ePub The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership; the American Revolution; and the Fate of the Empire (The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History) by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy in History

Review

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful. Revolutionary PostmortemBy VA DuckThis is a fascinating book that is written so well that the reader need NOT be particularly knowledgable about its characters to enjoy its content: even so the book is clearly a serious work digging well below the superficial and aimed at a serious; if not scholarly; readership. Author Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (a compelling name for an author; if ever...) is a professor of history at Mr. Jefferson's venerable University of Virginia and offers with this book; "something completly different" for those interested in early American history; especially the Revolutionary War.In four parts; consisting of nine chapters and 361 pages; Professor O'Shaughnessy introduces his readers to each of the ten men who played a part in the political or military prosecution of the war - all British and their participation explained from the perspective of the British - without American partiality. This book is a; "what went wrong?" postmortem of the events of 1775-1783... even so; the parallels to the U.S. conflicts of 1955-1975; or 2003-2011; or 2001 to present - are hard to miss regardless of your politics.Little if anything is the "warmed over" of past reads. The book is full of first discoveries and fresh perspectives. Its writing flows easily and the author thoughtfully reintroduces the second-tier characters for his (American?) readers as they reappear in the separate parts and chapters of the book; many of whom may be; "household names" in the UK... are less so in the US!There are over 100 additional pages of citations; bibliography; index; afterward materials (in the scholarly fashion) for those who may care to further pursue a point; or continue their reading on the topic. And; bound in the center of the book are very interesting color plate portraits of the principals; reproduced from the originals in the British National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Collection of HM Queen Elizabeth II. This is clearly a 5-star book; but that said; its story; as its title implies; is finely focused and a perfect read IF that focus matches your interest. Highly recommended; but not for all.See also Harlow Giles Unger's account; American Tempest: How the Boston Tea Party Sparked a Revolution for some empathetic sense of Great Britain's consternation with the Colonies; in a nuanced and non traditional look at the spark that brought about the American Revolution.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. The Revolution; on the Other HandBy Thomas M. SullivanIn this exceptional book; Author O’Shaughnessy undertakes to tell the story of the American Revolution from the viewpoint of the ten British overseers who actually managed it; if ‘managed’ is the right word in this context. And he very definitely succeeds. None of the many; many other books I have read on the rebellion have portrayed as well the challenges facing those who took up the colonists’ challenge and sought to counter it from their remote location with all that its isolation portended for miscommunication; misunderstanding; erroneous presumptions; and manpower and supply challenges that ultimately doomed them to defeat.The reader gets an invaluable look at the three primary reasons that the war was not only lost; but doomed to failure before it commenced. First; the British grossly misjudged the number of loyalists among the American population; their commanders waiting time and again; against all hope; for pro-British colonists to come forward to fight with them. Second; and despite the fact that a good map would have revealed the truth of it; they under-appreciated the sheer size of the theater they were trying to conquer and hold; essentially never succeeding in first taking and then being able to secure any sizeable chunk of territory. Third; and perhaps most crucially; they simply could neither afford nor transport enough men and materiel to overwhelm the opposition. Add to these reasons the more subtle but nonetheless crucial inability of the leadership to set and adhere to priorities among Britain’s Caribbean holdings; the continuing threat of French and/or Spanish intervention; and other pressing demands; and you have all the makings of the disaster that inevitably ensued.The book does present a couple of issues; though. The first and most important is the difficulty faced by any author who undertakes to fashion joint biographies of contemporaries engaged in the same enterprise; repetition of events and attitudes. For instance; by the time the reader has completed the portraits of George III and Prime Minister Lord North; he understands many times over that North early on really; really; absolutely; urgently; and honest to goodness wanted to resign. Indeed; the reader understands so well that he is tempted to resign himself; resign; that is; from reading the rest of the book. Second; the author is a pedestrian writer who while he does a decent job of portraying the respective roles of the subjects; lapses into Wikipedia-like flatness when he sets out the ‘after-action’ lives of the protagonists. Finally; and as I wrote in my review of “The Siege of Fort William Henry;” I guess authors don’t want to take the time to consult Mapquest or Google Earth when citing locations and distances. On page 142; O’Shaughnessy writes; “The delay allowed the enemy force to strengthen their fortifications at Crown Point and Ticonderoga; the former situated at the north end of Lake George and the latter near the southern end of Lake Champlain.” Uh; no. Ticonderoga is indeed located at the southern end of Lake Champlain; and Crown Point is located approximately 10 miles NNW; just a bit farther up Champlain’s western shore and relatively nowhere near Lake George.All in all; this a most worthwhile read; and not only because you won’t find the same amalgam somewhere else. It stands alone as an excellent and unique piece of scholarship; innovative and long overdue.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A Revelation of Our RevolutionBy PaulThis is the most interesting book I have had the pleasure to read all year.For most of us Americans; our revolution brings forth images of a starving army; led by the great George Washington (and he was great) facing almost impossible odds against the most powerful nation on the planet at that time; and after too many years of defeats on the battlefields and an inconsequential Congress; somehow; we; with the help of the French; defeat the British; and win our independence.It sounds good; but when you read this historical masterpiece by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy; you understand that this war was pre-determined by years before the first shots were fired in anger. As the author points out; John Adams said that American independence was a state of mind of the people long before Lexington. While Britain was formidable; Americans were so far removed from thoughts of peers and royalty and resented any attempts at taxation; no matter how seemingly benign.If Americans love an underdog; then we love our history of this war. It is steeped with the multi-volume accounts of prominent historians that glorify our fight against all odds; then this author comes along and in a very good summary; shows us the prominent players from the British side of the equation.You obviously have to lead off with George III; so described by Jeremy Black George III: America's Last King (The English Monarchs Series) as the last absolute monarch of England. This is followed by the stories of Lord North; the Howe Brothers and other various British military commanders; Lord George Germain; and the earl of Sandwich.I cannot help but draw conclusions from this war to our own war in Vietnam. We deluded ourselves into thinking that we were saving Vietnam; while the Vietnamese simply wanted us out; and we all know the result. It was a very similiar situation in London. The British were firmly convinced that there were so many people in America loyal to the crown the they would flock to the British army; and while the British were formidable once they entered into the conflict; the response of the loyalists was never significant enough to change the outcome; although it was our first civil war in most respects. In addition; the British were not able to subsist on the land and had to supply their horses; rations; and everything else because they were unable to secure this locally. This created a tremendous burden in transporting all these supplies across an ocean that took weeks to traverse.The government was also disjointed in that Lord North; as a type of prime minister; was not effective in uniting the cabinet; and George III; while not attending cabinet meetings; was determined to put down the insurrection in America while many of his ministers and generals thought the thing was lost long before Yorktown. Lord North made many attempts to resign. The war itself was the responsibility of Lord George Germain; who took a hard line that was supported by the king; but had limitations in his power to get everything he thought needed to put down the rebellion. The government was simply not effective; and while the British did occupy major cities; they were also many times short of supplies; which caused more problems with the Americans; and to top it off; they brought in Hessians to fight the colonists. The laundry list that Thomas Jefferson wrote in his condemnation of George III was extensive and made it a personal attack against the monarch instead of blaming the bumbling on the ministers.There were multiple problems for the British; they lost an army led by John Burgoyne; and then faced the thing evolving almost into a world war with France; Spain; and the Dutch coming in against them. The British Navy at this point was not enough to hold off the French Navy; and the British were further weakened by the need to transfer troops and ships to the Caribbean during the American Revolution.So; while I appreciate the birth of the American nation during this time; I can't help but realize that the midwife was herself; the British government.It is an interesting book; and through the presentation of nine (or ten) prominent British politicians and commanders of that time; we come to realize that American independence was pretty much a foregone conclusion.I would highly recommend this work.