The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Unabridged)
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- $26.99
Publisher Description
In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington’s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.
The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution—which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton—was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force.
Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated: fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.
Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans—even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.
Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of maps and illustrations from the book.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The middle is the hardest part, and that goes double for revolutions. Historian Rick Atkinson follows The British Are Coming with the second part of his epic trilogy on the American Revolution. It’s 1777 and the fight has been going on for two bloody, uncertain years. General George Washington and his troops are exhausted but undaunted, while diplomat Benjamin Franklin is in Paris, charming the court of Louis XVI into backing the upstarts against France’s bitter rivals. Meanwhile, King George III is ready to spend more blood and treasure to crush the rebellion, but his top general isn’t sure that’s going to be as easy as they had thought. Just like in the first volume, Atkinson combines the big-picture story with viscerally detailed depictions of little-known but pivotal events like the Battle of Bennington. He’s doing for the American Revolution what Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton did for the Civil War, creating an immersive story with the momentum of a great novel. Narrator Grover Gardner has just the right note of gravitas but also keeps things moving. We can’t wait for part three.
