Recommended Recent Books on the W3R 

The following books were published recently. Most are helpful for
understanding the diplomatic, financial, military, and social relationships
between the United States, France, Spain, and other allies.
Some describe and illustrate this and other National Historic Trails.
Some are general treatments of the American Revolution.


NOTE: The W3R®-US does not receive any portion of the payments for these books.

Latest Changes: 2014-02-14: split from Articles

DUPORTAIL ou le Génie de George WASHINGTON Those who read French will enjoy this book on the life and career of Louis Duportail, a French military engineer loaned to the U.S. to lead the Continental Army's Engineering Corps. We hope to see an edition in English in the coming years.

The Marquise: Lafayette Revisited
reminds us of the many facets in the long life of Major General Roche Gibert du Mortier Marquise de Lafayette (1757-1834) -- Franco-American Patriot, skilled battlefield leader, and confidant of George Washington. For more see
the publisher's summary

Lafayette: Rêver la gloire [en française]
NOTE: An English edition may become available by 2015.
Adored in the United States, controversial in France, what is Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette -- an icon or a scarecrow? Two specialists, an historian of the army and the navy, and an historian of the Revolution and of the Empire, provide a complete review of his life, using historic images and archival documents. Beginning in a castle in Auvergne, it moves across the Atlantic ocean to the battlefields and victory of the American Revolution and a hero -- Washington. Spiritual son of the first president of the United States, La Fayette wants to mimic this epic in France. The old Kingdom is not so easy to handle... This exposition -- both scientific and sparkling -- is based on previously unpublished documents and is illustrated with paintings and maps from private and public collections. It is a pleasure for the eyes.

Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825 Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825 describes how the now-67-year-old hero of the American Revolution and apostle of liberty in Europe was welcomed in an adoring frenzy by the American people. This book captures America on the cusp of its jubilee year.

Rochambeau, Washington's Ideal Lieutenant, A French General's Role in the American Revolution, by Vail, Jini Jones: -- 301pp. plus 80 pages of end matter including mini bios of 68 key participants, French, American and British. This describes the role of the lieutenant-general who led the French expeditionary force as it worked along-side the Continental Army during 1781-83. They helped guard New England from British attack, blocked military excursions from the British-occupied city of New York, and made a surprise march with the Continentals to besiege and capture the British army under General Cornwallis at Yorktown VA. The French officers' extensive military experience and the French army of battle-hardened troops were vital additions to the allied forces in the United States.
Review: "From the very first word to the very last a reader will be engaged in the romance, glory, and hardships of the amazing victory of the combined French - American Continentals over those of England, as explained in Jini Jones Vailís book, Rochambeau: Washington's Ideal Lieutenant. It will educate and entertain the learned reader as well as those first discovering the subject. It matters not how many other books on the subject have been read. This one is a must read!"
      Sallie Tullis De Barcza -- Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
      National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association. (W3R®-US)

For more reviews see the author's website and Amazon.com
Order the book from the author -- $25.00 plus s/h per autographed copy.-- or order from Amazon.com.

1775: A Good Year for Revolution, by Kevin Phillips (Viking, New York, 2012) describes the many organizations, political and economic moves, battles, and global munitions struggle that make 1775 eligible to be the defining year for the independence of the United States. Did you realize that the events of 1775 left the British in control of only the city of Boston (within the 12 rebelling colonies of that time) and on the defensive in Canada, Florida, and the Caribbean? The scope extends to other rarely-explored facts about local ethnic divisions, regional differences, and the network of trade with Europe through the Caribbean islands. Chapter 24 describes the Bourbon Compact (linking France and Spain) and the allied transportation network that delivered supplies to both the east coast cities and the western frontier outposts of the United States.
-- submitted by Ralph Nelson

Hermanos de armas. La intervención de España y Francia que salvó la Independencia de Estados Unidos
This book is in Spanish. Following is the publisher's summary, translated into English.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Brothers in arms -- The intervention of Spain and France that saved U.S. Independence by Larrie D. Ferreiro (University of Virginia) 2019

At the end of 1776, just six months after the historic Declaration of Independence of the United States, the American Revolution was dying. New York City had fallen and George Washington's Continental Army was retreating. Philadelphia, the headquarters of the Continental Congress, seemed to be living on borrowed time. The newborn north-American nation lacked a navy, respectable artillery, military readiness, gunpowder... and any real chance of defeating Britain; at least on its own.

"Brothers in arms -- the intervention of Spain and France that saved the Independence of the United States" is a comprehensive and exciting essay -- a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize -- in which its author, Larrie D. Ferreiro, shows that without the diplomatic, financial, military, and naval support of Spain and France, the American cause would never have succeeded. This intervention expanded a domestic conflict into a global war that was fought on three continents, from Spanish Louisiana and Florida to the shores of France, from Gibraltar to India. Ferreiro abandons the traditional isolationist narrative to achieve an international dimension, that of a coalition of brothers-in-arms-countries facing a common enemy.

Publisher's summary

Spain and the Independence of the United States describes the role of Spain in the world-wide web of political liaisons, schemes, finance, commerce, power, personalities, and philosophy that formed the setting for the U.S. War for independence in 1775-1783.

Victory at Yorktown, by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen (published in November, 2012) is a fictionalized account of the Washington-Rochambeau march. There is a vivid account of the march through Philadelphia, as well as an interesting introduction. The novel is the third of a trilogy, written over the last 5 years, about George Washington and the American War for Independence. The earlier volumes are To Try Men's Souls (2009) and Valley Forge (2010). All three are available from major on-line outlets.
-- submitted by Lanny Patten

George Washington's Westchester Gamble is a series of riveting chapters viewing the U.S. War for Independence in Westchester County NY from a wide variety of perspectives.


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