Bootmaker to the Nation: The Story of the American Revolution

I am also a member of the DAR, and I agree with all previous reviews. This is truly an outstanding and accurate historical fiction novel. Don't let the 700+ pages scare you. The chapters are short, and it is reader friendly. What a wonderful way to keep straight the major events the Continental Army faced. Enjoy!

"Bootmaker To The Nation" by Dr. John Slade is the most outstanding American History book I now own. This historical fiction is "historically" accurate with real people and places while using a "fictional" family, dedicated to their country and to their Commander In Chief, to literally walk us through the Revolutionary War. The author has brilliantly made this family so real, you truly believe they were a part of the process. As a member of the Fort Loudoun Chapter DAR, genealogy researcher, and history buff, I have read many books about America's Revolution, the founding fathers ( & mothers), and the patriots who so bravely and selflessly put their lives and property at stake for freedom and the rights we enjoy in this great country today. None of my reading has left me in such awe. The author brings the whole story together in an easily read, understandable, and at times heart-wrenching book - i.e., the land battles in north, south, & central states, the naval engagements, the role of French forces (and the difficulties of many Americans to accept their aid after having fought against them in the French & Indian War as British troops & frontier settlers), the terror brought by the British & Hessian (serf) mercenaries as they swept through the countryside, the assistance of friendly Indian tribes, the Negro free men and escaped slaves who fought (and died) with the colonial white men, the absolute misery & mistreatment of American prisoners of war, and all the privations and sacrifices suffered by "rebel" citizens and military personnel. Meanwhile, the "fantasy family" participates as insiders in the drama, facing their own marriages, births, separations, and deaths while vowing to continue to support the war for freedom. War is not glorified. Washington's seeming waffling in the early days of the conflict is explained. The lack of financial and material support for the troops while many citizens tended to and profited from their own business is described. But, mostly, we see a proud people, whose ancestors or themselves escaped to the new world from the oppressions of the old, grow from a rabble with disjointed goals to strong citizens of a new, free country - the United States of America. This book should be required reading for every high school and college American History class and every person with a shred of patriotism in today's America. Barbara J. Chaplin

I started reading this book early in December, 2005 and had a very hard time putting it down. I resented the Christmas season with all it's attendant obligations since it prevented me from reading and I so wanted to pick this tale up and continue reading. When obligations finally allowed me access to read on I was so happy. I did not want this book to end. I loved and absorbed every page. Dr. Slade made the story of our great country come alive for me for the first time in my life. Never in my life have I enjoyed an historical tome so much. So much so, that I have been absorbing more of the same. Now, I am re-reading David McCullough's 1776 and also investigating his John Adams (which was on PBS the other night) and of course I just drank the whole thing in since I have Bootmaker under my belt and have the "inside track". Dr. Slade made history come alive for me and awakened me to this great nation's history. This book should be in every library.

I bought this book at the bookstore in Williamsburg, because it was featured as a "Staff Pick". When I asked the salesperson why it was a pick, he informed me that it was as historically accurate as any piece of fiction he had ever read. This, alone, got my interest and so the book traveled hime with me.The story follows the American Revolution from shot one to its end via the memories of a wonderful and heroic couple. It is fantastic. The plot flows with the energy of people in love with this country. The battles and travels are enhanced by maps of the battles and descriptions of not only the battles but the impact on those who fought and those who lived through the war. The characters in the book are so completely described and real, that I feel they are now personal friends.What sets this book apart from other stories of our American Revolution, to me, is the complete honesty and accuracy of the author. If you read only one book about the founding of our country, make it this one. If you need to find out why men continue to die for freedom, read this book. If you want to celebrate America. READ THIS BOOK

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would gladly do so. Dr Slade has hit a historical homerun with this well-told tale of the birth of our republic.Told from the viewpoints of Benjamin York, a pressed British seaman that deserts in 1775 Boston, and Genevieve, the Massachussetts farm girl he marries, this story takes us from the beginning of our war of independence at Lexington & Concord, to it's end at the Battle of Yorktown. Not only does Slade tell the story well, he does something that will truly shock some people: He teaches you as well! This is no dry historical tome that will send you off to sleep after the first few pages. No, indeed. When you put this book down, you will have a real feeling and understanding about the American Revoultion that so few people ever get.When you read this book, Breed's Hill and Bunker's Hill will become real places and real battles, not just dry factoids from high school. Not only will you see the battles as real, but the pople as well. From the hunger of the foot soldier, to the real moral and tactical dilemma's facing the various commanders.Slade makes people like George Washington, and Nathaniel Greene real flesh-and-blood men, not the cardboard heroes we often read about. The fact that he makes them human makes them all the more heroic.Another point in Slade's favor is that he doesn't fail to discuss the southern theater of operations. Many Americans don't realize that some of the bloodiest fighting of the war took place in the Carolinas, and that the most militarily significant battle of the war was that of Guilford Courthouse, in North Carolina.Slade has done nothing short of brilliant work here.Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.