The Fort

Only for those with a NOOKcolor

I know this isn't a review of the book, but as I can't *view* the book I thought other people might want an additional warning.

Don't buy this if you don't have a NOOKcolor. You can't view or download it on any other device, including Nook apps for PC/Mac. It wasn't very clear when I bought it. I'm sure I'll enjoy it if/when it ever becomes available for other devices.

17 out of 19 people found this review helpful.

a future great british general's first taste of combat: age 18 in 1779 fighting American rebels

My impression is that prolific novelist Bernard Cornwell wrote THE FORT: A NOVEL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR to do two things: -- tarnish the popular image of the American hero Paul Revere and -- imagine the early wartime experience of an 18-year old Scotsman who later became one of Great Britain's famous "fighting generals": Lieutenant General Sir John Moore (1761 - 1809). The time was July 1789. The place was Penobscot Bay, Massachusetts (now Maine), 26 nautical miles from the sea at the tiny settlement called Majabigwaduce. After a 13 day sail from Halifax in Nova Scotia, a British force of six ships and 700 fighting Scotsmen of His Majesty's and the Duke of Hamilton's 82nd Regiment of Foot along with the 74th Highlanders as well, landed to build a fort and establish a new Loyalist colony of New Ireland. They were commanded by Brigadier General Francis McLean, concurrently Governor of Halifax. ***** We meet England's future hero, Lieutenant John Moore, paymaster of the 82nd Regiment, watching a sergeant and six men setting up a post on high ground to keep an eye on Penobscot Bay. Moore is boyish, excited, romantic, a doctor's son from Glasgow. He cannot wait to repel the rebels soon expected to land and swarm up a steep bluff. Moore is a crack shot, able to load and fire five bullets a minute from his musket. Most soldiers can get off two shots, a few three. ***** Brigadier McLean surveys the coming scene of battle and invites his junior officers to imagine how the American rebels will attack. Lieutenant Moore, meanwhile has time to fall in love with beautiful young (fictional) Bethany Fletcher, whose brother James becomes a spy for the Americans. The Americans sail in and their soldiers storm the bluff held by Moore and a handful of men, who are forced to retreat. Later, repelling a larger attack led by Continental marines, Lieutenant Moore almost by sheer luck fires a fatal pistol ball at the American Major leading the attack on not yet completed British Fort George. In one sense, the core of THE FORT is the coming of age under fire of a future fighting general of Britain. *** From a larger perspective, the Americans throw away opportunities to capture Fort George and sink or capture the six British ships opposing them. In later years, the government of Massachusetts would fix the blame on the Continental Commodore commanding the fleet, exonerating the state Militia General commanding the ground forces. This whitewashing, author Cornwell argues, saved the reputation of Paul Revere, Militia Lieutenant Colonel and commander of the American land artillery. Revere was court-martialed for disobedience and cowardice under fire, but let off in the general whitewashing of the land forces. ***** Improbably, the British held out long enough for a large fleet to sail up from New York, rescue the Scots and annihilate the largest American fleet assembled at any time in the Revolutionary War. The Penobscot Expedition ended in the greatest disaster to American arms before Pearl Harbor in 1941. ***** Bernard Cornwell has rescued from obscurity an American military and naval fiasco that its participants and succeeding generations preferred to forget. His characters, real and imagined, are flesh and blood, three dimensional. The British/Scots come across as kindly, tolerant, professional. The Americans are a mixed bag. Most of the militia men are conscripts. Their leaders leave much to be desired. -OOO-

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Wonder For. Dr Jamal

A fabulous piece of researched history. What a wonderful job of portraying events and character personalities. Mr Cromwell portrays the scenes in such excellent style, that it is as if you are there and living the expereince. Wonderful job. Highly recommend this historical gem of the United States early years

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Mr. Cornwall can bring stories to life!

I read a LOT, and Cornwall stacks up with the best. "The Fort" presents a challenge by the number of characters that are developed, but the job is done well. The subject matter is a little known battle from the American Revolution and Cornwall is masterful in his historical accuracy. If you like historical subjects, this is for you..

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome%21

It+did+take+a+long+time+to+download%2C+but+the+videos+do+work+just+fine+on+my+nookcolor.+Bernard+Cornwall+is+always+a+treat%2C+and+it%27s+awesome+to+see+and+hear+him+in+the+videos.+I+will+enjoy+reading+this+story+very+much.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

wont+download

i+have+a+nookcolor+and+the+book+wont+download.+i+click+on+the+Download+button+and+it+just+opens+the+book+description+page.+not+a+review+of+the+book%2C+so+i+give+3+stars+to+keep+it+neutral.+

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Nice book

Nice book

Awesome tale

This is a wonderful historical fiction about a little-told story from the Revolutionary War.

Interesting but not my favorite..

I am a HUGE Cornwell fan. I love everything of his I have read. However, this book, while not bad, is probably the least favorite of his books I have read to date. I like the subject matter but the story seemed forced in some areas and it just ends......

The enhanced version aspects are excellent though.

Largest navel battle in history that nobody knows about...

So glad that I read this on so many levels. The battle itself that I had never heard of ( and I consider myself knowledgable about the Revolutionary War), the background of the historic personalities- you will never think of Paul Revere in the same light again, and the plan of battle in non-traditional scenarios. Leaned so much from this book, that I felt the need to do so much more research later on..... not the first time one of his books has inspired me to do that..... Loved it !!!!

Nookcolor 1.3 update seems to have cooked this book. Purchase text only version!

Had downloaded & started reading this book which is interesting & informative prior to the latest Nookcolor update. All videos played just fine. After the update neither of the two enhanced Nooks I own worked. B&N's answer is to unregister & reregister my device. When this "fix" was done video played for a VERY SHORT TIME...once/ one video then refused to run anything again & freezes allowing the option to force close only. So I unreg/rereg'd a second time. This is quite inconvenient so my decision is to purchase no more ENHANCED books. My advice is to stick with the plain text editions rather than waste your money & time. Anyone else experiencing issues with enhanced books since the 1.3 update or is it just MY DEVICE? B&N won't answer that question.

Revolution at it's worst!

Best novel of the American Revolution I have read. Everything warfare exposes about charactor is here. Bravery, cowardice, competence, stupidity, greed, patriotisim, and plain old stubborness. Video clips worked for me and provded more insight about the battle.

WON'T DOWNLOAD! ENHANCED MEANS RUN AWAY!

This will not download or open. A waste of time and memory space.

Hi

Hi

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Dazed again!!!!.... by painterlee

I accidently figured out how to download this book and the two others i seemed to have lost, when the b&n help line reregestered my nook color. .this is what happened. A notation kept appearing on the screen saying there were too many books on the panel and i needed to create new panels. I went to my shelves and archived all the books i wasnt currently reading, including the ones that wouldnt download. Then just to see how to unarchive, i took out one of those three books. When it appeared, the word, download, appeared at the bottom of the book. Itouched this and it downloaded and was readable. I did the same with the other two books. They both downloaded,even though the enhanced " The Fort" , downloaded very slowly. I hope this helps anyone who has had the same experiance. HOORAY !!!!!!!!.........

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

So++awesome+

How+could++u+noobs+hate+it%3F

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Should stick to English history.

Very wordy and slow moving. Historical facts correct but takes too long for an event to unfold.

captive, kill, or destroy

Bernard cornwell is my favorite writer, and i had never heard of this battle. I was intrigued by the story, but the characters never drew me in. For a first rate revolutionary war novel, read REDCOAT.