Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody Holton
Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody Holton
Woody Holton begins his narrative with the Native Americans who struggled to save their land, compelling British officials to fortify the frontier, in turn requiring taxes on white colonists that inflamed their anger at the mother country. It ends with a brilliant analysis of the economic origins and effects of the U.S. Constitution.
Along the way, Holton offers a fresh take on every major battle of the Revolution, from Lexington and Concord to the British surrender at Yorktown and beyond. In his telling, British commanders understood better than their Continental Army counterparts that North America's vast and rugged geography all but guaranteed the rebels a victory as long as they remained on defense. George Washington wanted to launch an all-out assault on Britain's heavily fortified headquarters in New York. His greatest contribution to the war may have been heeding his subordinates' pleas to restrain his aggressive instincts.
Holton shows how commanders' addiction to honor clouded their judgment, how morale considerations influenced tactics, how northern soldiers' fear of tropical disease led them to resist service in the south, and much more.
Liberty Is Sweet is a bottom-to-top account of the American Revolution, integrating for the first time the stories of the famous Founders and the marginalized people who understood the phrase "all men are created equal" even better than the man who coined it.
A note on the jacket illustration: The person standing on the left has a secret. Can you spot it? The answer is in the book!
Simon & Schuster, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2021
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.