I received the book in three working days. Book was in great condition and the price was lower than I had expected to pay.

I bought this book to use with my German 101 and 102 classes, and it was extremely helpful. The writing style was, if not absolutely gripping, easy to get through, and the information was plentiful and well laid out. The accompanying website was also useful. The only problem I have with this book is that at the beginning of each chapter are a few dialogues using grammar that hasn't yet been learned. It would've made more sense to put those dialogues at the end of the chapters, in my opinion. That's more annoying than anything, and doesn't hurt the content or student's learning rate at all. I'd recommend this to any beginning German student.

Mailed and recieved in the time they said. The book is in great condition, the price was even better.

I bought this book based on customer reviews. Folks, you let me down. This is a horribly written book. Just like the pedantic text books you were happy to leave behind when you left school. The author rambles and rambles in long winding paragraphs that fail to bring to life this vitally interesting period in our history. Added to this is his bad habit of destroying any notion of linear time by not having his chapters follow a time sequence.

Style aside, the author's condescension toward the great figures he covers is highly annoying, as well as his minimizing of the impact they had. We're told that Washington was a lousy general at first, but "he improved during the course of the war." There is a substantial lack of respect for the people the author is describing and the impersonal way he presents these people does not allow you to get any idea of who these folks were.

To complement his lackluster effort, this author takes several gratuituous slaps at Christians in his chapter on Social Reform, saying, among other things, that Christians could counter science only with casuistry, that pastors cared more about loose living than about their flock, and that Christians "to this day" continue to seek favors improperly from their government.

So, if you're thinking about buying a general history of the Revolution, you'd be best served by bypassing this book. It is a lifeless work compared to the many fine histories available about this topic. Instead, take a look at "Angel in the Whirlwind" which covers this topic as well, and which is authored by someone who can write.

The opening is breath taking in its writing. Alden's expose of the conditions of the British Empire and the Colonies is insightful and poetic. It is a hard book to put down and yet its brevity still somehow does not deprive the reader of a full account of the war and much of its politics, and yet. . .Alden's depictions of the Southern campaign are really lacking. This is so typical, this Yankee bias, that it fails to rile me up anymore. But to write many more pages of the Boston tea party and Lexington-n-Concord versus the events in Charleston, like the first true Patriot victory is shameful. To sketch the magnificient victories of Kings Mountain,and Cowpens and the defeat at Camden, along with the guerilla warfare of Marion and Sumter and Pickens and MUCH, MUCH more at a fraction of the space to the defeat at Quebec and the tie at Bunker Hill is typical Yankee chauvinism. And don't forget Cornwallis came from South Carolina to Virginia, all in the South, where he surrendered to the Southerner Gen. Washington effectively ending the war. Yes read this book, it is good. But read some other books about the more turbulant South, so that you can really get a full account of the pressure points. I suggest The Battleground of Freedom by Hilborn--great maps and photos of the battlefields et. I hope it is still in print or can be found. Also a famous one that I have not yet read is The Road to Yorktown--can't vouch for that one though. A bio of Francis Marion is a MUST. There are several, but I can't recomend one because I have not read the perfect one yet. The heroes and heroines of the first War for Independence make for endless interesting reading and inspiration, but the Yankee slant from NY publishing houses shows that we do live in two defacto countries, and it makes one wish that we would have won the second War for Independence too. Oh well, there is always tomorrow to free the South from the Yankee Empire as was done with the British Empire. In fact I often amuse myself by reading the Declararion of Independence in a Southern vein as in 1860 and as in now: "When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary to dissolve the Political Bands which connect them--" You get the picture.

This is an excellent book on the american revolution. The book is just superb and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about this most important event in American history.

John D. Alden is a retired U. S. Navt Commander with an eye for detail and the ability to make Naval history come alive.

In his book "Flush Decks and Four Pipes", Mr. Alden examines the early class of U.S. destroyers known as 'four pipers' or 'four stackers'. He follows them from their inception in 1917 through all their service, including World War II. Not only that, Mr. Alden provides a record of each of the 273 four stackers (indexed by hull number and name), including its commissioning and decommissioning dates and its ultimate fate.

The book is filled with black and white photographs and stories of particular four stackers, including illustrations of several that were overhauled or converted as time went by.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the old four piper destroyers. The only thing it lacks are some color plates which would help modelers and others to visualize paint schemes.

A brisk, but not too brief account of Washington and the times surrounding him. Alden touches on most every event and aspect concerning the subject: from Shay's Rebellion to Martha's disposition, from the Hamilton-Jefferson Feud to his agricultural experiments. It is objective without trying to debunk a great man. Only the cursory discussion on slavery does the junvenile yankee condescention surface (Whose ships were involved in the slave trade even after the Virginians pushed through its ban via the Constitution? Yankees ie the Great Hypocrites of All Time.) It is, however, a thorough and interesting biography and highly recommended.

This book is an excellent introduction to the genre of the Puritan captivity narrative. It includes several of the most well-known narratives (including Mary Rowlandson), each with a brief introduction. In addition, the editors have provided an introduction to the genre in general that is well-written and informative. The bibliography is extensive and invaluable.