[books i've been reading]

Bruce Lancaster, who's better known for his historical fiction, put together a marvelous little piece on the history of the American War for Independence (the War of Independence is a subset or consequence of the American Revolution, at least in John Adams' eyes). While his book focuses mostly on the battles and campaigns, he devotes chapters to such keynote events as the Declaration of Independence and the drama behind winning an alliance with France. His chapter on the much-forgotten "frontier war" in modern-day Indiana and the war against the Iroquoi in upper New York brings a muddled campaign to crystal clarity, and for anyone interested in Iroquoian history, I recommend it. This book's short, which is nice, and I have to say, it's one of the better brief histories of the War of Independence I've read. His experience writing fiction and crafting stories can be seen in the way that he makes the events come alive in their fluidity.