At The Forge Of Liberty (American Revolution)

At the Forge of Liberty (American Revolution)

From School Library JournalGrade 5-7--Carter opens his account of the War for Independence in July of 1777, as Washington marches the Continental army through Philadelphia on its way to the Battle of the Brandywine. He re calls briefly some of the causes of the war and highlights of the events of 1775-77 through the memory of John Adams as he watches the troops pass. Having thus set the stage, Carter then moves quickly through the remaining years of the war, touching briefly on the major battles and campaigns. Of neces sity, much detail is sacrificed, and only military action is described, with the sole exception of a short passage deal ing with Franklin's negotiations in Par is. Carter's writing is clear, his material well organized, and his style lively enough to hold readers' interest. Re productions of well-known paintings of Revolutionary subjects and maps of troop deployments illustrate the text. Information on individual topics cov ered is too brief to be of real use to report writers, but the book should be useful as a supplemental source, or for readers who just want an overview of the war. Bliven's The American Revo lution (Random, 1963) is a longer treat ment for the same age group, while Al derman's The War We Could Have Lost (Four Winds, 1974; o.p.) is a liveli er and more complete account for a slightly older group.-Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Ran dolph, Mass.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.Presents an overview of Revolutionary War, discussing causes, campaigns, and leaders