Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
    Unavailable
    In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
    Unavailable
    In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
    Audiobook9 hours

    In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown

    Written by Nathaniel Philbrick

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Valiant Ambition

    In the fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But as he had learned after two years of trying, coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5, 1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of the Chesapeake—fought without a single American ship—made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability.

    In a narrative that moves from Washington's headquarters on the Hudson River, to the wooded hillside in North Carolina where Nathanael Greene fought Lord Cornwallis to a vicious draw, to Lafayette's brilliant series of maneuvers across Tidewater Virginia, Philbrick details the epic and suspenseful year through to its triumphant conclusion. A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 16, 2018
    ISBN9780525641674
    Unavailable
    In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
    Author

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    Nathaniel Philbrick is a historian and broadcaster who has writen extensively about sailing. He is Director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies on Nantucket Island, and a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association. He was a consultant on the movie ‘Moby Dick’. He has lived on Nantucket with his wife and two children since 1986.

    Related to In the Hurricane's Eye

    Related audiobooks

    Military Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Clash Of Empires

      Sep 30, 2021

      Clash Of Empires
      7 min read

    • Article

      From Revolution To Resolution

      Apr 14, 2022

      From Revolution To Resolution
      2 min read

    • Article

      'In The Hurricane's Eye' Puts Revolutionary War Conflict The Battle Of The Chesapeake Back In Its Deserved Spotlight

      Oct 17, 2018

      'Hurricane' is the newest book from bestselling author of 'In the Heart of the Sea' and 'Valiant Ambition' Nathaniel Philbrick.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Storm of Victory

      Oct 30, 2018

      Storm of Victory
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Lesson of the Great War

      Jul 9, 2018

      The Lesson of the Great War
      5 min read

    • Article

      NAVIES & NATIONS

      Sep 6, 2018

      NAVIES & NATIONS
      3 min read

    • Article

      An Age Of War And Revolution

      Aug 31, 2023

      An Age Of War And Revolution
      5 min read

    • Article

      Picking Fights With Puritans

      Mar 26, 2019

      Picking Fights With Puritans
      3 min read

    • Article

      Two Early Naval Gold Medals

      Apr 19, 2024

      During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress and its successor, the Confederation Government, commemorated significant victories on land and sea against the British by awarding gold medals to key leaders, such as George Washington and John

      9 min read

    • Article

      Bucketworthy Battlefields

      Jan 4, 2022

      Bucketworthy Battlefields
      11 min read

    • Article

      REVOLUTIONARY & NAPOLEONIC

      Jan 23, 2020

      REVOLUTIONARY & NAPOLEONIC
      6 min read

    • Article

      Salty Saga

      Apr 24, 2022

      THE STORY OF THE AMERICA’S CUP 1851-2021, by Ranulf Rayner (Bateman Books, $75 hb) In the public’s eyes, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven, was a cad. Especially during his controversial involvement in the America’s Cup races of 1893

      1 min read

    • Article

      Launching the Greatest Fleet

      Dec 3, 2018

      Launching the Greatest Fleet
      15 min read

    • Article

      The Burning Of Washington

      Jul 7, 2021

      The Burning Of Washington
      4 min read

    • Article

      Book Reviews

      Mar 15, 2024

      By William Eugen Warner ISBN: 979-8410361200 (Indepently published, 2022) - £25.15 Wargamers are often drawn to obscure battles, campaigns, and wars. These periods often require specialty miniatures (thank you 3D printing) that gamers like to produce

      4 min read

    • Article

      Superlative Era

      Feb 11, 2022

      Superlative Era
      5 min read

    • Article

      Find History Of War Books On Sale Now!

      Apr 15, 2021

      WWII claimed over 70 million lives during six years of savage fighting, many of them civilians trapped in the path of invading armies hellbent on victory at all costs. Yet despite events such as Dunkirk, Pearl Harbour and D-Day rightly being commemor

      1 min read

    • Article

      Discordant Notes

      Feb 23, 2018

      Discordant Notes
      2 min read

    • Article

      1778 & ALL THAT

      Oct 19, 2021

      1778 & ALL THAT
      1 min read

    • Article

      The ‘Oops’ War

      Jan 25, 2022

      The ‘Oops’ War
      11 min read

    • Article

      Seeing the Balance Turn

      Nov 2, 2022

      Seeing the Balance Turn
      11 min read

    • Article

      George Washington: The Father Of A Nation

      Mar 17, 2022

      The name ‘Washington’ refers to more than an important figure in the history of the United States: it’s part of the national psyche. It’s the name of the capital, a towering obelisk in that city, an entire state – the list goes on and on. And George

      3 min read

    Reviews for In the Hurricane's Eye

    4.5/5

    61 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Nathaniel Philbrick delivers yet another different perspective on the American Revolution in a very entertaining and readable manner.When most Americans think of the Revolutionary War, they think of George Washington and his troops slogging through the snow or over the frozen Hudson River to defeat the British in land battles. Philbrick argues that it was a naval battle in which Washington was not even involved that enabled the Americans to prevail against Cornwallis at Yorktown.By 1781, Philbrick informs us, the Revolutionary Army was on the verge of collapse. The soldiers were starving, underfunded, and mutinous. Washington wrote his former aide-de-camp, “We are at the end of our tether and … now or never our deliverance must come.” Thus, Philbrick claims, the Battle of the Chesapeake between the British and the French navies (the French acting on the side of the Americans) was one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world. The reason is that the defeat of a British fleet by a French fleet enabled the Revolutionary Army to prevail on land. The French in turn were aided by the Spanish in Cuba, thanks to a Spanish government envoy and “fixer” in Cuba named Francisco Saavedra de Sangrois, who obtained money both to sustain the French fleet and to pay Washington’s mutinous soldiers. Philbrick writes:“…it cannot be denied that the Spanish residents of Cuba provided what one commentator has called, ‘the bottom dollars upon which the edifice of American independence was raised.’”But it might have been the weather that played the largest role. Three large hurricanes in 1780 ripped through the Caribbean, sending the French fleet up north at the Chesapeake to ride out the 1781 hurricane season. This move proved pivotal for both sides in the war.As Philbrick observes, France joined the War not so much out of a desire to aid America but to strike a blow against Great Britain. But France could have easily chosen to challenge Great Britain in Europe by sending warships into the Channel between the two countries, and Britain would have had to divert military resources from its fight in America. However, it was the islands of the Caribbean that attracted the fleets of both France and England. The “sugar islands” of the Caribbean accounted for more than a third of France’s overseas trade. Britain too saw these islands as a priority. Philbrick writes:“…when the war for American independence broke out, Britain’s possessions in the Caribbean were worth much more to her than all thirteen of her colonies in North America.”Thus both countries were concentrating on the Caribbean; Britain had 33 percent of her total navy in that area compared to just 9 percent in the coastal waters of North America.By the fall of 1780, Philbrick writes, “it seemed as if France’s preoccupation wit the Caribbean might prevent a significant-sized fleet from ever making its way to the shores of the United States to aid the Continental army.”Then, amazingly enough, not one, but three huge hurricanes hit the Caribbean. These were some of the deadliest hurricanes in recorded history, with one estimate putting the total death count at 22,000 just from the second hurricane alone. (The hurricanes hit on October 3, October 10, and October 18.) Both the English and French took their surviving ships and fled the area, heading north.They had a fateful meeting in the Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, in an exciting battle that changed everything for the combatants on land. Philbrick shows how the defeat of the British navy in the Chesapeake led inexorably to the surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis to George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781.Discussion: Philbrick is great at describing the intricacies of battles both on sea and land without being ponderous; on the contrary, he is consistently interesting, and explains every aspect of what occurred in a way not only to educate the reader but in a manner highlighting the most fascinating aspects of the battles. For example:
      • Benjamin Franklin wrote about the significance of the Gulf Stream and where to find it, but the British refused to pay attention to “simple American fishermen” and ignored what he had to say. Thus their trips back and forth across the Atlantic took longer than necessary;
      • Just a single typical battleship at that time, called “the 74” (because the ship had 74 cannons arranged on two decks), took 2,000 oak trees to make, or fifty-seven acres of forest;
      • The best way to destroy those wooden ships? “Hotshot” - or cannonballs heated in a furnace until they were red-hot and could start fires;
      • British ships had bottoms sheathed in plates of copper, which gave them a significant speed advantage;
      • The British fired low, to inflict more casualties, but the French fired high to disable the ships, which proved to be a more efficacious tactic;
      • Washington, who knew much of his mail was being intercepted and the contents reported to Britain, regularly wrote misinformation, as we might say today, to keep his actual plans a secret;
      • England also received misinformation about the course of the war from its own people, because the British generals over in America wanted to make themselves look better than they were;
      • Benedict Arnold’s treason and bad behavior continued to motivate the Patriot Army throughout the War to avenge those he had betrayed;
      • During the Siege of Yorktown, there were more than 6,000 British and German soldiers, along with thousands of escaped slaves, cooped up in a space just 500 yards wide and 1200 yards long;
      • No portion of the U.S. suffered more deaths in the War of Independence than New York.
      Philbrick also describes the power struggles between the French and the Americans, and how deftly Washington tried to assuage the sensibilities of the French, even while he was often furious at them. Power struggles within each army affected the fate of the armies as well, as did weaknesses for luxury and gambling, and even health issues, which came to play a major role.The book ends with an Epilogue that reminded me of the end of the movie “American Graffiti.” Philbrick devotes a few paragraphs to each of the major players in this history, telling what happened to them after the American Revolution was over.Evaluation: Philbrick does an excellent job of making history exciting. He also provides welcome explanations of necessary nautical details that add to the color and atmosphere of the story, such as the ways in which naval battles are fought, and how ships were constructed at the time. So much of military history is devoted to armies on land; this engrossing book helps balance that coverage.
    • 5/5
      A fine conclusion to this series about the Revolutionary War. I admit I learned a lot, being more familiar with the war in the North, not the ending in the South that culminated at Yorktown. Also, the involvement of the French was far more conclusive than I was taught. A thought-provoking look at my country's history.
    • 4/5
      The Battle of Yorktown is well-known to anyone familiar with the American Revolutionary War, but this is a closer look than I've encountered previously, and puts a lot of emphasis on the naval movements leading up to the significant battle. I appreciated the credit given in this book to the French navy and troops who look part - interestingly, a number of (American) sources seem to skim over their role. This history was easy to read, enjoyable, and is recommended to anyone with an interest in the Revolutionary War.
    • 4/5
      The defeated British army trudged out of the ruins of Yorktown to the slow beat of a drum, surrounded by the American militia on one side of the road and the French on the other. The British General and his army showed their disdain of the Americans, giving their attention to the French. How could a barely clothed army of ill-fed and unpaid country yahoos defeat their magnificence? Only the French were worthy enemies.And yet somehow General George Washington had achieved the unthinkable. Yes, he needed the French navy to do it. He knew this battle would be fought on water. And even if the French generals often ignored Washington's directive and did what they wanted, they were pivotal.It all started with hurricanes in the Caribbean. The French were forced to move their ships to safer latitudes. The rest is history. The history Philbrick covers In The Hurricane's Eye.Maps show readers the battles that are the focus of this installment of Philbrick's history of the Revolutionary War. There is no focus on one big personality, like Benedict Arnold was in Philbrick's previous volume Valiant Ambition. This is an ensemble cast of characters--British, French, and American.But some things stand out. Washington for his ability to reign in his passions to keep a cool head. A favorite story is how Washington deceived the British by building ovens to bake the fresh bread the French army found a necessity on a route to New York City while the army headed south.Readers are reminded of the plight of the common American militiaman, who after six years at war are released without recompense, worn out, to an uncertain future. 200,000 men had served. The escaped slaves who served the British with hopes of freedom were left without protection, starving and diseased, preyed upon by Southerners rounding up their property. At war's end, America consisted of individual states unwilling to work together. They would not agree on taxes to pay for the war, and now they all vied for their own concerns. Anarchy threatened.This narrative takes readers on a journey into an understanding of our past that will challenge the simplistic vision of America's beginnings encountered in school textbooks. Was victory at Yorktown all because of hurricanes? Or Washington's superior leadership? Was it because the French funded the war that Americans refused to support financially? Or the missteps of British generals?Near the end of the book, Washington is quoted from a letter written to the French Admiral de Grasse: "A great mind knows how to make personal sacrifices to secure an important general good." I was appalled by the war crimes and suffering described in the book, but I was also inspired by Washington's ability to always chose what was right for his country. If only our leaders today would channel the Founding Father's vision of personal sacrifice and self-control, to do what was right for the many and the country.I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
    • 5/5
      "In the Hurricane's Eye" (ITHE) is an engaging, well-paced, and very readable account of the final stages of the American War for Independence. While we all learned in history class (however many years ago) about the British surrender at Yorktown, the all-important Chesapeake naval battle which led up to and enabled it was new to me. Thanks, France, for that -- and Spain, too, for financing the effort!In addition, I appreciated Philbrick's attention to the subject to the role played by enslaved African Americans serving in the British Army. They were screwed over most dreadfully, unsurprisingly, not only in their handling by the Brits but also afterwards by the Americans (to include Gen. Washington) in defining conditions of surrender which ensured that they would be returned as property to the plantations they left to join the British forces. In all, I found ITHE to be a very enjoyable and worthwhile book. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      I admit that I was drawn to this book first as a lover of Hamilton and secondly as a fan of other books by Mr. Philbrick. Beyond the bait, Mr. Philbrick points out some the false myths of American revolution. He points out that the American rebel army was outnumbered by the British. But the British still had too few soldiers to occupy the vast domain of the America. It was the sea that British had an overwhelming advantage over the rebels.America had no meaningful navy and was totally reliant on the support of the French ships. It was the brilliant navy battle by the French that seized Chesapeake Bay and pinned British general Cornwallis on the Yorktown peninsula. It was the skill of the French at siege warfare that allowed the rebel army (again consisting of a majority of French soldiers) to decimate the British army into surrender.
    • 5/5
      I tore through this in two days. Philbrick writes his histories in such a compelling way that even if you know how things turn out, you are so fascinated and pulled along you can hardly turn the pages fast enough.In some ways, this is a sequel to Valiant Ambition, the book that featured Benedict Arnold. The first few chapters deal with his installment as a British Admiral and how he was sent to the Chesapeake to cause trouble for Virginia. He does and the current governor, Thomas Jefferson, is pretty casual about his arrival and does nothing to prevent him from sailing up the James river and sacking towns and demolishing forts. Considering Jefferson wasn’t a military man or a stupid one, it’s surprising that he didn’t listen to his experts. But he didn’t and Arnold did more damage than he should have. He did act as a foil against mutiny in general since no one wanted to do an Arnold. These areas of neglect, good and bad fortunes, and turns of fate pepper the course of events and affect the outcome both for the good and the bad, depending on which side you’re on. Philbrick goes into just enough detail to give you a good idea of what things were like back then and the characters in the drama, but doesn’t dwell in tangents for long. He keeps things relevant to the primary objective which is the battle of Yorktown. Because it’s in the southern theater of the war, I wasn’t as familiar with it as the famous northern battles and it was nice to get an education - like the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Also interesting, if much more maddening, was how obstructive and difficult the French were in this, although it shouldn't be that surprising. At one point Washington says or writes something like “The French have the best interests of America at heart.” Uh, no. They have their own interests at heart. Aligning them was Washington’s biggest task. Through perseverance, taking the high road and kind of shaming them, he basically got what he needed from them which was a navy. At every turn the Admirals were reluctant to follow his lead, much less his orders, but they were even more reluctant to be shown as cowards in the face of Britain’s navy. So they showed up. The screwed it up a whole bunch once they got there, but they got there. On the battlefield they did much better and Cornwallis eventually had to give up, although he did it with as little good grace as he could get away with. One thing that was consistently interesting about Cornwallis's campaign in the south was how sure he was that the other officers and the navy would have his back. And his overconfidence in the loyalists in the area. Again and again he assumed things would go his way and he took crazy gambles with his men. Like when he burned virtually all their baggage and supplies so they could move faster and catch Nathanael Greene’s army as it moved north. It didn’t happen and his army was the worse for wear with no victory. Even when he did win a technical victory it was at such high a cost as to be laughable. But it kept the crown and parliament thinking progress was being made. If it wasn’t for this “spin” and the higher ups knew how expensive these battles were for relatively little gain, things could have turned much worse for the Americans.I liked the Epilogue that takes us through each main character and what happened to him in the years leading up to his death. Arnold, as you might hope, has a less than exemplary career as did some of the French aristocrats who ran headlong into their own Revolution.
    • 5/5
      Nathaniel Philbrick does it again.What I like the most about his writing, aside from the detailed information, is that he provides a three-dimensional view and dissection of the challenges, failures, and human misery as well as the final historical judgements. Philbrick gives us a bonus of mini biographies and character portraits, not of the author’s opinion, although there is that, but information from primary sources. Philbrick is the master of primary sources and if you doubt this, just take a look at the 21 pages of small-print bibliography. I can only fantasize about having access to these sources and all the time to read them. The maps and portraits of the players alone are worth making sure you have a copy of this book, especially since our grasp of American geography and events is often tentative at best. Not to be overlooked either are the excellent diagrams of ship positions and orientations and why windward and leeward positions of the ships mattered. I have been lucky enough to have lived near many of the places along the east coast from Florida to Canada, from Kings Mountain to Gardiners Bay, and have visited even more of them, including the sites of encampments and battles. I have also researched pioneer families in the region from Maryland to Virginia. It stretches the imagination to think of soldiers going over this rough terrain with substandard or non-existent roads, hauling supplies, munitions and other necessities in the sweltering mosquito heat of summer and bitter toe-freezing cold of winter. Not everyone will find the detail regarding the construction and armament of ships as fascinating as I do, but I frequent the ancient ships at every chance I get and would never leave if they didn’t hustle me off there as they do occasionally. The Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, English and French all vied for nautical dominance in the 1600s and 1700s and all claimed to have the superior forces. The war for American independence put some of these claims to the test, as new technology (copper and fireballs) and improved navigational information (the Gulf Stream) became the deciding factors in the success or failure of troop movements. The strategy employed by the French vs the English navies was of interest also. We always think of battles at sea where both ships line up and take aim at the side of another ship, but it makes sense that this would only be good for a movie about pirates. There were other, more effective, strategies.The battle of Guilford Courthouse is reenacted every year and I have been fortunate enough to go to two of them. The reenactors who camp there (men and women) brave cold rain and hot sun depending on the weather that year. The terrain is rough, having steep hills with woods and winding brooks, a challenging place for a battle that can only be appreciated by being there. The firing is loud and it is more impressive than some of the larger and more famous battlefields I have seen. Kings Mountain is likewise steeply hilly and there is a uniquely strange feeling you get as you walk the paths, knowing there are many unmarked graves under the soil all over the mountain.Philbrick chronicles revenge, old scores settled and horrific violence done to many, including civilians, captured soldiers, ex-slaves and even horses. This savagery explains in large part what incited the future Americans to fight on, even having gone without proper clothes or food for months or even years during the war. Through this book we can see some of the personal motivations as in the case of Lafayette. We also see why some of the enemy were so hated, including Banastre Tarleton and Benedict Arnold, who was not simply a traitor, but a traitor guilty of some terrible acts against his own former neighbors and compatriots. Other players in the drama become even more of a mystery though we thought we knew them well. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are far more complicated than our distilled history would have us believe. Although the French were helping us, we can see that they were frequently not trusted and a source of great frustration to George Washington.The book is not all seriousness and there are some great laugh out loud moments. We finally find out what that French hairstyle with the ships was all about. The old story that “George Washington slept here” and almost everywhere else, is supported by the author putting the number at 280 different houses during the eight years of the war. There is also the great theater of Cornwallis cowardly opting out of surrendering in person and sending a subordinate, who offered his sword to the French, who directed him to George Washington, who directed him to his subordinate, Benjamin Lincoln. It would have been difficult to witness this, battle fatigue aside, without having to suppress a giggle. An act intended to disparage the victorious Americans only embarrassed the British officer. Such diplomatic finesse is, sadly, a lost art today.What Americans on the whole do not know about, is the role that the Spaniards played in winning our independence, both financially and militarily. We have nearly forgotten the role Robert Morris played in keeping the war effort going. Louis -Antoine de Bougainville certainly deserves much more recognition than the flowers named for him. Almost lost to history is the misery and horror that the thousands of escaped slaves who joined Cornwallis suffered at the time of his defeat, their own bid for revolution and freedom having been quashed for the moment. Our veterans also reported that there was no gratitude or respect for their sacrifices and it wasn’t until most of them were already dead that the government finally compensated uninjured veterans and their widows.The cast of characters is long but Philbrick does a masterful job of keeping them straight in our minds with his words and portraits. He reminds us of the unsung heroes and the scoundrels who took advantage of a tough situation that lasted for years and charted the course of a nation.33,000 Brits, not including soldiers and sailors, left New York City in 1783 and some Americans still celebrate Evacuation Day. 4,000 former slaves escaped with them, including some of George Washington’s that he attempted to reclaim. After the war, Washington did a little traveling. It is strange to think of a Virginian, any Virginian in these early days, but especially the famous General and President George Washington navigating the Hudson River in upstate New York and going further north, skirting the vacation areas of Lake George and the Adirondacks. He wanted to travel and see more of the new country but he was unable to do this before he died. In his two terms as President, he had enough to deal with. Riots due to hunger and taxation followed the war as did other challenges for the new nation. The nearly-complete devastation of Yorktown and New York City were simply on a larger scale of what had happened to smaller towns and farms across the new land. The old simply was swept away to make room for the new during a hurricane of mankind’s own making. Finally, the author gives us some much-needed closure by informing us at the end what happened to the major players he followed. It is especially interesting to see the fortunes of those caught up in the swiftly-following French Revolution. I would have included at least a sentence or two about Thomas Paine but the scope of this work is large enough, and great enough, that I can go back and read him on my own time. Get this book and take your time reading it, it’s well worth it.
    • 5/5
      I couldn't put this down! Of all the wars, I know the least about the Revolutionary War, which is a damn sham because my undergraduate degree was in history. Philbrick does a wonderful job taking a generally well known story and fleshes out all the small nooks and crannies you probably weren't aware of. This historical non-fiction book focuses on the importance of the navy during the revolution, even though the United States didn't have one. The presence of the French navy and many of George Washington's shrewd battle decisions were what really turned the tide of the war. For years the British had been clearly winning, but had yet to strike the crippling blow. The arrival of the French fleet and the subsequent victory at Yorktown changed all that. An engrossing and enlightening read. Not just for history buffs!
    • 4/5
      If you don’t know who Francisco Saavedra is and the indispensable role he had in Washington’s victory at Yorktown, you will after reading Mr. Philbrick excellent book.
    • 4/5
      I’ve read a couple of other Philbrick histories and enjoyed them enough to purchase this account of the Battle of Yorktown, which essentially ended the American Revolutionary War. Of course, some people write books which account for the entire War, so you have to imagine that a 400 page book that examines just one battle, must get pretty deep into the weeds, and that is the case here.Philbrick sets the stage by picking up the various troop movements leading up to the battle, following Lord Cornwallis through the Carolinas and into Virginia. Washington’s activities take a back seat, but that is understandable, given his lack of movement until the very late stages. What was most interesting to me, however, was the focus on the English and French fleets, their strategies, movements, engagements and the personalities involved in the decision making that proved crucial to the ultimate result.I was certainly familiar with the Battle of Yorktown, but not the intimate details provided by Philbrick. One complaint I had is that at times the narrative drags by virtue of the minutia included, but all in all, I was pleased with the education that I received on such a pivotal battle for both American and world history. Another problem I had was Philbrick’s repeated insistence to admonish Washington on his ownership of slaves. Certainly, in a perfect world, Washington, a southern plantation owner, would have been 75 years ahead of his time on the issue, but to hold him to standards developed far past his lifetime, is unfair and intellectually lazy.The book contains several well drawn and instructive maps as well as numerous illustrations which were appreciated.
    • 4/5
      All the works by this author are excellent. His attention to detail, his thoroughness, and his ability to bring history to life make him one of my "go to" authors. The step--by-step progression of events leading to the battle of Yorktown coupled with the elaboration of the vital importance of naval warfare in it's outcome presented a different perspective than what is commonly used. For a history buff this is a "must read". Thank you Nathaniel Philbrick !
    • 3/5
      Good survey of the closing days of the War. Washington never fails to display his leadership and profound character that made him the father of his country.
    • 4/5
      Another excellent Revolutionary War history by Nathaniel Philbrick, this one focusing on the final year of the war and the events which led up to Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown. Quite good indeed.

      1 person found this helpful