Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory
By Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen, Albert S. Hanser
You can view this book's Amazon detail page here.
Having previously read and enjoyed two of Newt Gingrich’s historical fiction books, “Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8″ (http://bit.ly/hJlKwa) and “Days of Infamy” (http://bit.ly/hLCxav), I looked forward to reading this, his latest. Unlike in the previous books, though, Gingrich uses the story as a bully pulpit to bitch about the status quo in Congress, reflecting on the fact that it’s been that way for a long time. At Valley Forge, Washington spent as much energy fighting corruption and ineptitude in Congress as he did fighting or readying to fight the British. I should have known all this after reading the preface of the book, where Gingrich clearly lays out his thinking.
As such, instead of spending time spinning a story (it is historical fiction after all), he drones on about how incompetent morons in Congress were not only useless, but hurt the American cause and ignored its values through their actions and, in some cases their inaction.
To be fair, the end of the book, while melodramatic, is enjoyable and moves at a faster pace. It’s the part where Washington finally gets to lead his troops to battle in the Battle of Monmouth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monmouth) which was the first real head-to-head victory of the Revolutionary War.
Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book were the descriptions of the help and support that Washington got from foreigners. This is foreigners as individuals, not the French in generally who, of course, were key to winning the war. The authors specifically point out the Marquis de Lafayette and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (Baron von Steuben). Very interesting how these two, among others, were critical to the ultimate victories of the Americans.
These positive notes aside, I can’t recommend the book. Long and mostly boring.
- Started reading:
- 22nd January 2011
- Finished reading:
- 28th January 2011