Intro to Revolution

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 

by Rick Atkinson

The Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Rick Atkinson's book is a masterwork of narrative military history. The American Revolution's mythology is stripped away, revealing a grim, chaotic, and profoundly human struggle. The book, which is the magnificent first volume of his Revolution Trilogy, covers the first 21 months of the war and shows how a small-scale colonial uprising turned into a worldwide struggle for independence. The author exhibits meticulously balanced viewpoints, in-depth archival research, and cinematic storytelling.

The story begins with a lengthy prologue set in June 1773, describing King George III inspecting the magnificent Royal Navy at Portsmouth, the pinnacle of British imperial confidence. After that, it moves quickly through the Boston political powder keg, the opening shots at Lexington and Concord, the horrific carnage at Bunker Hill, the catastrophic American invasion of Canada, and the exhausting battle for New York. In the winter of 1776–1777, the book reaches its dramatic climax, depicting the "Ten Crucial Days" when George Washington's desperate surprise actions at Trenton and Princeton alone saved the flagging American cause.

I was captivated by the details in this readable history. It moves quickly while maintaining an incredible level of detail.

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