Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It

by John Ferling

Overview

Amid a great collection of scholarship and narrative history on the Revolutionary War and the American struggle for independence, there is a gaping hole; one that John Ferling's latest book, Whirlwind, will fill. Books chronicling the Revolution have largely ranged from multivolume tomes that appeal to scholars and the most serious general readers to microhistories that necessarily gloss over swaths of Independence-era history with only cursory treatment.

Written in Ferling's engaging and narrative-driven style that made books like Independence and The Ascent of George Washington critical and commercial successes, Whirlwind is a fast-paced and scrupulously told one-volume history of this epochal time. Balancing social and political concerns of the period and perspectives of the average American revolutionary with a careful examination of the war itself, Ferling has crafted the ideal book for armchair military history buffs, a book about the causes of the American Revolution, the war that won it, and the meaning of the Revolution overall. Combining careful scholarship, arresting detail, and illustrative storytelling, Whirlwind is a unique and compelling addition to any collection of books on the American Revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620401729
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Series:	Bloomsbury , #2
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

John Ferling is professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. He is the author of many books on the American Revolution, including The Ascent of George Washington; Almost a Miracle; A Leap in the Dark; Whirlwind, a finalist for the 2015 Kirkus Book Prize; and, most recently, Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe. He and his wife, Carol, live near Atlanta.

JOHN FERLING, Professor of History at West Georgia College, is writing a biography of John Adams. He is the author of The Loyalist Mind (1977), A Wilderness of Miseries: War and Warriors in Early America (1981), and The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (1988).

Editorial Reviews

A nuanced study of the American Revolution . . . accomplished scholar [John] Ferling employs his extensive knowledge . . . A first-rate historian's masterful touch conveys the profound changes to colonists' 'hearts and minds.'” —starred review, finalist for 2015 Book Prize, "Best Books of 2015", Kirkus Reviews

“[A]n objective history . . . Ferling has created another accessible yet scholarly work on the American Revolution.” —Library Journal

“Ferling handles the conflict's ups and downs with a professorial ease, complemented by mastery of a broad spectrum of primary and secondary sources . . . He also excels at detailing the hammering out of governmental institutions from a kaleidoscope of provincial assemblies, town meetings, and church pulpits.” —Publishers Weekly

“Ferling's vivid descriptions will compel you to read this treasure repeatedly.” —San Francisco Book Review

“[Ferling] seamlessly integrates the root causes of the American Revolution, the war that won it, and its larger meaning.” —HistoryBookClub.com

From the Publisher

★ 2015-01-07
From servants to citizens: a nuanced study of the American Revolution focused on how the war changed the way Americans saw themselves.Having written abundantly about the Revolutionary War, accomplished scholar Ferling (Emeritus, History/Univ. of West Georgia; Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation, 2013, etc.) employs his extensive knowledge to relay a tremendously complicated and multilayered story of the gradual embracing of ideas of independence by the once-loyal colonists. Economic incentives drove the colonists to question the relationship with the mother country. They were offended by having to pay for Britain's chronic warfare, furnish soldiers and then endure England's "coldhearted indifference" to matters of the colonists' "vital interests." Attempts by Britain to enforce imperial trade laws—by the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, one-third of England's trade was with the colonists—only led to more alarm that Britain was scheming to take away liberties. Little by little, the colonists began to react, and Ferling takes note of certain important early firebrands, e.g.—Virginia's Patrick Henry, Boston's Samuel Adams, John Dickinson and his "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania." Others, such as Benjamin Franklin, emissary to London, played both sides until they were sure which way the wind was blowing. Ferling effectively shows how the colonists' sense of themselves changed from the very bottom up. From deep in the provincial hamlets, they were organizing, training their militias and accepting more egalitarian proclivities and self-governing practices, such as freedom from the Anglican yoke. Hostilities against Britain provoked a "rooted hatred" for the mother country and a "growing sense of identity as Americans," although the outcome was in no way certain. In fact, for many years, it looked quite bleak. Ferling impressively demonstrates how the military reality eventually galvanized the fledgling country. A first-rate historian's masterful touch conveys the profound changes to colonists' "hearts and minds."

Kirkus Reviews