NPR

'In The Hurricane's Eye' Focuses On Naval Power's Role In The Victory At Yorktown

In his new book, Nathaniel Philbrick grabs the reader's head and turns it towards the sea, providing a fresh take on an old story of the Revolutionary War.
Nathaniel Philbrick attends "In The Heart Of The Sea" film premiere at Lincoln Center in New York City on Dec. 7, 2015 .

Nathaniel Philbrick's masterful new look at the American Revolutionary War's end days isn't quite revisionist history, but it comes close. With both hands, he grabs the reader's head and turns it towards the sea.

Naval power, according to the account in his new book In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the, was central to the victory at Yorktown — but is largely overlooked because the decisive sea battle that preceded it did not involve Americans.

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