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Title: Decisive Day : The Battle for Bunker Hill by Richard M. Ketchum ISBN: 0-8050-6099-5 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 15 May, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Superb account of the Battle of Bunker (Breed¿s) Hill!
Comment: This is a beautifully written book, the first of three written so far by Richard Ketchum, on famous Revolutionary War battles. It tells the story of the first major military engagement of the American Revolution as does no other book I've ever read on the same subject.
The author brings to life the main characters and events of the story. He briefly introduces the major figures - British Generals Thomas Gage and William Howe, and American leaders Joseph Warren, General Israel Putnam, Colonel William Prescott, and Henry Knox - and traces the story of the conflict in the Boston area in the spring of 1775. Ketchum then sets the scene of the battle by describing how the Americans, chronically short of munitions, supplies and manpower, successfully avoided British detection and entrenched themselves on Breed's Hill (mistaking it for the higher Bunker Hill), and how the British reacted once they discovered the fortifications. Drawing on letters and other first-person accounts of the battle's participants and observers, both the American and British, Ketchum vividly describes the military action of June 17, 1775; I found myself almost able to hear the firing of guns, and smell the smoke of battle, as I read the final chapters of the book.
As an avid reader of American History, I thought I knew everything about battle of Bunker Hill; however, Ketchum's powerfully written narrative introduced me to many new facts about the people and events of this, the first major battle in America's war for independence. It is a book of outstanding scholarship, and "must read" for anyone interested in American history.
Rating: 4
Summary: Magnificent Story
Comment: This is one of the best written books I have ever read about the American Revolution. Ketchum is a very accomplished writer. Though at times his prose is slightly confusing, overall he does a good job of conveying to his readers the desperate situation the American rebels were in. Ketchum also does a good job of placing the Battle of Bunker Hill in context of the entire war. He picks up the story about 3 weeks before the battle, and fills in the back story of Lexington and Concord. His description of the events leading up to the battle, especially the description of the night march and entrenchment of American troops is fascinating, and keeps you turning the pages. The actual battle only fills one chapter, simply because it was a very straightforward affair. Amazingly, out of about 3000 men engaged on both sides, 1500 were casualties! However, Ketchum makes it very clear that the Americans gave worse then they got, and shows how Bunker Hill would become a confidence booster for the American Cause.
My only complaint about the book is the lack of a good map of the area. Ketchum uses contemporary drawings of Boston to show the places he is describing, but these are not very accurrate and you never really get a picture of where the battle took place in relation to other landmarks. However, this does not detract from the narrative, and I strongly reccommend reading this book, for anyone of any level of interest in the era.
Rating: 4
Summary: This Man Can Write.
Comment: The Battle of Bunker Hill was a most singular event. It signified a complete break with Mother England: physically, mentally, and morally. It was a point of no return, a rupture which would never be healed.
Bunker Hill was a remarkably savage battle. As battles go, it was not particularly large affair. Twelve hundred Americans fought twice as many British. Yet, as the author points out in his introduction, nearly half of the British and one third of the Americans fell. It was a slugfest from which neither side ran, one whose ramifications still define us to this day.
Richard Ketchum has written a winner. He presents both sides views and is quite sympathetic to each. His prose is clear, precise, and compact. His maps and depictions are excellent. You will not find a more complete, fairer rendering of this event. You can almost hear the sound of battle and smell the gun powder.
This is an altogether excellent effort penned by a gifted writer.
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Title: The Winter Soldiers : The Battles for Trenton and Princeton by Richard M. Ketchum ISBN: 0805060987 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 15 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Saratoga : Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War by Richard M. Ketchum ISBN: 0805061231 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 15 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Lexington and Concord: The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution by Arthur Bernon Tourtellot ISBN: 0393320561 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Divided Loyalties: How the American Revolution Came to New York by Richard M. Ketchum ISBN: 0805061193 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 14 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens by Lawrence E. Babits ISBN: 080784926X Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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