Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: A terrific book, and the best one on the battle of Saratoga that you'll ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I like this work almost as much as I did The Winter Soldiers. Ketchum is an excellent author. I would recomend this work to any fan of Revolutionary War history.

I would have liked to have seen a little more analysis of the impact of the battle politically. Saratoga was an essential turning point in gaining the full support of the French. Ketchum provides less than one chapter on this aspect of the battle.

I found Ketchum's dicussions of the difficulties with clothing and travel and provisions very interesting. I also found Ketchum's discusssions of the personalities very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific history
Review: I picked up this book after having read Ketchum's brilliant "Divided Loyalties: How the American Revolution Came to New York". I was just as impressed with this marvelous text, "Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War". I think that Richard Ketchum has become as important to recounting the critical events of the Revolutionary War as John Keenan has been with World Wars I and II. What impresses me most is his persuasive argument. Any pivotal moment during the Revolution could have been termed a "turning point". But after conveying the details of the battle, the struggles of the terrain and weather, the torturous communications, the events that led to the battle and those that came later, I cannot argue against his case.

Like most historians, Ketchum has that ability to bring the moments back to life, to convery that sense of urgency of the event: and he does it by using primary sources as well as his own research. But beyond that, he uses the language in a way that is easily understandable without talking down to the reader. I wish that could be said of other historians! Pick up this book.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better titled......
Review: I specifically bought this book to gain more information on Benedict Arnold's role in this battle. Ketchum did not disappoint in this regard. The details Ketchum provided prior to the battle, although extremely poignant, became almost lengthy. So much so, I was nearly 300 pages into this book before the battle began. I though the book would have been better titled "Gentleman Johnny, the Northern Campaign, and Saratoga."
All in all, I would certainly recommend this for someone looking for a definitive work on Saratoga.

Rating:
Summary: Why the Revolution succeded; the soldier's view
Review: Ketchum writes a detailed history of Saratoga and the events leading to the battle drawing largely from the correspondence of the soldiers who fought the battle. As such, "Saratoga" gives a detailed, participants' view of the battle. At this level, the work is enthralling, tense and a book which is difficult to put down.

Shortcomings exist in several areas. First, the maps are weak. The text is detailed and makes reference to many points which are difficult or impossible to discern from the maps in the test. Moreover, given a battle so dependant on terrain, terrain is poorly illustrated on most of the maps.

Second, Ketchum is weak on the sumary of the battles and skirmishes. On the major actions the impacts are clear, yet on some of the minor actions, the results are less clear.

Left unexplained is the success of the Indian groups fighting with the British. Indian actions against American troops seemed singularly successful. It is unexplained why the Indians were so successful as well as how the Americans countered.

Finally, while it is clear that Burgoyne's failure at Saratoga may have insured the success of the Revolution, it is less than clear whether Burgoyne's success would have insured Britsh success in holding the colonies. On finishing the book one is left with something of the feeling that comes at the end of Fitgerald's "Fire in the Lake": Battles may be won by the British, but the war was lost at the start.

In the end, Ketchum's greatest success lies in illustrating the committment and fervor of the individual American to obtaining independence.

Rating:
Summary: A singular book on a singular battle-Saratoga
Review: Ketchum's "Saratoga" is a superb, one of a kind, military history
You can blame my enthusiasm for this book on my being a long-time history buff, a West Point graduate, and a writer myself ("Nuclear Turnaround").
Add to this, I was raised in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York. My parent's ancestors participated in the British-Indian battles in that area that led up to the epic at Saratoga that Ketchum so ably portrays.

I particularly admire how the author covered so many aspects of that battle, ranging from the detailed personality portraits of the commanders on both sides to the split loyalties of the various Iroquois Indian tribes.

Ketchums description of the seeds of disappointment planted in Benedict Arnold's mind leading up to his later betrayal at West Point is so well spelled out. At the same time, the ego and flamboyance of Burgoyne that contributed to his defeat is another highlight of the story. All of this, the author does in an entertaining and story telling manner.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wants a better understanding of this key aspect of the American Revolution presented in such an entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: A singular book on a singular battle-Saratoga
Review: Ketchum's "Saratoga" is a superb, one of a kind, military history
You can blame my enthusiasm for this book on my being a long-time history buff, a West Point graduate, and a writer myself ("Nuclear Turnaround").
Add to this, I was raised in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York. My parent's ancestors participated in the British-Indian battles in that area that led up to the epic at Saratoga that Ketchum so ably portrays.

I particularly admire how the author covered so many aspects of that battle, ranging from the detailed personality portraits of the commanders on both sides to the split loyalties of the various Iroquois Indian tribes.

Ketchums description of the seeds of disappointment planted in Benedict Arnold's mind leading up to his later betrayal at West Point is so well spelled out. At the same time, the ego and flamboyance of Burgoyne that contributed to his defeat is another highlight of the story. All of this, the author does in an entertaining and story telling manner.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wants a better understanding of this key aspect of the American Revolution presented in such an entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: Like You Were There
Review: Richard M. Ketchum has done such an outstanding job of historical research and non-fiction writing that it's as if readers are there at the scene, watching events unroll before their very eyes. In "Saratoga" he goes way beyond a simple reciting of troop movements and statistical results; he takes us behind the lines and into the minds of the officers. Who were these men and what prompted them to make the decisions that led to Britian's devastating defeat and a major turning point in the Revolutionary War in favor of the Americans?

Ketchum spends a lot of ink setting the stage: Who was "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne and how did he come to lead the British invasion of New England from Canada? Who were the Germans, often inaccurately referred to exclusively as "Hessians," and why were they there supporting the British? How did Burgoyne's decision to employee Canadian and--more relevant--Iroquois Indians to assist the British invasion affect the campaign? Who were the American officers and how did they get a rag-tag crew of citizen soldiers to defeat arguably the greatest army on earth at the time? Ketchum fleshes out his character portraits and explanations of the ensuing action with generous use of quotes from actual correspondence of the day by many parties involved, officers and enlisted men alike.

The action chronicles Burgoyne's interminable advance down Lakes Champlain and George to the Hudson River where he is to meet General Howe's northbound Army--a pincer move that will divide the New England and southern colonies and win the war. Their auspicious start--fair weather, fast movement, high morale, superior numbers and weaponry--culminates in the shockingly easy victory over the American's prize northern fort at Ticonderoga with nary a shot fired when St. Claire decides (wisely) to retreat. But from there the fun is over. Nasty weather, brutal wilderness, unruly Indians, incompetent officers, unwieldy supply lines, dwindling troop counts, desertion and disease, and, of course, the tenacious and heroic efforts of the seemingly overmatched American Continentals and militias eventually spell doom for the invasion force in the train wreck called the Battle of Saratoga. Ketchum sketches in fine detail the whole excruciating campaign.

One of the startling obstacles of waging 18th-Century warfare was the slow speed of communication, not just with troops deployed across a broad battlefield, but with distant command structure. Never was this more evident than with British efforts to wage war from across the Atlantic, where instructions, supplies, and reinforcements took literally months to appear on scene. With perfect hindsight it's hard to imagine how Burgoyne's campaign had any chance of success, unless he were to charge relentlessly toward Albany, regardless of the condition of his troops; or unless Generals Howe or Clinton had moved to support him in time, as originally conceived. Time and delay were Burgoyne's greatest enemies.

History books are often tedious. Not so with "Saratoga." Ketchum has set the table for plenty of exciting what-if play by armchair generals. I couldn't put this exciting volume down! --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of BIG ICE and WAKE UP DEAD

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Richard M. Ketchum is as good a writer as there is. This account of the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution could just be THE definitive work on this subject.

As the preface to this book states, at Saratoga the British campaign that was supposed to crush America's rebellion ended instead in a surrender that changed the history of the world. Those 24 words are as succinct as it gets. Who could have guessed that those ragged farmers could have at first cut off and then captured a complete British army in the field? Yet that is exactly what occurred. Along with Yorktown and Cowpens this was one of the few times American forces faced English regulars in a stand up, toe to toe fight and won.

Saratoga signaled the ability of American arms and the ferociousness of the American spirit. It destroyed an intricate British campaign to separate New England from the rest of the States and ultimately secured French recognition of American Independence.

This is one richly detailed literary effort that truly does describe the turning point of America's Revolutionary War.

Rating:
Summary: The Master Does It Again!!
Review: This is the third book of Mr. Ketchum's that I've read, and I'm glad to have read it. Maybe not leaps and bounds ahead of the other two, Decisive Day and Winter Soldiers, but it's a bit better.

The writing style of this volume is much more "reader friendly". He teases, entertains, baits, and just conveys easily understandable information. He leaves the reader wanting more, then satifies that need in the next few pages. His comments about what he is writing about are very entertaining. One gets the feeling that he's there, providing play-by-play reporting, but not in an obvious fashion. His use of letters, diaries, and other written material provide a fresh and personal feel to the story.

No need to relate the story here. Read the book if you don't know what it's about, you'll enjoy it. My lasting impression: No one can write about the British pomp and Martial Art like Richard Ketchum can. I swear, he must be a Brit himself, and from that Century!! He does it in Decisive Day, and now in Saratoga. I enjoy this SO MUCH, I can't describe it. It is the high point of each of his books. I suggest that you read all three books about the Revolution, and enjoy the time. Thanks very much Mr. Ketchum!!!