Revolution on the Hudson

New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence

By: George C. Daughan

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

No part of the country was more contested during the American Revolution than the Hudson River. In 1776 King George III sent the largest amphibious force ever assembled to seize Manhattan and use it as a base from which to push up the Hudson River Valley for a rendezvous at Albany with an impressive army driving down from Canada. George Washington and other patriot leaders shared the king's fixation with the Hudson. In fact one of the few things that scholars have agreed upon is that the British strategy, though disastrously executed, should have been effective. Until now no one has argued that this plan of action was lunacy from the start.

Revolution on the Hudson makes the bold new argument that Britain's attempt to cut off New England never would have worked and ultimately cost the crown her colonies. It unpacks intricate military maneuvers, introduces the personalities presiding over each side's strategy, and reinterprets the vagaries of colonial politics to offer a thrilling response to one of our most vexing historical questions: How could a fledgling nation have defeated the most powerful war machine of the era?

©2016 George C. Daughan (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

amazing book

great historical story explaining the history of a area that ended up defining a war

Revolution on the Hudson Shines

George Daughan does a masterful job through research and bringing his characters alive . Jonathan Yen is truly interested in his subject matter and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with his wonderful narration .
This is a new and fresh view of both sides of the Revolutionary War that any reader will find exciting and intriguing .

Tough Criticism But Fair

It's not easy for me to pan this book, as it was well written and well researched, but I felt it to often stayed from what I thought was the primary subject matter, i.e. NYC during the Revolutionary War. Instead it seemed to be a history of the Revolutionary War, including the role New York played. There is a large difference. Similarly, the narrator did a good job, except when he tried to imitate the perceived accents of quotes players, such as Washington. It bordered on somewhere between comical and annoying and it would have been a much better listen if he just read the quote as is.

Revolution on the Hudson

Enjoyed the story as I like history. A bit long but otherwise quite good. Was a bit tedious at times but good insights.

listened after hearing the book about Lexington and Concord

great follow up book and very good insights into all of the players in the American Revolution.

Disappointing

This is a fairly standard and uninspired military history of the Revolution. The argument that both sides' focus on the Hudson was misplaced is largely conclusory and occasionally inconsistent.

Grating Narration

The narrator sounds like Bosley on Charlie's Angels. Narrator's vocal cords had their own storyline. He pronounces France as 'Frence' and single as 'sthingle'.

the book title is a bad joke

I acquired this book because it was about "New York City and the Hudson Valley." Maybe 10% of it was, but there was no truth in the advertising nor subtitle for this book. I feel bamboozled by my waste of time and money. Daughan offers a broad view of the Revolution instead. He spends most of his words on naval power, the impossibility of separating New England from the other colonies, poor generalship by british generals, and worse perceptions of reality by the King George and his lackeys in the Parliament. There are some good ideas here, but, for me, Daughan overemphasizes the points above. All while ignoring actions on the Hudson. This might have been an acceptable overview of the Revolution with daughan's own conclusions sometimes substituting for tha actual facts of the War. Definitely in the bottom third of Rev War books that I have read.