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The real history of the American Revolution : a new look at the past / Alan Axelrod.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Sterling, 2007Description: xi, 371 pages : illustrations ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1402740867 :
  • 9781402740862
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • E
Contents:
I. The Pursuit of Happiness. The causes of a revolution -- Colonial living -- Hard acts and shocking ideas -- Invitation to a tea party -- II. Drumming up a War. The flame kindled -- Opening shots -- Green Mountain triumph and Canadian catastrophe -- Boston victory -- II. The Times that Tried Men's Souls. Washington the loser -- Washington the winner -- England's best-laid plans -- Philadelphia fiasco and Saratoga triumph -- The French connection -- Defeat and despair -- Spring and hope -- FIres in the wilderness -- Gone South -- Treason and mutiny -- IV. Most Glorious. Victory at sea -- Another shift to the South -- Yorktown: the world turned upside down -- The peace of Paris and a new order of the ages --
Dramatis Personae: John Adams -- Samuel Adams -- Ethan Allen -- John Andre -- Benedict Arnold -- Crispus Attucks -- Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais -- Daniel Boone -- Joseph Brant -- John Burgoyne (Gentleman Johnny) -- Guy Carleton -- George Rogers Clark -- Henry Clinton -- Charles Cornwallis -- Comte Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse -- Silas Deane -- Comte Charles Hector Theodot d'Estaing -- John Dickinson -- Benjamin Franklin -- Thomas Gage -- Joseph Galloway -- Horatio Gates -- George III -- Lord George Sackville Germain -- Nathaniel Greene -- Lord George Grenville -- Nathan Hale -- Alexander Hamilton -- John Hancock -- Patrick Henry -- Herkimer -- Hopkins -- Richard Howe -- William Howe -- John Jay -- Thomas Jefferson -- John Jones -- Kalb -- Henry Knox -- Knyphause -- Kosciuszko -- Lafayette -- Henry Laurens -- Arthur Lee -- Charles Lee -- Henry Lee ("Light-Horse Harry") -- Benjamin Lincoln -- Francis Marion ("Swamp Fox") -- John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich -- Daniel Morgan -- Robert Morris -- William Moultrie -- Lord Frederick North -- James Otis -- Thomas Paine -- William "The Elder" Pitt -- Casimir Pulaski -- Israel Putnam -- Paul Revere -- Baron Friedrich Riedesel -- Comte de Jean Baptiste Donat
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 973.3 AXE 1 Available T00465853
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ask most Americans why their forefathers started the Revolution, and they'll likely mention "no taxation without representation" or the belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. But that's just the start of the story, as historian Alan Axelrod so brilliantly shows in this eye-opening book. Axelrod offers a fascinating examination of what really caused the breach across the Atlantic and how the revolutionary movement began. The American Revolution brought something unique to the world: an entirely new kind of nation, founded on a set of ideas. In engrossing, conversational prose, Axelrod brings the birth of America to life by digging beneath the classically taught history to explore everything from little-known facts to alternate realities, along with the eyewitness testimony, pop culture, and art of the period. From the seeds of dissent through the long fight to glorious victory, the astonishing story of America's revolution finally comes fully to light.

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 358-359) and index.

I. The Pursuit of Happiness. The causes of a revolution -- Colonial living -- Hard acts and shocking ideas -- Invitation to a tea party -- II. Drumming up a War. The flame kindled -- Opening shots -- Green Mountain triumph and Canadian catastrophe -- Boston victory -- II. The Times that Tried Men's Souls. Washington the loser -- Washington the winner -- England's best-laid plans -- Philadelphia fiasco and Saratoga triumph -- The French connection -- Defeat and despair -- Spring and hope -- FIres in the wilderness -- Gone South -- Treason and mutiny -- IV. Most Glorious. Victory at sea -- Another shift to the South -- Yorktown: the world turned upside down -- The peace of Paris and a new order of the ages --

Dramatis Personae: John Adams -- Samuel Adams -- Ethan Allen -- John Andre -- Benedict Arnold -- Crispus Attucks -- Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais -- Daniel Boone -- Joseph Brant -- John Burgoyne (Gentleman Johnny) -- Guy Carleton -- George Rogers Clark -- Henry Clinton -- Charles Cornwallis -- Comte Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse -- Silas Deane -- Comte Charles Hector Theodot d'Estaing -- John Dickinson -- Benjamin Franklin -- Thomas Gage -- Joseph Galloway -- Horatio Gates -- George III -- Lord George Sackville Germain -- Nathaniel Greene -- Lord George Grenville -- Nathan Hale -- Alexander Hamilton -- John Hancock -- Patrick Henry -- Herkimer -- Hopkins -- Richard Howe -- William Howe -- John Jay -- Thomas Jefferson -- John Jones -- Kalb -- Henry Knox -- Knyphause -- Kosciuszko -- Lafayette -- Henry Laurens -- Arthur Lee -- Charles Lee -- Henry Lee ("Light-Horse Harry") -- Benjamin Lincoln -- Francis Marion ("Swamp Fox") -- John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich -- Daniel Morgan -- Robert Morris -- William Moultrie -- Lord Frederick North -- James Otis -- Thomas Paine -- William "The Elder" Pitt -- Casimir Pulaski -- Israel Putnam -- Paul Revere -- Baron Friedrich Riedesel -- Comte de Jean Baptiste Donat

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Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Prolific author Axelrod (Patton on Leadership; Elizabeth I, CEO) tackles the American Revolution in this breezy popular history. Despite the subtitle, this "nonacademic" treatment of the revolution is straightforward, if not traditional, and the conclusions are familiar. Axelrod argues that the revolution was not a class struggle and left the American people unambiguously better off. He points out that the colonists weren't actually terribly oppressed, and that Gen. George Washington's triumph was in outlasting the British. The key players are portrayed rather conventionally, from the cautious British commander, Gen. William Howe, to the stoic Washington. The sprightly narrative is lavishly illustrated, and intriguing sidebars, such as "Forgotten Faces," "Reality Check" and "Alternate Take," are interspersed throughout the text. If the narrative is largely traditional, these features introduce some unfamiliar figures and surprising facts. Even with few notes and a scant bibliography, this lively narrative with its informative supplementary material makes for an excellent introduction to the revolution for general readers. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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