The War for American Independence: From 1760 to the Surrender at Yorktown in 1781

by Samuel B. Griffith II

Including both attention to strategic policies in Britain and France and personal accounts of colonial soldiers, The War for American Independence provides an unprecedented view of America's struggle for independence in its world context. With wit, clarity, and dramatic effect, Samuel B. Griffith II vivifies the characters and incidents of the period on both sides of the Atlantic, drawing from  personal diaries and letters, newspaper accounts, and detailed battle maps to create a unique alternative to standard histories of the period.
This enduring and exceptionally readable resource, first published in 1976 under the title In Defense of the Public Britain, America, and the Struggle for Independence from 1760 to the Surrender at Yorktown in 1781, was honored with the Sons of Liberty Award for the best book on the American Revolution.
 

Genres: History, American Revolution, American History

776 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent non-partisan account of this difficult subject. Very often military & political aspects jostle each other & one suffers as the reader can’t grip all the information. That is not the case here, the author keeps his eye on all the fronts from both sides of the hill. Especially good on the internal wrangling that prevented both sides from exerting maximum force. The British governing party doesn’t look good but they were a mediocre group under extreme global pressure & from a monarch to whom surrender was not an option until it was a case of salvaging what could be salvaged with British power as intact as possible vis a vis her Continental rivals.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel B. Griffith packs tons of great information in here. I have a newfound appreciation for the struggles early Americans endured to form a new nation. Samuel B. Griffith does a tremendous job of weaving all facets of the war together -- military, economic, political, cultural -- and with pespectives from America, England, and France. There is so much more to our history than I ever learned through the public school system. A huge plus is that the author was a Brigadier General in the Marines, so he knows his stuff. He also posseses a doctorate in Chinese warfare, and has a huge vocabulary. Time to get out the dictionary!

[Matt Hudak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and "The Glorious Cause" are both highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about America's struggle for independence. Both books offer an engrossing study in the background of the war, its causes, the culture of America and Britain at the time, the war itself, and the amazing cast of larger-than-life characters involved. I did find Griffith to be a bit more lively than Middlekauf, and Griffith's military background provides him with unique and fascinating insights regarding combat and military leadership during the war. It's also interesting to study our fight for independence with relation to the Iraqis' ongoing struggles for democracy.

[Russ Bingaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was awkward to follow, but overall if you want an introduction into the American Revolutionary war then this book is a good place to start.