Valley Forge

August 15, 2018
A central episode in the history of the American Revolution comes under thoughtful examination.The story of Valley Forge is a trope in America's sense of itself, a morality play in which beleaguered, stalwart soldiers outlast the ferocious elements in order to wrest freedom from imperial oppression. The reality, ably told here, is far more complex--and far more interesting. Drury and Clavin (co-authors: Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission, 2016, etc.) open with the desperate engagement at Monmouth Courthouse in the summer of 1778, the first major battle the Continental Army fought against the British after being defeated at Brandywine nine months earlier. That defeat had led to the loss of Philadelphia, but now the British were withdrawing to New York. They faced an American Army made resolute by six months' retreat to Valley Forge, which cost thousands of lives to disease and weather but that also turned the Continentals into a disciplined fighting force. Some of that transformation was due to the influence of European officers; some came about through institutional reforms and increased congressional funding. There was much reform to be done. As the authors write, George Washington found considerable challenges simply in taming his rivalrous commanders; when one of those newcomer Europeans was elevated to senior rank, "Washington's squabbling collection of more experienced and longer-serving brigadiers revolted." The cast of characters is impressive, among them a pre-treasonous Benedict Arnold, a sharp-edged Lord Cornwallis, and an Anthony Wayne who would soon reveal why the adjective "mad" should have been applied to him. In the authors' account, Washington emerges as fallible but indispensable; it is hard to imagine that another commander would have had the same success in the face of so many hardships. A bonus is the authors' examination of what happened to the principals after the war, ranging from death by chicken bone to enshrinement at Westminster Abbey.A fluent, readable story that corrects mythmaking errors and provides a more nuanced narrative in their place.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 27, 2018
This gripping, panoramic account of the Continental Army’s 1777–1778 winter encampment at Valley Forge charts, in lively language, the decisions that allowed the American Revolution to survive. George Washington’s ragtag troops had fled the pursuing Redcoats to Pennsylvania, and the Continental Congress was sheltering in York, Pa., after the British occupied the revolutionary capital, Philadelphia. Vicious budgetary squabbles, corruption, and military rivalries proved almost as dangerous to Washington’s army as the British. Judicious excerpts from the diaries of enlisted men and officers elucidating the squalid misery and deprivation at Valley Forge nearly waft off the page. But, Drury and Clavin recount, Washington turned the Revolution around. The battles, politics, and diplomacy that kept Washington’s troops from faltering—the Battle of the Brandywine and skillful handling of French volunteers—are lucidly recounted. There are valuable insights, too, into the strategic thinking of British general William Howe and admiral Richard Howe, the aristocratic brothers charged with putting down the rebellion. As the authors sketch out the dizzying array of obstacles Washington faced, the reader gains an appreciation for the genuinely heroic role he played in the founding of the United States of America. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber.

October 1, 2018
The winter quarters of the Continental Army in 1777-78 was meant to shelter the American soldiers and allow them to rest, refit, and retrain after a string of defeats at the hands of the British. Instead, the name Valley Forge conjures images of deprivation, disease, intense cold, and disaster. Indeed, the revolution was hanging by a thread. But up to now this picture of disaster has included few details. Enter the best-selling duo Drury and Clavin, and it all comes magnificently into focus. The authors concentrate on the journey of George Washington, his trials and eventual triumph, but many other familiar names of the founding generation also receive due attention. Drawing extensively from primary sources, Drury and Clavin leave few stones unturned, from accounts of the fall campaigns to the Continental victory at Monmouth Courthouse. All of the grisly details of supply failures, corruption, conspiracy, bureaucratic waste, and the reforms that resurrected the American cause are exquisitely well told in this exceptionally vivid history, one that will please all who are interested in the revolutionary era and American history in general.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

October 15, 2018

At the end of 1777, then army commander George Washington was in trouble. He was blamed for a series of recent defeats, the British controlled Philadelphia, and his soldiers were struggling through the winter at Valley Forge, PA. Best-selling coauthors Drury and Clavin (Lucky 666) return to the battlefields that have shaped American history in this latest work that provides context to the famous winter quarters of 1777-78, beginning with the Continental defeats at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, as well as the growing fissure between Washington and his subordinate Gen. Horatio Gates. The grim hardships of the winter quarters are cast in full detail; the disease and the desertion, which are matched by the growing discipline and cohesion of the Continental Army. The work concludes with Washington's victory at Monmouth Courthouse, NJ; a symbolic affirmation for both Washington and the patriot cause. As in their work The Heart of Everything That Is, Drury and Clavin craft an informative history while maintaining a smooth, narrative flow. VERDICT The authors' large readership will relish this book, as will American history buffs seeking a well-researched yet accessible presentation. [See Prepub Alert, 4/30/18].--Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant P.L., IA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2018

The No. 1 New York Times best-selling authors of The Heart of Everything That Is rely on new and barely studied documents to portray events at Valley Forge, the Continental Army's small winter encampment 23 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia, starting in December 1777.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.