Average customer rating:
- Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
|
Conflict over Convoys: Anglo-American Logistics Diplomacy in the Second World War
Kevin Smith
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ireland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Naval
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Europe
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Europe
| History
| Humanities
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
General
| History
| Humanities
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
United States
| History
| Humanities
| New & Used Textbooks
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0521497256 |
Book Description
Conflict Over Convoys examines the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of Anglo-American diplomacy, deepening our understanding of Allied strategy, British industrial decline, and operations TORCH and OVERLORD. Britain's dependence on American ships and logistical support created controversy over the control of military strategy; victory in the Atlantic eventually allowed America to dominate Allied logistics diplomacy. Conflict Over Convoys shows how these tensions reflect the decline of British hegemony and America's rise to global influence.
Download Description
Conflict Over Convoys examines the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of Anglo-American diplomacy, deepening our understanding of Allied strategy, British industrial decline, and operations TORCH and OVERLORD. Britain's dependence on American ships and logistical support created controversy over the control of military strategy; victory in the Atlantic eventually allowed America to dominate Allied logistics diplomacy. Conflict Over Convoys shows how these tensions reflect the decline of British hegemony and America's rise to global influence.
Customer Reviews:
Two enthusiastic thumbs up!.......2007-02-25
Ecclesiastes 12:12 does not apply here. Only $39.99? A great stocking-stuffer.
Book Description
Miriam Beckstein is a young, hip, business journalist in Boston. She discovered in The Family Trade and The Hidden Family that her family came from an alternate reality, that she was very well-connected, and that her family was too much like the mafia for comfort. She found herself caught in a family trap in The Clan Corporate and betrothed to a brain-damaged prince, and then all hell broke loose.
Now, in The Merchants' War, Miriam has escaped to yet another world and remains in hiding from both the Clan and their opponents. There is a nasty shooting war going on in the Gruinmarkt world of the Clan, and we know something that Miriam does not; something that she's really going to hate--if she lives long enough to find out.
Book Description
T he United States Merchant Marine has a tradition of beingat the forefront of every American military action and has served with distinction in every conflict. New York Timesbestselling author Brian Herbert chronicles the amazing exploits of these gallant seamen, assembling a fascinating array of data from historical documents, government records, diaries, and interviews with surviving veterans.
Customer Reviews:
Unfortunetly a poorly written book on a worthy topic.......2007-07-26
I admire Brian Herbert's attempt to fill a void in military history. I'm a cadet at one of the Maritime Academies in the U.S. training for my license as a 3rd Assistant Engineer, and no one knows better then I that the history of the U.S. Merchant Marine (USMM) is grossly overlooked. However He could of been well served by having a historian co-write his book. I normally have trouble putting down a history, but this one I struggled through. The chapters and stories are poorly organized. For example, less then half the the chapter on the Russian Gauntlet was actually about the Murmansk Run. He could of used to embellish or give extra detail to the individual narrative he writes, most are only a paragraph long and give the reader nothing more then a taste of what happened. No doubt there were many acts of uncommon bravery on the merchant ships plowing through the North Atlantic and Pacific; however, simply saying does little to validate that. He tells of how a merchant seaman rescued sailors from another ship, sunk by a German U-Boat or Japanese I-Boat, but doesn't tell what the man did to save the desperate sailors or give more information other then the rescue happened. Another time he tells about was a merchant ship ramming a French sub. He mentions essentially no more then that, he doesn't tell how or why the sub was rammed (was there fog, did the sub suddenly surface in front of the ship...), he simply mentions it happened and moves on. Additionally he tells the same story multiple times throughout the book. I constantly found it frustrating that he would begin telling about an incident and then direct the reader to a future or previous chapter where the actual narrative is contained. While it is obvious that he has passion for the story of the USMM, the book reminded me of a high school or college history student trying hastily a paper and give is some weight with few sources and poorly conducted research: rambling, ill-organized and incoherent.
To me it seems that he let his passion cloud his work; good portions of the book are nothing more then rants about how the government hung the merchant sailors out to dry after the war and how merchant sailors were regarded as bums, drunks and draft dodgers. While the first part is true, merchant sailors were denied many of the benefits enjoyed by those serving in the armed forces, he could of easily dedicated the beginning chapter to this subject, and used the rest of the book to show why the sailors deserved them through the story of the USMM in WWII. Instead he keeps coming back to it, and using the same stories, or versions of those, chapter after chapter to try to prove his point. At times his opinion is so vehement that you can picture the frown on his face and feel his blood pressure rise.
He seems so intent on making a connection with those merchant sailors that he gives the example of one, Dean Beaumont who's father was a noted painter of naval images, to his own life, where is father invented the Dune series set in "vast deserts with dunes like the waves of a great sea, and monsters beneath the sand that are worse than anything Ahab ever faced." And says that "Frank Herbert even 'invented' containerized shipping; thus my family had a connection with the Merchant Marine long before I met Dean Beaumont." Unfortunately it is obvious that that "connection," as far stretched as it is, is not enough. His nautical knowledge is sorely lacking, he often refers to a ship's speed as "knots per hour," redundant if nothing else.
Finally, while I don't doubt the accuracy of his research, he notes very few sources throughout the book, such as the tale of the merchant ship noted above that rammed a French sub. Which, besides making it harder to uphold, also gives an interested reader no place to turn for more information on the skimpy narratives he offers.
If your simply looking for a book with lots of small tales of men in the merchant marine, but not a lot of substance, this one would fit the bill. I would not recommend it however to someone looking for a history of the USMM in WWII, either interested persons, historians or students.
Excellent WW11 Merchant Mariner Book.......2007-01-10
This book really opened my eyes to the plight of the US Merchant Mariners and their value to the WW11 effort and how they were treated.
Good Subject, Bad Book.......2006-08-18
This a good subject and I have much respect for the men who served in the Merchant Marine. But this is a badly written book. I'm sorry to have to say it, but it's true.
Interesting but flawed book.......2006-08-14
Brian Herbert's motivation for writing this book is fine. The U S Government treated the merchant marine (which suffered a higher death rate than any military branch) shamefully during and after WW II. Second only to the way it treated the women pilots who were kicked out without even bus fare home. For that reason alone, I hope a lot of people read this book.
But Herbert makes the argument over and over again - seemingly on every second or third page - until you get really sick of reading it. Also the book is an example of awful editing. With typos on nearly every page, the publisher should be ashamed for serving the author so poorly.
And one final complaint: Any author who presumes to write about the sea should know better than to use the phrase "knots per hour." A knot is a measure of nautical miles per hour. To say, "ten knots per hour," is to say, "ten nautical miles per hour per hour." Anyone who uses the term "knots per hour" is immediately and justifiably presumed to know absolutely nothing about the sea.
UNREWARDED LOYALTY.......2006-02-17
In the Introduction, the author, Brian Herbert, writes "Under precarious conditions these merchant seamen performed extraordinary acts of bravery, they were the lifeline of the Allied forces, making victory not only possible, but inevitable." In a strict sense they were not members of the armed forces. However, in World War II, the Merchant Marine suffered 8,380 battle deaths or 3.899 % per-capita; that was greater than the Marine Corps that suffered 2.949% battle deaths per-capita.
A brief account of the buildup of the American Merchant Marine is given. Starting in 1936 with a vigorous ship building program, of which the liberty ship designed for rapid construction, was a key design. The U.S. Merchant Marine grew rapidly. In 1942 the U.S. Navy attempted to take control of the Merchant Marine, which the ship owners and maritime unions successfully defeated only to pay a high post war price for winning.
A somewhat disjointed text narrates the World War II perils and accomplishments of the U.S. Merchant Marine which suffered horrendous losses of men and materials. Several examples of wartime merchant marine engagements are given; many will be familiar to readers of WW-II maritime history. Merchant Marine officer, Dean Beaumont, purser on the liberty ship SS Brander Matthews is one of the WW-II narrative vehicles as the text follows his ship in the Pacific until Dean suffered a nervous break-down and was returned home.
Upon returning home, Dean Beaumont found that he, along with all merchant seamen, was not eligible for any medical benefits nor for the educational and/or financial benefits of the GI Bill. Had they been under the control of the U.S. Navy as proposed in 1942, they would have been eligible. Regardless of their heavy losses and merchant marine participation in all the major invasions including Normandy, the merchant marines in the post war period were treated as noncombatants, not allowed to participate in parades with armed force members, provided no benefits and were often treated as second-class citizens. Consequently, some ex-merchant seamen became homeless and many could not participate in the postwar prosperity. This book is a plea for justice for these men who gave the county their full loyalty, often giving their life.
The text also includes a brief outline of the Merchant Marine history dating back to the Revolutionary War when the Merchant Marine was also the Navy in the form of privateers.
If the reader has access to the DVDs now available of the 1952 TV series titled "Victory at Sea", they will find that viewing the episodes "Sealing the Breach" and "Guadalcanal" while reading the book will make the text more meaningful. Regardless of its somewhat jumbled text, this book is worth reading.
Book Description
In this gripping, page-turning account, Sam Moses has told a story in the tradition of Sebastian Junger’s A Perfect Storm, Robert Kurson’s Shadow Divers, and Hampton Sides’s Ghost Soldiers. It’s a story about the heroism of two men in battle at sea during World War II, and one woman fleeing Nazi Norway with her child. It’s about how courage can change the course of history.
AT ALL COSTS: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Marines Turned the Tide of World War II is the astonishing untold account, with original historical reporting, of how two men faced unfathomable danger to help save the island of Malta, Churchill’s crux of the war.
In 1942, the tiny island of Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Hitler needed Malta as a stepping-stone to get to the oil in Iraq and Iran (Persia at the time). Blockaded by sea, Malta was running on empty, in food, fuel and ammunition. Axis U-boats and dive-bombers made supply convoys to Malta more like suicide missions. In this last-hope convoy, 50 warships escorted 13 freighters carrying aviation fuel, and a single critical tanker, the SS Ohio, with 107,000 barrels of oil from Texas. Winston Churchill had traveled to Washington and asked FDR for the tanker–his prime ministership was at stake over this mission to Malta.
Relentlessly dive-bombed and repeatedly torpedoed, the Ohio suffered huge hits and was abandoned. Two young American merchant mariners–pulled from the sea after their own ship went down in flames–boarded the ravaged tanker, repaired her guns and fought off German and Italian dive-bombers, as the sinking Ohio was towed at 4 knots toward Malta with a tiny crew of volunteers.
Sam Moses’ AT ALL COSTS is a triumphant story of human bravery: fearless, selfless acts by men determined to save a ship and win a war; profound communal courage from an island under brutal siege; and leaders who understood the cause of freedom.
Kirkus (starred review)
A historical footnote provides a riveting tale of true American grit during World War II.
In 1942, the island of Malta was the primary launching point in the Mediterranean for Allied
aircraft and submarine attacks against Axis supply convoys. At the height of the North African
campaign, Rommel’s tanks prepared to sweep into Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The only thing they lacked was
the fuel to get there, and the shortage was equally desperate on Malta. The Allies launched Operation
Pedestal, a last-ditch effort to re-supply the base by sending a convoy from Britain through the Gibraltar
Strait to the beleaguered island. The convoy, which included the American tanker Ohio and the U.S.
freighter Santa Elisa, was anything but a milk run. Vietnam vet Moses (Fast Guys, Rich Guys and
Idiots, not reviewed) crafts a thrilling adventure on the high seas, though it takes a while to get started.
The book’s first third juxtaposes Malta’s plight against the stories of two American merchant seamen
on the Santa Elisa: Lonnie Dales and Fred Larsen, through whose eyes the battle will be viewed in bluecollar
detail. Once Operation Pedestal begins, the narrative is all action. The convoy comes under
repeated attack, lives are lost, the Santa Elisa is sunk. Dales and Larsen find themselves aboard the
wounded Ohio, full to the brim with Texas crude. If they can hold off Nazi attacks and keep their new
ship afloat long enough to reach Malta, the operation will be a success. Moses takes readers directly
into the heat of battle, demonstrating a strong command of historical detail.
Highly recommended for fans of naval adventure. (Agent: Peter Riva/International Transactions, Inc.)
"At All Costs is an extraordinary work of research and an exciting read that pays tribute to a crucial enterprise taken against incredible odds. Sam Moses has brought the ghastliness of war and the beauty of heroism together, in jarring union." –Frank Deford
“This book tells a great story. But Sam Moses is not just sharing a gripping tale. He is sharing an important and oft neglected story about a battle that played a decisive role in shaping the outcome of WW II. You will meet people who will linger in memory for their bravery, foolishness, or wisdom.” –Ken Auletta, author of Backstory
“Thrillingly told and beautifully researched, At All Costs is not just the against-all-odds story of the saving of Malta, but also of how the fate of nations can turn on the personal bravery of two ordinary men.”
–Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers
“Sam Moses has skillfully blended the vivid recollections of many eyewitnesses with a wealth of original documentary research to produce an immensely readable and authoritative account of this crucial operation.” –Mark Whitmore, Director of Collections, Imperial War Museum, London, England
Customer Reviews:
How the ship got through.......2007-08-14
This is quite a good and interesting book about the convoy runs to Malta and in particular the voyage of the tanker OHIO. Having read the first half, I was however expecting to find the two American hero's personally swatting Axis planes out of the sky with their caps by the end. Instead while they act with supreme bravery, that bravery and guts is shared by a whole lot of other men too.
The build up is therefore almost a let down. The two main characters end up doing the same amazingly heroic deeds as the other people they share the story with, so that one is left wondering why the author didnt concentrate on the heroism of the entire bunch. It was certainly well deserved. Or was he specifically writing for an American audience and needed to show how, as the cover suggests, these two intredid heroes won WW2? I think the American flag may have slipped over the computer screen a little too often while he was writing.
What ever the reason for concentrating so much praise on these two men, nothing can diminish their heroism. Their dedication and sheer guts. In a crisis situation many people will rise to the occasion, and others will fail. In this story a few do fail, but the majority rise to deal with the terrible ordeal they must go through.
The research information is amazing. The author has travelled widely and written many letters to survivors in order to tell his story. He is to be commended for that. But there are some very silly editorial mistakes that diminish the research. On one hand he is telling us that the lack of fuel kept the Italian Battleships in port, and on another he twice describes one of the Italian cruisers as a battleship. British destroyers with 5" guns? I think not. There are other silly little mistakes that an editor should have picked up if he thoroughly read what the author had written.
Overall, the author does deserve praise for telling a good story and telling it well.
The thrust of historical research is of a very high standard that is only slightly marred by the silly mistakes described. I'm a little surprised an ex-Navy man would have made some of the errors of detail.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing more about the incredible voyage of the tanker OHIO. Its a good read and an entertainingly written one.
Fun read but.......2007-06-23
Ok is this great book, no. Is it a good read, well yes? The problem is that there are too many little mistakes that were made, pp 192 he refers to the battleship, Trieste. The Trieste was a Heavy Cruiser. The photograph identified as a JU-88 twin engine passing over a cruiser, is actually a tri-motor Italian bomber, you can even see the Italian markings on the planes wings. I don't even know what to do with this statement, pp 184, "German historians have long wondered how Churchill managed to persuade Stalin to join the allies." Hmm that little thing of Germany invading Russia may have had something to do with it, yah think. There are odd little statements throughout the book which has no basis in historic fact, the Swedes allowed the Germans to enter Norway through the backdoor. ????? Weak on sources, most are dated; there are far better histories of the Italian Navy then the ones used.
With all that this is still a great read and the guts that many of these men, not all, is truly remarkable. Would make a great film.
A great story, told pretty well.......2007-03-31
There's a lot to like about this book. Moses tells a great story. As other readers have pointed out, this is a tale of epic heroism and sacrifice, and you don't see many books that tell of WWII as it was fought by the merchant marine. Moses did his research, and makes liberal use of the recollections of those who fought this battle.
But "At All Costs" falls short of five stars for a couple reasons. At times it's hard to follow the action and the sequence of events, or to understand how events relate. Moses puts you in the moment and it can be tough to step back and understand the big picture.
And the subtitle, "How a crippled ship and two American merchant mariners turned the tide of World War II," shows how the book overreaches. I'm not discounting the importance of Malta, but you can't hang the outcome of the second world war on any one battle or event -- the allies would not have lost the war if Malta had fallen. Greater forces were at work, such as the economic strength of the United States, Hitler's failure as strategist, and Russia's vast territory and manpower (and willingness to sacrifice that manpower). This overreach hurts the book's credibility. The statement, noted by another reviewer, that German historians have always wondered how Churchill persuaded Stalin to join the Allies, doesn't help credibility either.
Finally, the two merchant seamen of the subtitle are featured prominently. This gets the book off to a slow start, as Moses tries too hard to inject human interest into a story that doesn't need it. Don't get me wrong -- those guys were heroes, but virtually everyone on that convoy was a hero.
If you're into naval history, I recommend this book. Just treat it as a great read and not necessarily great history.
Incredible Bravery and Sacrifice!.......2007-03-30
"At All Costs" is the story of a "do-or-die" resupply effort for British-held Malta in the Mediterranean that was key to its aircraft and submarines continuing to block oil to Rommel in Africa, then allowing the launching of the Eisenhower-led invasion of Africa. The authenticity of this resupply importance is born out by British P.M. Churchill's making a special trip to President Roosevelt to request borrowing the tanker Ohio to participate, sister ship of the already lost Kentucky in a prior effort, and one of the few tankers available - most fuel to this point was carried in limited quantities (sometimes in submarines) in 5-gallon cans or 45-gallon barrels. In addition, Churchill closely followed the convoy's progress, even while meeting with Stalin.
Despite an escort of 2 battleships, 4-5 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 25 destroyers, plus minesweepers, etc. only 5 cargo ships out of the original 14 made it. Fortunately, this included the most important of all Ohio - though it was in imminent danger of sinking. Three-hundred and fifty men died and many more were seriously wounded in less than a week, as the Axis powers attacked with 500-1,000 aircraft, an estimated 200 submarines, and an unknown number of large surface ships and PT boats.
Both sides made serious errors - fortunately, the Italians made the biggest - keeping their heaviest ships in port when they probably could have finished the convoy off.
Experts believe this convoy turned the tide of the war, and months later two more convoys successfully brought in 9 more cargo ships, without a loss. Regardless, there is no doubt whatsoever that the bravery and sacrifice exhibited by the American and British sailors during this operation was incredible! We all owe them so much!
A True Story of a WW II Convoy.......2007-03-19
During World War II Malta was an 'unsinkable air craft carrier.' It stood astride the German/Italian shipping lanes to North Africa. Malta is the place from which the planes attacking Rommel's supply ships took off. In turn, Malta was probably the most bombed small area of the war.
If Malta's job was stopping Rommel's re-supply, it was the job of the Germans and Italians to stop the resupply of Malta. This is the story of one re-supply convoy with a heavy emphasis on the story of the USS Ohio.
The book is well researched and reads almost like a novel. As I listened to the CD I was reminded of the fictional book 'H.M.S. Ulysses,' by Alistair MacLean. The poor Ohio, barely two years old at the time was torpedoed, bombed and even had a German plane crash into her. But she made it.
The recording is made by Michael Prichard. He has a long background of recording mystery stories, and perhaps that's why he reads this one so well. There was also a movie, 'Malta Story' about the defense of Malta and is available from Amazon.
Book Description
In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite Virginians joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule.
The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire.
Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex.
Customer Reviews:
Forced Founders review.......2007-07-06
Woody Holton, in his book Forced Founders Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia argues that Americans weaned on the stories of the Virginia elite, who for ideological purposes decided a revolution was needed, are misinformed. Desperation was the true reason that Virginia, and the likes of Jefferson and Washington and the other privileged gentry, moved towards declaring independence from British rule. Their desperation was in response to growing pressures placed on the gentry class by other segments of society. Forced Founders is divided into four parts covering three time periods. The first two parts cover the time period that is essentially the decade after the Great War for Empire, from 1763-1774. The third part covers the years 1774-1775. The fourth and final part covers the year of 1776. In all four parts Holton looks at the Virginia elite and their relations to various parties during that time period. The two parts Holton breaks the first time period down into are the problems that the gentry faced, and the solutions they came up with for those problems.
In Holton's thesis, he states "that the Independence movement was powerfully influenced by British merchants and three groups...Indians, farmers and slaves." (206) Holton uses letters and papers from contemporaries of the time. He also uses secondary sources to fill in the gaps. These sources he uses to good effect. Unfortunately, he only scratches the surface of the pressure these groups placed on the gentry class. One weakness of his research is that he has not found new sources,
but uses existing sources of the gentry class, to explain their relation to the other classes. Even though Holton acknowledges the bias of the elite, he says he was able to get the other groups' perspective. (xxi) While Holton's goal is to show that the revolution was not just a tax revolt, but also a class conflict (206), the book focuses mainly on the economic reasons that these groups were able to affect Virginia's elite society. This focus changes the typical perception that most Americans have of the founding fathers; it makes them seem less principled and god like. They are more identifiably human, as they are shown to be looking out for themselves. The examples that Holton uses are supportive of his thesis, but due to the breadth of the issues associated with these groups, his examples only scratch the surface of the importance these groups played. A second problem is that the Virginia gentry are still the primary focus of the book. Those groups that exert pressure on the founding fathers continue to be relegated to the second tier in importance. A better title might have been Virginia's Founding Fathers: The Economic Pressures That Drove Them to Revolution since most parts of the book deal with the economic effects each of the groups had on the Virginia founding fathers. Besides economic concerns, Holton alludes that another reason for the drive to independence was the founding fathers fear of losing their preferred position in society.
I felt that Forced Founders was a good read though it suffered from its brevity. A more in depth look at other pressures besides economic ones placed by these groups on the gentry would have strengthened his thesis. In addition, despite offering a slightly different perspective on the social elite of Virginia, Forced Founders still has them as the primary focus, continuing to foster the second-class status of other groups, thus perpetuating historians' tendency to consign them to its back page.
FORCED ARGUMENTS.......2006-05-02
While the book is a "good read" and "thought provoking," I have serious contentions with Holton's interpretation and analysis on many levels, not the least of which center on his lack of understanding and/or misinterpretation of the military and Indian issues which he attempts to cite as supporting his thesis, and which in turn causes me to question his other conclusions in "Forced Founders."
First, he apparently does not know the difference between the provincial militia of the royal colony, the independent militia formed at the resolution of the First Virginia Convention (and Continental Association after the First Continental Congress), or the Virginia militia as constituted by Virginia's revolutionary government, the Virginia Minutemen (as different from common militia) formed by the state in response to a resolution by the Second Continental Congress, the formation of Virginia State Troops or the establishment of the Virginia Continentals. To him, all those organizational concepts seem to be interchangeable.
Second, it is true that Virginia's last royal governor, John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, formed his "Ethiopian Regiment" by offering freedom to the military age male slaves of rebel masters (not all slaves), but Holton's explanation leads the reader to believe that the project was an overwhelming success. The primary source documents show that it was never accepted into Provincial service, and with less than 100 "effective" men present for duty, and about 60 sick on board hospital ships in May 1776, the regiment was disbanded. Furthermore, they were not Dunmore's only available troops. So how their presence forced slaveholders to support the revolution is questionable.
Holton also neglects to mention Dunmore's raising of the Queen's Own Loyal Regiment of Virginia, which was composed of white Loyalists. It too, like the Ethiopian Regiment, never amounted to much and was disbanded in 1776. But Holton doesn't mention them at all!
Third he mentions the battle of Kemp's Landing (a skirmish, actually) in November 1775, in which Dunmore's "army" (not just the black troops) drove Virginia militia from the field. He says nothing about the December 1775 battle (actually a larger skirmish) of Great Bridge that was a decisive American victory and forced the British to evacuate Norfolk (and Virginia until 1780).
Furthermore, Dunmore's army was about 600 strong, including the white Loyalist regiment, all the Loyalist militia he could muster, plus British sailors and marines, as well as the Ethiopian Regiment. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Ethiopian Regiment ever neared full "establishment" strength of 800 men, so I believe Holton overstates their influence. Also, the American force included Continentals, State troops, minutemen from Fauquier, Augusta and Culpepper Counties (from the western part of the Colony), as well as volunteers from Princess Anne and Norfolk Counties, including one company of "gentleman volunteers," and 250 North Carolina men.
Nor does Holton say much about those slaves who chose to stay with their masters, and how their action influenced decisions to support independence.
As for the founder's being forced by fear of the Indians, his argument on that score is also weak.
First, does he consider the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which Dunmore negotiated with the Shawnee, Mingo and western Delaware nations in October 1774, when they conceded defeat in "Dunmore's War"? After his flight from Williamsburg in June 1775, the terms of that treaty were finalized between Continental and (Revolutionary) Virginia Indian Commissioners and the same Indian nations in the Treaty of Fort Pitt in October 1775. The two treaties essentially kept the peace on Virginia's frontier (including in Kentucky) from 1774 until 1777 (after independence was declared!). So, Holton's claim that fear of the Indians forced the founders into supporting independence seems to be a weak one to me.
Second, Dunmore did plot to solicit the Ohio Indian nations to attack settlements on the Virginia frontier, unless its inhabitants affirmed their loyalty. However, the party of three Provincial officers he dispatched to put the plan into action (led by John Connolly), were captured by Maryland minutemen in the town of Hagers Town (Hagerstown) in November 1775, and Connolly was subsequently imprisoned in Philadelphia. The abortive plot was discovered when incriminating papers were found in Connolly's baggage, which was the source of Jefferson's indictment in the Declaration of Independence that king was "inciting the savages."
Third, Holton apparently also does not understand the operation of the Indian polities. He fails to mention that the Six Nations of Iroquois, who considered the nations in the Ohio country their "dependents" by right of conquest and "spoke for" them, were trying to maintain their neutrality early in the war. After being convinced by the officers of the British Indian Department (operating from Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit, not Virginia) that it was in their best interest to support the king against "the Bostonians," most of the Six Nations (the Onondaga, Cayuga, Mohawk and Seneca) and their "dependents," (Wyandot, western Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo and others) did finally come into the war in early 1777, when they struck backcountry settlements, according to British Indian Department officers, "from Fort Stanwix (at the head of the Mohawk Valley in New York) to the Ohio" and that the American backcountry "From the Susquehanna to the Kiskismenitas Creek upon the Ohio, and from thence down to the Kankawa [Kanawha] River is now nothing but an heap of ashes."
Finally, I don't believe Holton ever makes a convincing argument that tenants exerted influence to force their aristocratic landlords into supporting independence, and his argument about debtors falls short of being conclusive.
Who Were America's First Freedom Fighters?.......2005-05-21
In Forced Founders, Woody Holton writes about five non-elite groups in pre-Revolutionary America who struggled for relief from a long list of economic and political imperial burdens. Small landholders, merchants, debtors and even Native Americans and slaves in Virginia were affected by a global depression in which the price of tobacco had fallen close to its lowest historical levels, prices of other commodities had plummeted and the credit market had collapsed. Elite, wealthy Virginia gentlemen farmers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry felt the squeeze but for Virginia's non-elites, the confluence of adverse economic factors became an overwhelming millstone. Everyone in Virginia suffered the effects of the Navigation Acts that restricted colonial trade only to Britain. Everyone was forced to adjust to the boycott of Britain passed by the Continental Congress. Virginia's economy staggered when small businesses and landowners defaulted on their debt, faced foreclosure of their assets and sunk into economic ruin. Holton's thesis is that well-to-do colonial Virginia leaders were pushed to choose rebellion against Britain by these non-elite groups whose meager resources made them defenseless against this toxic brew of imperial oppression and negative global economic conditions.
Perhaps the most powerful force behind the fight for independence was the paralyzing debt incurred by Virginia's growers. It was held primarily by their British merchant counterparts who bought their tobacco, sold them supplies and lent them money. The Virginians' debt was even more overwhelming because it landed on their balance sheets during one of the worst recessions of the colonial era. Virginian Arthur Lee wrote in 1764 that American colonists owed British merchants ₤6 million and British mercantilist policies drained an additional ₤500,000 a year from the tobacco colonies. Virginia's small landholders and business people - and no doubt, their counterparts in other colonies - realized British commercial, monetary and immigration policies favored the mercantilist-creditors back in London. Thus it was that debtors in Virginia became unrelenting critics of British policy, making them a persistent political force in favor of independence.
Virginia land speculators thwarted by British governance were another perpetual burr under the saddles of the colony's leadership, not least because of the unrest and threat of attack they created among Native Americans. Although the Indians ultimately lost the commercial, legal and military battles they fought in defense of their land, their efforts through tribal coalitions to enlist British support were irritatingly effective. One of the unintentional results of the Indians' occasional success against the white land speculators was pressure from them on Virginia's leadership. Independence from Britain would permit Virginia land speculators to move against the Indians, unimpeded by imperial interference.
Like all whites in pre-Emancipation America, colonial Virginians considered black Africans a serious threat to their security. Their fear boiled over when Virginia slaves began to negotiate in 1775 for their freedom with British Governor Dunmore in exchange for military assistance to help control civil unrest. White Virginians who'd been independence-neutral or British loyalists became overnight patriots. For them, the only way to restore order, preserve ownership and protect property was to escape British governance and begin a new governmental regime. It was ironic the slaves' ploy for personal freedom frightened Virginia's elites to support the fight for American independence.
Holton guides readers of Forced Founders through an intriguing but occasionally awkward review of the influence of non-elite groups on Virginia's road to Revolution. Its virtue is its point-of-view; its burden is its less-than-focused scope. In the end, it appears he does too little with too much.
However Holton is to be commended for thinking outside the box. He uses primary sources from the gentry to study Virginia's economically and politically important "non-gentlemen" because, says Holton, their records reveal the gentlemen as powerfully influenced by the actions of smallholders, slaves and Native Americans. Working top down and one class removed, he shows the American Revolution was not just a rich man's war. Historians are well-advised to incorporate such 360-degree-point-of-view thinking in all their examination of primary sources. As they pursue this method, however, they must focus their theses and remain alert to the dangers of scope creep.
A must read for anyone even attempting to study the era........2003-08-30
One of the most common misconceptions of Americans today centers around the revolutionary war, specifically the fact that this war was caused by colonist unrest due to excessive taxation, chiefly in Massachusetts. Fortunately, Holton is able to modify this fallacy, as he presents towards massive strife in the Virginia colony that can be linked as a direct cause of the revolutionary war.
By presenting tension between everyone from debtors and creditors to oppressed minorities (slaves and Native Americans) and the Anglo Saxon majority, Holton is able to paint a much more realistic picture of the times. Readers will be shocked by evidence presented; especially notable is the substantiation of rich landowners actually wanting to exterminate the slave trade prior to the war, almost akin to a sumptuary law, to preserve social boundaries. Also notable is the documentation of how close battle came to breaking out in Virginia as a result of Dunmore's actions, far prior to any serious action in Lexington, Concord, or even Boston.
Although this book makes an interesting read in correcting some of the misunderstandings more than two centuries of time have created, it also works well in conjunction with a study of the rest of the war. When Dunmore's actions are viewed as a precursor to those of Cornwallis, Tarleton, and Clinton, an even more worthwhile and in depth study of the era can be begun.
Thus, whether the reader is just has an interest in the time period or is a scholar striving to make connections, Holton's work is an excellent read. One can only hope that Holton or others can help paint a more realistic picture for the other twelve colonies.
great read.......2001-09-01
Ours is an age when we worry about consumer debt (and consumer confidence), terrorists, and an energy crisis. In other words, when we feel our society a little wobbly it is great to read Woody Holton's book and find similar concerns in pre-revolutionary Virginia. Virginians were caught up in a "web" that included a debt crisis, fear of indian raids, slave uprisings, and class struggle. "Although no one can deny their importance [great leaders], the thesis of this book has been that the Independence movement was also powerfully influenced by British merchants and by three groups that today would be called grassroots: Indians, farmers, and slaves." (p. 206)How we relate to Holton's thesis probably depends on how we feel present day worries influence voting (thinking) patterns.
While the specific subject of this book is pressures that resulted in revolution, the facts presented here could be used to make a wider case about the "web" that every generation finds itself in. What will our consumer crisis, energy shortage, fear of terrorists lead to?
Holton writes well and is to be commended for his presentation.
Book Description
In 1774, as the new world simmered with tensions that would lead to the violent birth of a new nation, two Rhode Island brothers were heading toward their own war over the issue that haunts America to this day: slavery.
Set against a colonial backdrop teeming with radicals and reactionaries, visionaries, spies, and salty sea captains, Sons of Providence is the biography of John and Moses Brown, two classic American archetypes bound by blood yet divided by the specter of more than half a million Africans enslaved throughout the colonies. John is a profit-driven robber baron running slave galleys from his wharf on the Providence waterfront; his younger brother Moses is an idealist, a conscientious Quaker hungry for social reform who -- with blood on his own hands -- strikes out against the hypocrisy of slavery in a land of liberty.
Their story spans a century, from John's birth in 1736, through the Revolution, to Moses' death in 1836. The brothers were partners in business and politics and in founding the university that bears their name. They joined in the struggle against England, attending secret sessions of the Sons of Liberty and, in John's case, leading a midnight pirate raid against a British revenue cutter. But for the Browns as for the nation, the institution of slavery was the one question that admitted no middle ground. Moses became an early abolitionist while John defended the slave trade and broke the laws written to stop it. The brothers' dispute takes the reader from the sweltering decks of the slave ships to the taverns and town halls of the colonies and shows just how close America came to ending slavery eighty years before the conflagration of civil war.
This dual biography is drawn from voluminous family papers and other primary sources and is a dramatic story of an epic struggle for primacy between two very different brothers. It also provides a fresh and panoramic view of the founding era. Samuel Adams and Nathanael Greene take turns here, as do Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island's great revolutionary leader and theorist, and his brother Esek, first commodore of the United States Navy. We meet the Philadelphia abolitionists Anthony Benezet and James Pemberton, and Providence printer John Carter, one of the pioneers of the American press. For all the chronicles of America's primary patriarch, none documents, as this book does, George Washington's sole public performance in opposition to the slave trade.
Charles Rappleye brings the skills of an investigative journalist to mine this time and place for vivid detail and introduce the reader to fascinating new characters from the members of our founding generation. Raised in a culture of freedom and self-expression, Moses and John devoted their lives to the pursuit of their own visions of individual liberty. In so doing, each emerges as an American archetype -- Moses as the social reformer, driven by conscience and dedicated to an enlightened sense of justice; John as the unfettered capitalist, defiant of any effort to constrain his will. The story of their collaboration and their conflict has a startlingly contemporary feel. And like any good yarn, the story of the Browns tells us something about ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Remarkable book chronicling the issues, politics and personalities of the Revolutionary period in Rhode Island........2006-05-21
The tiny State of Rhode Island certainly played a significant role during the American Revolution. Few recall that when Roger Williams established Rhode Island in 1644 it was for all practical purposes the first practicing democratic state since the fall of Athens. Rhode Islanders were an exceptionally independent lot. The burning of the two masted British schooner "Gaspee" in June of 1772 by a group of leading citizens of the colony essentially struck the first blow in the nations quest for independence. In "Sons of Providence" author Charles Rappleye recalls the historic events that were unfolding in Rhode Island in those years and focuses on two brothers, John and Moses Brown, who would find themselves on opposite sides of so many of the important questions of their day. It is a compelling story.
Until recently I never realized how important the issue of the slave trade was as the nations march toward independence proceeded. It seems slavery was a highly emotional issue even in the 1770's and 1780's. John and Moses Brown along with brothers James and Nicholas were members of one of the most prominent families in colonial Providence. The Brown family was involved in all manner of commerce and in 1765 they made the decision to enter the slave trade. And so it was that they outfitted a ship they christened "Sally" to make the voyage. In "Sons of Providence" you will discover why the slave trade was such a controversial and dirty business. If you have never read about the conditions that existed on these ships then you are sure to be horrified. It turns out that roughly half the slaves that were picked up on the West Coast of Africa died during the return voyage.
In any event, in the years following the "Sally" debacle John Brown and his brother Moses would pursue entirely different paths. John was first and foremost a businessman and lobbied for laws and policies favorable to the merchant class. For the rest of his life John Brown would continue to oppose any measures that would outlaw slavery and restict commerce in any way. Moses Brown on the other hand would renounce his Baptist heritage (his great grandfather Chad Brown was the first pastor of the First Baptist Church in America)and become a Quaker. Quakers were among the earliest and most vocal opponents of slavery and the simple Quaker lifestyle held much appeal for Moses Brown. Moses Brown would divest himself of much of his fortune and become one of the leading abolitionists of his day.
Although John and Moses Brown would continue to collaborate on a number of projects over the next quarter century they would nonetheless find themselves on opposite sides of any number of important issues.
In his extraordinary book "John Adams" author David McCullough
gets much of his source material from the voluminous letters between John and Abigail Adams. Likewise, much of the material for "Sons of Providence" appears to be culled from letters between John and Moses Brown. As such this book provides tremendous insight into the thought processes of those on both sides of so many of the important issues of that era.
"Sons of Providence" is exceptionally well-written and meticulously researched. This is a must read for history buffs and a great choice for general readers as well. Highly recommended!
shocking.......2006-05-13
uncovers what the history books have been trying to hide. america almost ended slavery at the very begining
eye opening.......2006-05-10
the north caused and profitted from slavery more than history books tell. this fabulous story shows two brothers who embodied the american quest for liberty while confronting the great question that still haunts our country today. incredible circumstances find the battle between abolition and slavery contained in one family, and details how the north defended slavery during the birth of our nation.
Customer Reviews:
Serviceable Accounting of a Tragedy.......2006-08-27
Very few people are likely to have heard of the loss of the American merchant ship Badger State at Christmas of 1969. She was carrying a load of bombs to resupply the Air Force in Vietnam, and a chain of unfortunate events--poor stowage of the explosives, carrying an insufficient amount of cargo so that the ship rode high, bad weather--combined to lead almost inevitably to tragedy.
Benedetto, in very simple and unadorned prose that is not bogged down by a great deal of nautical jargon, provides a workmanlike rendition of the last days of the ship and crew. He draws heavily upon the documented testimony of survivors before a Board of Inquiry and received very significant input from Charles Wilson, the captain of the late vessel.
He also throws in a great deal of material (which at times verges on simple padding) about the tragic experiences of many other ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine over the last two hundred years, particularly about their destruction by, or, in some cases, escape from, Axis forces in WWII.
A small number of black and white photos are included. The diagrams of the ship and of the bomb pallets would have been better placed at the beginning of the book for easier reference.
This is not a lyrical and haunting masterpiece of man's struggle against the hostility of nature, but it's a serviceable enough rendering of an otherwise forgotten disaster and a nice primer about the sacrifices of the merchant marine.
True Life.......2006-05-31
I recently sailed with a person who was a crewmember on the S.S. Badger State when this tragic incident occurred. Your book brought the story full circle, thanks for writing such an illuminating account.
Paul J. Gunis
Sailing into the Abyss.......2006-05-14
Mr. Benedetto has brought history alive with his accounting of the horrific journey of the S.S Badger State. One feels the struggle and dispair of the Captain and crew as the drama unfolds. Sailing into the Abyss is a compelling real life story that would rival any fictional tale.
Review of Sailing into the Abyss.......2006-05-01
As a historian, I am always interested in learning new things about past events. Mr. Benedetto's book, "Sailing into the Abyss," has been one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. Not having previously read anything about the saga of the S.S. Badger State, I was glued to the pages from beginning to end. The book is a great reminder of how things at sea can go terribly wrong very quickly and serves as a great tribute to the men whose story this represents. Fascinating reading.
Ray Charlton
Here's the Reason they are Called the "High Seas".......2006-04-29
A wonderful read. I have recommended it to several nautical friends and all agree. Thrilling from start to finish.
Book Description
Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. But there is something very special about Bobby: He is going to save the world. Now Bobby's fans can join him once again as he travels through space and time to other worlds. From the alternate dimension of Denduron to the underwater territory of Cloral to the world of First Earth, Bobby's mission is nothing less than to save the universe from ultimate evil.
Customer Reviews:
Great Series.......2007-03-02
First of all, to refute the reviewer who spoke of profanity. We do not use profanity in my family either and I can't think of any profanity that was in this series. Actually, there is one word used, and while we choose not to say "The name of the Lord in vain" in my family and get offended hearing others say it, I was grateful at least that was the only extent of the profanity. It was used by people in the same way millions of people use it daily and wasn't overused, it was used primarily to add emphasis to the intensity of what was going on. At least it wasn't some of the other garbage words that people use now days. It was easy to ignore it, like I said, it took me a minute to even recollect it's use.
My son got me hooked on these books. We recently moved to India and I was dying for something to read. His friends introduced this series to him and after watching him choose to read these books over video and computer games, as well as TV, I knew I had to give it a shot. I was impressed. It constantly keeps a good flow of movement and action. Like my son, I had a hard time putting this down. We have always been Harry Potter fans, and I dare say I think this series is even better.
I will admit the first book was a little dry, but that is to be expected when reading the first book of a series, there is a lot that needs to be introduced. In the ensuing books, the introductions are very small and fast as to be expected.
Average, but read it if you like........2006-09-28
The books come in a box and each book is around one inch thick. I don't know if it was by accident or not, but I have found some typos in the books (such as missing quotation marks, etc.).
The books are okay, in my opinion. The first two books were around 3-4 stars (meaning a B- to a B+ rating). The third book just killed me. I thought the characters were just 'dumb', because they didn't really have to think about what the villan was thinking about (i.e. the villan's scheme was so easy to see, even if I were a character in the story). The third book killed my interest, but read it if you like and see if the villan's plot was as easily distinguished for you as it did me.
Overall, I think the books are just average. Being gr.8 when I read this, I think the main character's mind (he was around gr.8ish in the beginning) was not very mature. The reading level was easy too.
The Pendragon Series #1 -3.......2006-08-27
I think these books are totally brilliant. They're funny, clever, entertaining and imaginative. They're written in a really cool way too, you can really believe it's a kid writing, not an adult.
You get to know the characters really well and you care about what happens to them.
They're good for reading in one long stretch on a plane, or a chapter a night (that's kind of hard though since it's really difficult to put it down!!)
I really recommend this book to anyone!
GET THEM ALL.......2006-07-31
I got the books for my godson - He LOVES them - he and his friends keep rereading them
Great Entertainment.......2006-07-04
My 15 year old niece turned me on to this series and both my husband and I have enjoyed them.
Book Description
From the earliest days of the Second World War, Hitler's U-Boats were unleashed with the mission of sinking as much Allied merchant tonnage as possible. From the sinking of the Glasgow-based ship Olivegrove by U-23, to the end of hostilities six years later officers and seamen of the Merchant Marine played a key role in winning the war by their blatant disregard of the risks from Axis forces. The most dangerous were the U-Boats working unseen but there were also surface raiders and aircraft.
All too often the result was the loss of ship, cargo and, tragically, crew. But as described in this excellent book great gallantry against overwhelming odds brought rewards and surprising results.
We learn of acts of both chivalry and brutal activity by the enemy.
The actions described in this book are varied but always make for excellent reading.
Average customer rating:
|
The Japanese Merchant Marine in World War II
Mark P. Parillo
Manufacturer: Naval Inst Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Japan
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Naval
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Naval
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Repair & Maintenance
| Ships
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1557506779 |
Books:
- Daredevil Visionaries - Frank Miller, Vol. 2
- Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta
- Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands
- Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mystery and Miracles That Change Lives
- DNS and BIND (5th Edition)
- Doctor Who: I Am A Dalek (Doctor Who (BBC Paperback))
- Dragon of the Red Dawn (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
- Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft
- Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3)
- Errand of Fury Book Two: Demands of Honor (Star Trek, The Original Series)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Evita: An Intimate Portrait of Eva Peron
- The Twelve Gifts of Birth
- Remind Me Again Why I Married You
- Picture Play Quilts
- Street Angel
- The Developing Person Through the Life Span
- The Carl Rogers Reader
- Realm of Algebra.
- Profiles of Power and Success: Fourteen Geniuses Who Broke the Rules
- Retiring Right: Planning for a Successful Retirement/2001 Edition
