Reviews for The British Isles and the War of American Independence

The average rating for The British Isles and the War of American Independence based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-10-11 00:00:00 Cyrus Hekmat Style is terse, choppy and dense. The author very briefly reviews a lot of authors on the topic of each chapter and then quotes a lot of original sources. Everything is written as if you were incredibly familiar with the information already. Terms are used and not defined 'the corporation'. Old English terms are used with no footnotes. There are copious footnotes for all the references but the style is difficult to crack. After the first citation from a source some abbreviation is used on all subsequent references. On page 200 you might have a footnote "BL p.316" and have to read footnotes back for 50 pages before you find something that 'might' be abbreviated BL. There is no key so of course you could be wrong. Definitely not for the amateur who just wants the British point of view on the American Revolution.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-12-26 00:00:00 Marc Lasecki This book is well written, but is it entirely trustworthy? Adams was an important player in The Troubles in North Ireland. He was certainly a key party in the Good Friday Agreement and has had an active role in Irish government ever since. A Farther Shore is as much an autobiography as a history of those days, and of his work in Sinn Fein. This was not an easy time or place or group to be involved in. Adams was an active figure. You must remember, though, that this is the story of that time told by him and through his eyes. Just as an example he talks almost exclusively about civilian Catholics in North Ireland, but rarely mentions any Protestant civilians. For that you have to look elsewhere. (start with Patrick Keene's Say Nothing) I'm just not convinced that Adams had nothing to do with the IRA. Was he always so ready to work for peace? People to change, they do become more inclined to work with or for peace. He certainly worked hard with the Good Friday Agreement.