What do you think?
Rate this book
First Stroke: Lexington and Concord
On April 19, 1775, thirty-eight Americans formed two uneven lines on the wet grass of the two-acre common in of Lexington, Massachusetts. They were summoned by the rolling beat of sixteen-year-old William Diamond's brightly painted drum. The order to sound this call to arms had been given by Lexington's militia captain, John Parker.
As Diamond's drum rolled, Parker's men had formed up in response to a warning from a rider Parker had sent to scout the Boston road. A British column, he said, was fifteen minutes away.
This is just one of the vivid scenes New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming sets in First Stroke, his history of the opening days of the American Revolution, beginning with the Boston Tea Party.
As Diamond's drum rolled, Parker's men had formed up in response to a warning from a rider Parker had sent to scout the Boston road. A British column, he said, was fifteen minutes away.
This is just one of the vivid scenes New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming sets in First Stroke, his history of the opening days of the American Revolution, beginning with the Boston Tea Party.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2005
28 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Fleming
127 books149 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Thomas James Fleming was an historian and historical novelist, with a special interest in the American Revolution. He was born in 1927 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a World War I hero who was a leader in Jersey City politics for three decades. Before her marriage, his mother, Katherine Dolan Fleming, was a teacher in the Jersey City Public School System.
After graduating from St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, Fleming spent a year in the United States Navy. He received a Bachelor's degree, with honors, from Fordham University in 1950. After brief stints as a newspaperman and magazine editor, he became a full-time writer in 1960. His first history book, Now We Are Enemies, an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, was published that same year. It was a best-seller, reviewed in more than 75 newspapers and featured as a main selection of the Literary Guild.
Fleming published books about various events and figures of the Revolutionary era. He also wrote about other periods of American history and wrote over a dozen well-received novels set against various historical backgrounds. He said, "I never wanted to be an Irish American writer, my whole idea was to get across that bridge and be an American writer".
Fleming died at his home in New York City on July 23, 2017, at the age of 90.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Thomas James Fleming was an historian and historical novelist, with a special interest in the American Revolution. He was born in 1927 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a World War I hero who was a leader in Jersey City politics for three decades. Before her marriage, his mother, Katherine Dolan Fleming, was a teacher in the Jersey City Public School System.
After graduating from St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, Fleming spent a year in the United States Navy. He received a Bachelor's degree, with honors, from Fordham University in 1950. After brief stints as a newspaperman and magazine editor, he became a full-time writer in 1960. His first history book, Now We Are Enemies, an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, was published that same year. It was a best-seller, reviewed in more than 75 newspapers and featured as a main selection of the Literary Guild.
Fleming published books about various events and figures of the Revolutionary era. He also wrote about other periods of American history and wrote over a dozen well-received novels set against various historical backgrounds. He said, "I never wanted to be an Irish American writer, my whole idea was to get across that bridge and be an American writer".
Fleming died at his home in New York City on July 23, 2017, at the age of 90.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 4, 2015
Good read, needs a map
Vivid account of the "shot heard round the world". Needs a map to be able to follow the route. Very good history writer.
Vivid account of the "shot heard round the world". Needs a map to be able to follow the route. Very good history writer.
September 3, 2015
First Stroke: Lexington and Concord by Thomas Fleming. Over the summer I read First Stroke: Lexington and Concord. I chose this book because I love history and especially american history so I thought this was perfect, so without further ado here is my review. The best part of the book in my opinion was that hey used tons of historic names and places to the fullest extent. This book was perfect for me because it gave lots of information in small amount of sentences. For example the battle of Concord, this was the first shot of the American revolution and they give great detail about it. The author said that the minuteman fired first and one British fell then the British fired and about 4 american fell and included names. I feel like you can't get that much info out of any other book.The only part I didn't like was how some chapters were 10 pages long and others were 25 to 30 pages long. Then when they describe the minute men fighting off the British at the old north bridge they gave all the names of all the men who fell in the battle as it was happening and same with some British officers. As well as some other American officers who fell. I also loved how they explained the whole battle in just a few chapters. Overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who loves American history.
August 1, 2014
Excellent account of the beginning actions of the Revolutionary War. Thomas Fleming has given a brief historical history of the events that led up to the battle of Lexington And Concord. Inflexibility from the British Crown, poor communications between Great Britain and the American Colonies (but over 200 years ago what did you expect when a letter takes 4 months or longer to travel from Boston to London), stubbornness by both British and Colonial American leaders, and a Parliament who wouldn't and couldn't refuse anything King George III wanted.
Mr. Fleming takes us in the very first chapter to Lexington and Concord when the shots "heard around the world" took place. Then in the next chapter he gives the history between his Britannic Majesty's Government and the American Colonies acrimonious history from the late 1760's up to 1774. Then he gets back into telling about the long and bloody day that the British took on their march back to Boston some 15 miles away.
This was the beginning of events that led up to eventual victory at Yorktown when British General, Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered his troops to the American and French troops.
Mr. Fleming did an OUTSTANDING job in giving a brief overview about the beginning of the American Revolution. A GREAT READ
Mr. Fleming takes us in the very first chapter to Lexington and Concord when the shots "heard around the world" took place. Then in the next chapter he gives the history between his Britannic Majesty's Government and the American Colonies acrimonious history from the late 1760's up to 1774. Then he gets back into telling about the long and bloody day that the British took on their march back to Boston some 15 miles away.
This was the beginning of events that led up to eventual victory at Yorktown when British General, Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered his troops to the American and French troops.
Mr. Fleming did an OUTSTANDING job in giving a brief overview about the beginning of the American Revolution. A GREAT READ
September 25, 2015
Describes the events that led to the first shot being fired in the civil war. Short, well written book that makes this history come alive.
January 9, 2016
Very readable. An excellent narrative and introduction to the topic. It would benefit from the inclusion of a map. The lack of references will annoy some.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews