
Almost a Miracle
The American Victory in the War of Independence
Ferling(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 23. April 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
696 pages
978-0-19-538292-1 (ISBN)
Description
In this gripping chronicle of America's struggle for independence, award-winning historian John Ferling transports readers to the grim realities of that war, capturing an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle."
Almost a Miracle offers an illuminating portrait of America's triumph, offering vivid descriptions of all the major engagements, from the first shots fired on Lexington Green to the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, revealing how these battles often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity, and surprise. The author paints sharp-eyed portraits of the key figures in the war, including General Washington and other American officers and civilian leaders. Some do not always measure up to their iconic reputations, including Washington himself. Others, such as the quirky, acerbic Charles Lee, are seen in a much better light than usual. The book also examines the many faceless men who soldiered, often for years on end, braving untold dangers and enduring abounding miseries. The author explains why they served and sacrificed, and sees them as the forgotten heroes who won American independence. Ferling's narrative is also filled with compassion for the men who comprised the British army and who, like their American counterparts, struggled and died at an astonishing rate in this harsh war. Nor does Ferling ignore the naval war, describing dangerous patrols and grand and dazzling naval actions.
Finally, Almost a Miracle takes readers inside the legislative chambers and plush offices of diplomats to reveal countless decisions that altered the course of this war. The story that unfolds is at times a tale of folly, at times one of appalling misinformation and confusion, and now and then one of insightful and dauntless statesmanship.
Almost a Miracle offers an illuminating portrait of America's triumph, offering vivid descriptions of all the major engagements, from the first shots fired on Lexington Green to the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, revealing how these battles often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity, and surprise. The author paints sharp-eyed portraits of the key figures in the war, including General Washington and other American officers and civilian leaders. Some do not always measure up to their iconic reputations, including Washington himself. Others, such as the quirky, acerbic Charles Lee, are seen in a much better light than usual. The book also examines the many faceless men who soldiered, often for years on end, braving untold dangers and enduring abounding miseries. The author explains why they served and sacrificed, and sees them as the forgotten heroes who won American independence. Ferling's narrative is also filled with compassion for the men who comprised the British army and who, like their American counterparts, struggled and died at an astonishing rate in this harsh war. Nor does Ferling ignore the naval war, describing dangerous patrols and grand and dazzling naval actions.
Finally, Almost a Miracle takes readers inside the legislative chambers and plush offices of diplomats to reveal countless decisions that altered the course of this war. The story that unfolds is at times a tale of folly, at times one of appalling misinformation and confusion, and now and then one of insightful and dauntless statesmanship.
Reviews / Votes
[Ferling] writes fluently and deploys a wide range of relevant sources. * Stephen Conway, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
41 halftones, 20 maps
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
986 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-538292-1 (9780195382921)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2007
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€9.99
Available for download
Person
John Ferling brings to this book nearly forty years of experience as a historian of early America. He is the author of nine books and numerous articles on the American Revolution and early American wars, and has appeared in four television documentaries devoted to the Revolution and the War of Independence. His book A Leap in the Dark won the Fraunces Tavern Book Award as the year's best book on the American Revolution. He and his wife live in metropolitan Atlanta.
Content
Illustrations and Maps ; Preface ; Introduction: "My Country, My Honor, My Life": Bravery and Death in War ; PART ONE: GOING TO WAR, 1775-1776 ; 1. "Fear Is Not an American Art": The Coming of the War ; 3. Choices, 1775 ; PART TWO: THE WAR IN THE NORTH, 1776-1779 ; 4. "Hastening Fast to a Crisis": June 1775-June 1776 ; 5. Choices, 1776 ; 6. "Knock Him Up for the Campaign": The Battle for New York, 1776 ; 7. "This Hour of Adversity": To the End of 1776 ; 8. Choices, 1777 ; 9. "The Caprice of War": America's Pivotal Victory at Saratoga ; 10. "We Rallied and Broke": The Campaign for Philadelphia, September-December 1777 ; 11. Choices, 1778 ; 12. "A Respectable Army": The Grim Year, 1778 ; 13. Choices, 1779 ; 14. "A Band of Brotherhood": The Soldiers, the Army, and the Forgotten War of 1779 ; 15. "We Have Occasioned a Good Deal of Terror": The War at Sea ; 16. Choices ; PART THREE: THE WAR IN THE SOUTH, 1780-1781 ; 17. "A Year Filled With Our Disgraces": Defeat in the South, 1780 ; 18. "Southern Means and Southern Exertions": Hope and Despair, June-December 1780 ; 19. Choices, 1781 ; 20. "Bloody and Severe": The Pivotal Southern War, Early 1781 ; 21. "We Are Suspended in the Balance": Spring and Summer 1781 ; PART FOUR: AMERICAN VICTORY, 1781-1783 ; 22. "America is Ours": Victory at Yorktown, 1781 ; 23. Choices, 1782 ; 24. "May We Have Peace in Our Time": Peace and Demobilization, 1782-1783 ; 25. "Little Short of a Miracle": Accounting of America's Victory ; Abbreviations ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index