12:20 PM
Nikki
On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers clashed in a bloody battle in Massachusetts. Part of it happened in the village of Lexington, while the other part took place fifteen miles away in Concord. these first shots that started the American Revolution were the result of many years of anger, frustration, and growing hostility over how Great Britain governed and taxed its American colonies.
I've read several of Jim Murphy's books this year--including An American Plague, Blizzard, and Pick and Shovel Poet--and I've enjoyed them all. What I enjoy about his work is how he makes any subject interesting--how he makes any subject appealing. His books are so reader-friendly. (They don't read like a text book. They read like a story.)
In The Crossing, Murphy focuses on George Washington. How Washington's leadership abilities effected the Revolution--how his choices--for better or worse--impacted the war between America and Britain. Sometimes Washington's decisions were smart ones, other times not so much. Of course, Washington had to work with the soldiers he had available at any given time. (And those soldiers didn't always do exactly what Washington had in mind.)
This is a short book. It doesn't focus on the whole war. It doesn't focus on each and every battle. But I think it is a nice introduction to the subject.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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