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To Try Men's Souls (2009)

by Newt Gingrich(Favorite Author)

4.04 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0312591063 (ISBN13: 9780312591069)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

series

Revolutionary War

review 1: What I liked was understanding how horrifying the battle was. It wasn't just the fighting moments that are important, but also how they were able to get there and seeing how worn out the men were. I got that and I really appreciated it and enjoyed it to a point. But having over 85% of the book being about them crossing the Delaware, etc. makes the story feel dragged out too far. I would have liked if they did splices of the Battle of Trenton, with the traveling and crossing over, with getting to know each of these characters(especially Washington and Paine). There was a lot of repetitive-"I am freezing." "We keep slipping and sliding."-descriptives and we got it, move on. I liked the different perspectives of Washington, I just think they could have gone a bit more deeper.... more We get he is doubtful and worried and that is understandable, but I want to know him. Who is he? What is he like with Martha? SO on and so forth and yet nothing really. But, also, I understand this is a series. I think I could have understood it if they went further but really they could have combined battles and made the book feel like more was going on. Battle of Trenton was very important, after all it was the turning point, but there were battles that led to this desperate move and yet, we only get flashbacks. I was expecting a bit more from this one, but I did really enjoy it. I liked Van Dorn and Paine and Washington all, just wanted more. 3 1/2 stars
review 2: I was surprised to hear that Newt Gingrich wrote pretty good historical fiction. After reading this novel, I'm inclined to agree. It would be interesting to know how much of the writing Newt did, and how much of it that his co-author wrote. Anyway, this book starts out a little slow, but once George and the boys start to cross the Delaware river, things pick up considerably. It is amazing what those men did considering the conditions in which they did them. The crossing and surprise attack on the Hessian forces is vividly described.Not bad, Newt, not bad.The next volume is about the winter spent at Valley Forge. I'm looking forward to it. I may wait until February to get more of a feel for it. :-) less

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