Reviews

Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence by Jack Kelly

cmbohn's review against another edition

4.0

So glad I read this one! I have read quite a few books on the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution, but I keep learning something new. It seems that many books on the war focus solely on George Washington, as though he won the war single-handedly. Yes, he was an exceptional general, but I liked that this book also focused on the other leaders, men like Henry Knox, Benedict Arnold, and my distant cousin, Nathanael Greene. I didn't know much at all about the war in Canada, so I was glad to see that was covered. It's not a very long book, but it was well worth reading.

I got this free in return for a (belated) review.

aloyokon's review against another edition

4.0

A quick book that sees the Revolutionary War through the eyes of the young officers and generals who, with precious little military experience beforehand, had to hold their own against the great military superpower of the day.

speljamr's review

4.0

Written by an author who's relative fought in the Revolutionary War, this book shows you the growth of the leading officers of the Revolutionary War from amateurs to the men we know defeated the British Empire. I do have to note however that the title of this book was a bit deceptive and made me believe this would have more to do with the common soldier than the officers in the army. But once I got past that I found the book to be very informative and extremely readable.

The focus here is not on all the usual characters, but on many of the lesser known leaders who contributed greatly to the cause. The careers and lives of Henry Knox, Nathaniel Greene, ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne, Daniel Morgan, John Stark, Charles Lee, and others are given a closer inspection to discover exactly how diverse this cast was. This is the most important part of what can be learned from reading this book, as most modern Americans know very little about these men, where they came from, and what they became.

One thing that becomes clear while reading this, America came damn close to loosing this battle. At several points the army almost fell apart completely, and a few key decisions were hesitated on. But one thing Mr. Kelly seems to neglect is the full role of the French in the final victory over the British. While He includes them, they're role seems to be portrayed as a bit less than it really was. The Marquis de Lafayette is mentioned and is used at the end of the book to wrap up a summary of all the characters the book covers, but that's about the most credit the French get. I really felt like this aspect was downplayed way too much and can be deceptive in highlighting why America managed to win the war.

The book is written in a style that is immediately accessible and moves more like a novel than a history book. I do recommend this if you want to get a glimpse of some of the revolutionary war leaders in more detail than you get from your high school text book. In the end you will acquire a better understanding of the war and the people behind it.