John Ferling: Almost A Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence

The Revolutionary War looks a lot easier today than it did in 1783. When General George Washington crossed the Delaware River with the Colonial Army and delivered a stunning defeat to the Hessian mercenaries, and then followed that with the bloody triumph at the Battle of Princeton mere days later, the fledgling nation might appear to have had victory within their grasp. But after seven more brutal, punishing years, General Washington himself made a different assessment: he believed that America's victory had been "little short of a standing miracle."

Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence, by award-winning author John Ferling, offers fresh perspectives on Greene, Lee, Marion, and the other commanders of the Colonial Army, revealing each as a richly-detailed character with his own challenges to face. It describes the citizen-soldiers and back-country rebels in the South and other areas outside of history's spotlight, delves into the hopes and fears that drove them to fight, and details the incredible toll it took on their lives. Washington emerges in his full complexity. It is a rare book on the tactics of the Revolutionary War, exposing Washington's brilliance - and faults - as a tactician, as a statesman, and as a leader.

"America was fortunate to have had General Washington," says Ferling, "though at times it was lucky to have survived him."

John Ferling brings the Revolutionary War era to vivid life for audiences with any level of experience on the subject of early American history. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of West Georgia and the author of nine books on topics ranging from warfare in colonial America to the lives of the Founders, including A Leap in the Dark, winner of the 2004 Fraunces Tavern Book Award for the year's best book on the Revolutionary War era.