Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence

good book but NO MAPS. HARD TO BELIEVE in a history book. Maps are necessary

A very engrossing book. Learned a lot about my own neighborhood during the American Revolution.A definite good read for all who loves homegrown history.

When I bought this book I was expecting to learn more about the frontier fights in the Mohawk Valley, the partisan warfare which went on for years around Westchester County and the development of the stronghold at West Point, but this book doesnt really delve into those items. In the opening, closing, and places in the book, the author makes the point that the British fixated on a flawed strategy of seizing the Hudson to separate the New England colonies from the others, but there isnt a detailed analysis of why this strategy is flawed. This is a good readable review of the American Revolution, but this doesnt live up to the promise of its title.

This book is exciting and insightful and a must-read for anyone who enjoys learning about the American Revolution. It is also great if you have an interest in the history of NYCity and State. It is a compelling read by a top-notch historian.

Frequently went off topic from its supposed focus on The Hudson, BUT I learned a lot about the War from the British viewpoint, about the overlooked years of 1778-1782, and about British and French naval strategy.

This book was a revelation, I bought it to learn more about the Revolutionary War and New York and got so much more. It is a fantastic read, tells a great story, really fills in a lot of holes about the overall war from 40,000 feet, but still provides real interesting detail about the entire war. I even learned new facts about Benedict Arnold, that he was just as effective a leader for the Brits after turning than he had been for our side. What a tragically flawed human being, he could have been a president of the United States if he wasnt so vane.

Many authors have demonstrated the seemingly infinite ways the story of America’s revolution may be told and re-told by concentrating, for instance, on pivotal battles (see, Richard Ketchum’s superb “Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War”) or locales (see, Richard Berleth’s splendid “Bloody Mohawk: The French and Indian War and American Revolution on New York’s Frontier). From the title of this work, I assumed that Author Daughan’s approach was going to be similar to Berleth’s, that is, a concentration, both geographical and events-oriented, on the Hudson Valley. I was incorrect. But that’s not to say that I was necessarily disappointed. One doesn’t get far into the book to realize that Daughan’s account is going to be more far-ranging and comprehensive than the title suggests. In fact, what the reader is presented is a well-told story that (whether the author intended it or not) amounts to a strategic view of the war, particularly from the British standpoint. In discussing the give’s and take’s on both sides of the struggle, Daughan indulges in a good deal of supposition and inference, coming down hard, for instance, on Washington’s early misjudgments and especially on the British military leadership’s inability to work together (to say nothing of their relations with their London overseers), with eventually cataclysmic results. While the author’s frequent conclusory dispositions largely accord with my understanding of the actors’ strengths and weaknesses, I found Daughan’s unrelenting “rights” and “wrongs” adjudications slightly off-putting. Having said all that, the author does an excellent job of relating the ebb’s and flows of the war in a relatively short work. And the lessons never learned by King George III and his ministers are once again manifest; their hilariously optimistic take on the loyalists’ willingness to rally to the Jack, never mind their fighting dispositions; the tenacity of the “rebels,” and their inconsistent but always-improving ability to fight; and, lastly, the sheer size of America which absolutely precluded the investiture and maintenance of control of any significant part of the country. And if a reader is intrigued by the wrong-headedness of Britain’s ambitions and strategic shortcomings, I highly recommend Andrew O’Shaughnessy’s “The Men Who Lost America,” a simply delightful recounting of the roles of the principal King’s actors in the loss of the continent. So, while I was slightly disappointed by the author’s not sticking to his purported subject, I must say that I was impressed with his digressions, and suggest that this would be a fine introductory work for someone new to the history of the war which would undoubtedly whet the reader’s appetite for more specialized treatments.

Interesting read. While not totally it does cover quite a bit of the Hudson Valley.

A very good read about the Revolution not just on the Hudson (North) River but pretty much about the entire war. He goes in details in some of the battles from both sides where some authors stress one side. The only negative I’ve found was the lack of maps. I kept “A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution by Craig Symonds nearby to reference the locations and the sequences of many of the battles. Otherwise a great book, well done. Four stars due to a lack of maps. Other wise it would be five.

Not a bad overall history of the Revolution, but not specifically about the Hudson River or Valley. It includes an overview of battles fought in that region and why it was important to both sides, but only as a general overview. I didnt find it overloaded with detail and didnt learn anything goes new but I do recommend it for someone looking to read a good, general book about the war.