BUSCH : Winter quarters (fülszöveg)
G. O. Trevelyan, the British historian, called Valley Forge "the most celebrated encampment in the history of the world." In fact the winter of 1777–1778 was the nadir of the American Revolution, when it was by no means certain that the colonists could prevail. Terrible privations had to be endured with no end in sight. Yet Valley Forge was also the crucible of victory for the Revolution. There the "rabble in arms" became a disciplined fighting force which emerged in the spring to fight immediately and win the battle of Monmouth Court House.
How did this come about? What happened at Valley Forge? The heroic and enthralling story of the men and events there has never been better told than in the pages of Winter Quarters. With elegant style, the author makes the past vividly present and gives the reader a feeling of participating in the flow of history. Washington, Von Steuben, Lafayette, among others, come alive through a skillful blending of narrative and the actual words of the principals. Whether the subject is General Conway's cabal against Washington or the feu de joie to celebrate France's treaty with the colonies, the reader gets the sense of hearing it all for the first time.
This is not "revisionist history" as that term is usually taken. Yet reading Winter Quarters can revise one's taking Valley Forge for granted. It is certainly not "debunking history," though it does correct some mistaken assumptions, for it is impossible to debunk such endurance. But this is popular history at its best: it tells a tale and points a moral.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
