight for the freedom. Like a recent movie, this book highlights the importance of this and its result.
It also handles the different personalities in a more even approach. Yes, it emphasizes the importance of Washington, but also recognizes that Gates and Lee and most importantly Greene had key roles in the American Revolution. Gates, of course, was the leader at Saratoga, and yes, Arnold played a key role there, but then again Arnold was a traitor. Lee was very helpful to Washington during the New York campaign in 1776 and the book's presentation on Lee at Monmouth opened some slightly different insight on this event. And, then Greene was the real leader in the South - taking a losing cause when he had absolutely inadequate resources and turning it around.
In short, this book takes a more even approach to the American Revolution, in my opinion, and in the process of doing so offers new insights on this period of history. This is why I highly recommend this book for all readers and especially those who have studied this period of history.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Could not have been a better book., 2008-07-27
I will not get into details as there some great reviews here! This book is a terrific read, fast paced, broad in its scope, and brought to life like no other book.
The candor of the author to show both the good and bad sides of the main characters was refreshing and at times, astonishing. It opened my eyes to the difficult decisions, the hardships, the arrogance, and the desperation that faced the British and the rebels.
By opening up the book to the world wide scope of the revolution was a real surprise. Adams and Franklin in France, the French fleet in the Caribbean, the battles in Canada, and the hard fought struggles in the Carolinas brought me the meaning of the first world war.
Delightful book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Very Good Military History, 2008-06-27
I greatly enjoyed "Almost a Miracle", which reviewed the Revolutionary war from the point of view of the military. It is intended by the author as a companion volume to "A Leap in the Dark" (2003) which covers the political side of the war. (Full disclosure: I have not read the earlier book.)
Plusses: + The military focus filled in for me a side of the war that I was not as familiar with. + The book covered military action throughout the country, including that in the South. The latter is presented as pivotal in the outcome of the war; the other books I have read on the war gloss over much of the Southern action and focus on the North. + The book features biographical summaries for many senior officers on both sides, along with portraits, who are not given much attention in most Revolutionary War books.
Minuses: - The author can sometimes be excruciatingly repetitive, as evidenced by his use of the words "Fabian strategy" at least 10 or 20 times throughout the book. - About half-way through the book, the author starts using an excessive number of idiomatic phrases. Two examples, of the many scattered throughout the text: one general was "hot under the collar"; two others where "not on the same wavelength". I felt that the latter phrase was especially egregious due to its anachronistic nature; radio waves were not even invented until the late 19th century. These may be nits; however, a good editor could have cleaned them up.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent all around book about Revolutionary War!, 2008-06-19
What a well written book. This book may look big and overwhelming, but give it a try. The author has a writing style that just consumes you. Before you know you have read 50 pages and learned something new on each page. Gives information on all aspects of the war. I would highly encourage people to read this book.
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