Valley Forge

By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin

Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb

The number-one New York Times best-selling authors of The Heart of Everything That Is and Lucky 666 return with an unforgettable and perhaps the most underappreciated chapter in American history - the inspiring, pause-resisting account of Valley Forge, the Continental Army winter camp where George Washington turned the tide of the American Revolution.

On December 19, 1777, some 12,000 members of America’s nascent Continental Army staggered into Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, a small encampment 23 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. The starving and half-naked force was reeling from a string of demoralizing defeats at the hands of the King George III’s army and barely equipped to survive the coming winter. Their commander in chief, the focused and forceful George Washington, was at the lowest ebb of his military career. With the Continental Congress in exile and its treasury depleted, the American Revolution appeared lost.

As the days and weeks passed, however, Washington embarked on a mission to transform his troops from a bobtail army of citizen soldiers into a professional fighting force. Keeping a wary eye out for a British attack, he was aided by a trio of homegrown generals as well as a young coterie of American advisors and foreign volunteers led by Alexander Hamilton, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Within six months, Washington had achieved his miracle.

Valley Forge is the riveting true story of an underdog US toppling an empire. Using new and rarely seen contemporaneous documents - and drawing on a cast of iconic characters and remarkable moments that capture the innovation and energy that led to the birth of our nation - the New York Times best-selling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin provide a breathtaking account of this seminal and previously undervalued moment in the battle for American independence.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2018 Bob Drury, Tom Clavin (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Jeremy Bobb is a steady, highly skilled narrator who is reminiscent of David McCullough in the straightforwardness of his delivery. His calm steadiness will carry even the most fainthearted listener through passages that are unavoidably bleak while conveying the steely determination that was at the heart of the American Revolution." (AudioFile)

A joy to read

Very well researched and written. I listened to the excellent audio production every chance I got and was sad when it ended. Even non-history buffs will enjoy this book.

Good read

I always like adding to my understanding of events in history, this book added to that base of knowledge.

Excellent historical treatment!

Excellent historical treatment of a period in the Revolutionary War where so much myth is discussed as fact. A well done treatment of that period in the war.

Liked the book

Didn’t finish this before we visited Valley Forge for the first time recently. It helped put people and places in perspective. Enjoyed listening to this.

Wonderful!

One of the best books I have come across!
You won’t be disappointed. It is great.

From a thread to fabric

What I learned of Valley Forge in High School was a mere thread of history.
With the in depth of this page turner of a book, the authors took that thread and wove a tale so engaging as to turn it to a full fabric, revealing the larger than life struggles and triumph of our nation's 'father'.

A must read for Revolutionary War fans!

Even though I have read a lot about our country's founding and have learned to appreciate the real leader who Washington was, this book filled in many more details. I will listen again to this part of our history!

awesome introduction into the revolutionary war

this book gives you a good idea of some of the struggles, and characters that were involved in the American revolutionary war. I highly recommended it.

An approachable and engaging account of history

I really liked this audiobook.

Bob Drury and Tom Calvin guide the listener through the levels of national politics down to the individual level of the Soldiers, militiamen, state-men, and women involved at valley forge and the related engagements surrounding the wintering site.

This was a fantastic painting of characters of honor and cowardice, of conviction and of betrayal.

Jeremy Bobb kept the narrative consistent and focused.

Great Listen

Listened to this book before my vacation to PA and NJ. So glad I did. Learned a lot about the area, the war, Valley Forge, and the people involved. Wonderful narrator too.