Rick Atkinson, "The British Are Coming"

Rick Atkinson discusses his book, "The British Are Coming", at Politics and Prose on 5/14/19.

Atkinson’s deep research, attention to detail, and narrative flair made his Liberation Trilogy indispensable for scholars and general readers alike. His new book opens a similarly ambitious project with a look at the first twenty months of the American Revolution. Starting in the spring of 1775 with the Lexington and Concord battles and running through the conflicts at Trenton and Princeton in the winter of 1777, Atkinson keeps a dual focus on military strategy—charting the increasing skill and confidence of the inexperienced Continental Army—and on the actions of individuals. His vivid cast includes Washington and Franklin as well as Henry Knox, a bookseller with a knack for wielding artillery, and Nathaniel Greene, an unlikely battle captain, along with many of the British, whose perspectives add new facets to the familiar story.

Rick Atkinson is the bestselling author of the Liberation Trilogy—An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light—as well as The Long Gray Line and other books. His many awards include Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism. A former staff writer and senior editor at The Washington Post, he lives in Washington, D.C.

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Produced by Tom Warren