This is a wonderful book of first-hand accounts and analysis of infomation regarding Braddock's defeat on the Monongahela in 1755. On the dust jacket, written by a fellow named R. Alberts, one may read the following, "An original and important work. The scholarship is of a high order, and the writing has both clarity and style. It is the best analysis yet of the source material on Braddock's defeat. It gathers together for the first time all the known eyewitness accounts of the Defeat, including several that were previously unpublished or untranslated." I couldn't have said it better myself. If one is looking for a narrative of the battle, a book such as "Guns at the Forks," by Walter O'Meara would be better, but if one is looking for original source material from which other stories and narratives were written, then this is the book to own. This book is excellent. In the first half of the book, the author tells the story of Braddock's defeat, giving an analysis of the source material used for the information. Afterwards there is a short section concerning the numerous books written this episode of history. The rest of the book consists of original source material and the authors comments on them as to their reliability. For example, when commenting on an officers report to his superiors, the author points out that the report may be slanted to make the writer appear "better" in the eyes of his superior officer. There are several French accounts included also, which I have never seen anywhere else (well, I might have, but this is the first time I could read them as the other accounts I have seen are still in the original French, and I can't read French--here, the author translates them, which is obviously a great deal of help to those of us who can't read French!).
The sources Kopperman uses are extensive, and his comments are well thought out, informative and just just plain well written. This is a "must have" book for anyone interested in this episode from history. For what this book advertises intself to be, it is excellent in every regard. (And unlike another reviewer, I am not related to the author in any way!)

I read this book some time ago and found it to be a tremendously helpful work in revealing a truer understanding of a hugely misunderstood and misrepresented historical figure and the events surrounding his tragic battle. As one who grew up in the region where the events happened, and having done some independant research and writing on the topic, I can attest that most of the conventional wisdom about Edward Braddock and the Battle of the Monongahela is so distorted that almost no one relates the true facts anymore (if they ever did).

Kopperman dug deeply into source documents, with particular focus on contemporaneous accounts of those who were present. The author states that he was not out to necessarily rehabilitate Braddock's reputation, nor to vilify it either, but to look through the wall of legend and onto what really occurred with Braddock's expedition to Fort DuQuesne and why. By examining the best surviving evidence and contemporary documentation, including an examination of the motives behind who wrote what, a better and objective understanding can be gained.

If you must read just one book on this topic, this would be the one to get.

This is a very interesting and helpful book about Braddock. All of his books are very helpful for students. And I'm not just saying this because I'm his daughter!