The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze. Oxford University Press, 2020. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Reviewed by Casey Chalk Many, I’d imagine, would be intimidated by a 960-page book on the Napoleonic era. Or perhaps they’d be uninterested,...
Mobocracy and the Founding

Mobocracy and the Founding

The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America By T. H. Breen. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019. Hardcover, 216 pages, $30. Reviewed by Jason Ross In the midst of a wave of populist revolutions upsetting global politics, Timothy...
The British Are Coming

The British Are Coming

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775–1777 by Rick Atkinson. Henry Holt and Co., 2019. Hardcover, 800 pages, $40. Reviewed by William Anthony Hay Epic conflicts that punctuate American history have profoundly shaped it. The Civil...
The Loyalist Arguments

The Loyalist Arguments

God against the Revolution: The Loyalist Clergy’s Case against the American Revolution by Gregg L. Frazer. University Press of Kansas, 2018. Hardcover, 320 pages, $35. Reviewed by William Anthony Hay Historians over recent decades have put considerable effort...
A Conflicted Idea of America

A Conflicted Idea of America

These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore. W. W. Norton, 2018. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Part One: The Idea (1492–1799) Reviewed by Craig Bruce Smith “The United States is founded on a set of ideas,” says eminent historian Jill Lepore in the opening...