The Fate of the Day

In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington's army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington's army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution-which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton-was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world's most formidable fighting force.Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king's task is now far more complicated- fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans-even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson's brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

“Rick Atkinson takes his place among the greatest of all historians. This superb second volume in his Revolution Trilogy is that rare narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Familiar characters become dimensional and complicated, new ones burst to life vividly, and the battles and struggles that created our country now have clarity and meaning.”—Ken Burns

“This is great history. . . . We witness Washington mature as a commander; we come to understand why Arnold sells his allegiance; and we recognize King George’s quandary as his generals repeatedly fail to draw this ruinously expensive conflict to an end. . . . Compulsively readable . . . There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Atkinson.”—The New York Times

“[A] riveting narrative. . . . Meticulously researched and marvelously told . . . The Fate of The Day is a triumph of narrative history and cements Atkinson’s place among America’s finest popular historians.”—ARMY Magazine

“To read this book by prolific military historian Atkinson is to see the Revolutionary War as both a civil war—loyalists against rebels, with a sizable number of uncommitted colonists in between—and an international war involving numerous European powers. . . . As ever with Atkinson, an exemplary work of narrative history.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“From chaotic bloodshed emerges a coherent struggle for freedom in this sweeping second volume of Pulitzer winner Atkinson’s Revolution Trilogy (after The British Are Coming) . . . Epic in scale but rich in detail, this captures the drama and world-historical significance of the revolution.”—Publishers Weekly

“A riveting narrative covering the middle years of the American Revolution . . . [The Fate of the Day] is not only an entertaining story, but more importantly, a comprehensive addition to a well-studied period of history. For readers of American history, this is a must-have volume to complete an already vast library covering the fight for democracy some 250 years in the past.”—Booklist

Rick Atkinson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven previous works of history, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light), and The British Are Coming, the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. He has won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism.

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