Book Review Noble Volunteers, Don Hagist The battle of Guilford Courthouse, John Maass, War at Saber point; Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion, John Knight and British Light Infantry in the American Revolution, Robbie McNiven.
The only good thing about a pandemic is that it leaves time for you to catch up on your reading. I have finished these four since Christmas and thought I would leave my thoughts on them. All have some use to miniature devotees aside from their worth as history books.
Noble Volunteers, Don Hagist – Wow, this is complex. The research is clearly a lifetime's work, but if ever a book needed better editing, this is it. There is frankly too much here to digest. The text is simply overwhelming. Far too much peripheral and at times irrelevant detail for anyone except the most forensic historian. An excellent academic source of reference but not a book I will pick up to read again cover to cover. Summery – Top-notch research, spoilt by pedantic and dry writing.
The battle of Guilford Courthouse, John Maass. Do we need another book on Guilford? Maass differs from other authors in asserting Greene never intended to choose Guliford as a battleground, it was rather a chance circumstance. There is enough here to differ it from Babbit's Long obstinate and bloody or Buchanan's Road to Guilford Courthouse, but the writing was somewhat dry and occasionally pompous. Summary – A decent book worth the read for battle enthusiasts but behind Buchanan and Babbit's in my view.
War at Saber point; Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion, John Knight. Only the second-ever bio of Tarleton and a more sympathetic one from an English author. Full of dry British humor. The breakdown and detail on the British Legion and its members were excellent. This is is a scholarly but easy read that unlike the other works here transports you into the time period. My only quibble was with the author's assertion that the British could have never won the war and that we sometimes spent too long away from Tarleton. Summary – Beautifully written, this is narrative history at its best.
British Light Infantry in the American Revolution, Robie McNiven. Osprey is a publishing phenomenon. Has anyone not got at least one example of their work? I feel sorry for the authors of these books, as most are bought for the illustrations and maps. They are hit and miss as a series for me, with the best ones covering the more obscure topics. This is in the top half. Nothing much I didn't already know, but it was a decent read. The illustrations were not to my taste being somewhat insipid and "cartoony." Summery – these books end up being sold at around $5 USD after a year. By then this will be ridiculously good value.
paints brigs for the British fleet.
