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Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy' is Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello, and professor of history, University of Virginia.

Inclou el nom: Andrew O'Shaughnessy

Crèdit de la imatge: Amazon

Obres de Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy

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Read hard copy and Audible pages 4-14, 83-122, and 320-352 in accordance with the S&W syllabus.

From the syllabus: O’Shaughnessy offers a red-team analysis of the strategic environment built around the perspectives of key British personalities and decision-makers. The assigned chapters cover General William Howe; Admiral Richard Howe’ and First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Sandwich.
 
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SDWets | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Sep 6, 2023 |
“Britain did not expect to have to occupy America. The most fundamental miscalculation of the men who lost America was the assumption that the loyalists were in a majority, and that they would rally in support of the army. This was the error that led to their most disastrous decisions – the attempt to solve the imperial crisis by coercion, the slow build-up of military forces at the beginning of the war, the failure to make a concerted effort to link the campaigns of Generals John Burgoyne and Sir William Howe in 1777, and the planning and conduct of the southern campaign after 1778.”

This is the story of the American Revolution written from the British perspective. It is told in a mix of minibiographies of the key people involved on the British side. It is separated into major periods. Part 1 covers the “view from London,” focused on King George III and Lord North. In Part 2, we learn about the victory and defeat in the northern colonies, with minibiographies of brothers Richard and William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Lord George Germain. Part 3 documents the battles that took place in the southern colonies. It highlights the actions of Sir Henry Clinton and Charles, Earl Cornwallis. In this section, these two go back and forth over who should “get the blame” for the loss. Part 4 moves into the other parts of the Americas, primarily in the Caribbean, and the British victories over France and Spain. In this section the minibiographies are concentrated on Sir George Rodney and The Earl of Sandwich.

This book discusses a number of factors that enabled the American colonies to gain independence. The British overestimated the strength of their own Navy in comparison to the French, who were allied with the Americans. They also scattered their forces by sending a portion to the Caribbean, which reduced those available to continue to fight on the continent. I am not going to try to list all the factors, but the author provides an in-depth analysis.

Most of my previous reading about the American Revolution has been told from an American perspective, and I found it quite interesting to view the war through a British lens. The history is the same, but the emphasis is different. I learned a great deal about the British leaders and participants, which are generally only discussed at a higher level in American-centric histories. This book is very detailed (perhaps overly detailed in places), but overall, it is definitely worth reading for those interested in the American Revolutionary period.
… (més)
 
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Castlelass | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Jan 24, 2023 |
Although this collection of biographical sketches does not serve as an introductory history of the late unpleasantness of the 1700s, it does the advertised job of giving the reader an insight into the motivations of the British leadership as they struggled to hold Britain's North American empire together. The main issue that George III and his supporters could never quite comprehend, until it was too late, is that a sea change had occurred in the collective political consciousness of Thirteen Colonies in the wake of the Seven Years War and that the old lines of authority were untenable. I found the chapters dealing with high-ranking civilian officials such as North, Germaine and Sandwich to be particularly useful, as they found themselves waging an essentially unlimited war with limited resources.… (més)
 
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Shrike58 | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Oct 29, 2019 |
Good for the British viewpoint of the American revolution, and for concise biographies of the British players, from the king and cabinet ministers to the military commanders.
 
Marcat
NLytle | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Aug 8, 2013 |

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Obres
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Membres
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#53,212
Valoració
4.1
Ressenyes
8
ISBN
14

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