books I've been reading

I've been doing a considerable amount of reading lately, getting back to my roots. When I was in high school, I read for about thirty minutes to an hour every night before bed. Falling asleep with a book in your hands is far better than falling asleep to sitcom reruns. The first book, Almost a Miracle, is the story of the War for American Independence (histories of the American Revolution tend to focus on the revolution itself, with the war often treated as a sideshow; military histories, such as this, is where the juicy stuff is found, IMHO). Ferling is one of my favorite historians of the colonial era (my second favorite is Fred Anderson who specializes in the French & Indian War, but who has also written books on the colonial era in general, and he's even written a great book on the War of 1812). The second book, an atlas of the battles, is a perfect companion to any military history of the Revolution. I love atlases and maps, following the movements of the armies and the actions in the heat of battle is so much easily comprehended when you can follow the actions geographically. The book covers the majority of the pitched battles in the war and even covers some of the more dramatic moments in the partisan warfare of the southern backcountry.