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Captives of Liberty
- Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution (Early American Studies)
- Narrated by: Wayne M. Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
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Captives of Liberty
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The American Revolution is often portrayed as an orderly, restrained rebellion, with brave patriots defending their noble ideals against an oppressive empire. It's a stirring narrative, and one the founders did their best to encourage after the war. But as historian Holger Hoock shows in this deeply researched and elegantly written account of America’s founding, the Revolution was not only a high-minded battle over principles, but also a profoundly violent civil war—one that shaped the nation, and the British Empire, in ways we have only begun to understand.
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Publisher's Summary
Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolutionary War was not a limited and restrained struggle for political self-determination. From the onset of hostilities, British authorities viewed their American foes as traitors to be punished, and British abuse of American prisoners - both tacitly condoned and at times officially sanctioned - proliferated.
Meanwhile, more than 17,000 British and Allied soldiers fell into American hands during the Revolution. For a fledgling nation that could barely afford to keep an army in the field, the issue of how to manage prisoners of war was daunting.
Captives of Liberty examines how America's founding generation grappled with the problems posed by prisoners of war and how this influenced the wider social and political legacies of the Revolution.
As the British denied customary protections to their American captives, the revolutionary leadership wasted no time in capitalizing on the prisoners' ordeals for propagandistic purposes. Enraged, ordinary Americans began to demand vengeance, and they viewed British soldiers and their German and Native American auxiliaries as appropriate targets. This cycle of violence spiraled out of control, transforming the struggle for colonial independence into a revolutionary war.
The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
Praise for the book:
"Shines brilliant new light on the question of just how brutal the American Revolutionary War really was...a magisterial work." (James Kirby Martin, author of Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero)
"A significant contribution to the historiography of the Revolution." (Andrew O'Shaughnessy, author of The Men Who Lost America)
"This superb and engrossing study presents a war not only for but also between hearts and minds..." (Holly Mayer, author of Belonging to the Army)
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-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
Loyal Americans marched off to war in 1861 not to conquer the South but to liberate it. So argues Elizabeth R. Varon in Armies of Deliverance, a sweeping narrative of the Civil War and a bold new interpretation of Union and Confederate war aims. Northerners imagined the war as a crusade to deliver the Southern masses from slaveholder domination and to bring democracy, prosperity, and education to the region. As the war escalated, Lincoln and his allies built the case that emancipation would secure military victory and benefit the North and South alike.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A clear, comprehensive narrative unlike any other
- By Alice Conley on 04-10-23
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The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution and the Fate of the Empire
- The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History
- By: Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 341
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders in Britain must have been to blame, but were they? This intriguing audiobook makes a different argument. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men historian Andrew O'Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve victory.
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5 out of 5 stars
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It didn't lose me
- By Matt on 04-28-15
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The Cause
- The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 339
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 293
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 293
George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the “American Revolution”: Former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists’ consent. With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Modest history primer, wished for more substance
- By Buretto on 10-21-21
By: Joseph J. Ellis
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Crucible of War
- The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
- By: Fred Anderson
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 547
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 478
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 481
In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven Years' War - long seen as a mere backdrop to the American Revolution - takes on a whole new significance. Relating the history of the war as it developed, Anderson shows how the complex array of forces brought into conflict helped both to create Britain's empire and to sow the seeds of its eventual dissolution. Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry involving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to world conflagration.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Detailed History
- By Daniel on 07-15-18
By: Fred Anderson
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the American Revolution
- By: Larry Schweikart, Dave Dougherty
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 137
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
The best-selling Politically Incorrect Guide series provides an unvarnished, unapologetic overview of controversial topics every American should understand. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the American Revolution is a myth-busting review of America's violent struggle for independence.
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1 out of 5 stars
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This book is revisionist history at its worst
- By Kim Ness on 09-05-20
By: Larry Schweikart, and others
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The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,203
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,019
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,014
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
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Liberty Is Sweet
- The Hidden History of the American Revolution
- By: Woody Holton
- Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Using more than a thousand eyewitness records, Liberty Is Sweet is a “spirited account” (Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution) that explores countless connections between the Patriots of 1776 and other Americans whose passion for freedom often brought them into conflict with the Founding Fathers. “It is all one story,” prizewinning historian Woody Holton writes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
- By M. H. Raful on 11-03-21
By: Woody Holton
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War at Saber Point
- Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion
- By: John Knight
- Narrated by: Ian Putnam
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story5 out of 5 stars 21
The British Legion was one of the most remarkable regiments, not only of the American Revolution, but of any war. A corps made up of American Loyalists, it saw its first action in New York and then engaged in almost every battle in the Southern colonies. Relying on firsthand accounts - letters, diaries, and journals - War at Saber Point: Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion is the enthralling story of those forgotten Americans and the young Englishman who led them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for Revolutionary War buffs
- By FDal on 12-23-21
By: John Knight
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The Age of Revolution
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume III
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 599
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 441
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 435
This is the third volume in Churchill's famous account. During the long period of 1688 to 1815, three revolutions took place, and all led to war between the British and the French.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Historical Overview of Britain
- By Lois on 01-30-12
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Forgotten Patriots
- The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War
- By: Edwin G. Burrows
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Forgotten Patriots is the first-ever account of what took place in these hellholes. The result is a unique perspective on the Revolutionary War as well as a sobering commentary on how Americans have remembered our struggle for independence---and how much we have forgotten.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great audiobook
- By Phillip Goodson on 05-15-09
By: Edwin G. Burrows
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The War That Made America
- A Short History of the French and Indian War
- By: Fred Anderson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 580
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 404
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 400
Apart from The Last of the Mohicans, most Americans know little of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years' War, and yet it remains one of the most fascinating periods in our history. In January 2006, PBS will air The War That Made America, a four-part documentary about this epic conflict. Fred Anderson, the award-winning and critically acclaimed historian, has written the official tie-in to this exciting television event.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A thorough and absorbing history
- By Michael on 03-15-10
By: Fred Anderson
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The American Revolution
- A Captivating Guide to the American Revolutionary War and the United States of America's Struggle for Independence from Great Britain
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Randy Whitlow
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
This captivating history audiobook presents a general outline of the American Revolution, focusing largely on the period between the outbreak of rebellion in 1765 until the ratification of the US Constitution in 1789.
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5 out of 5 stars
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everything you need to know...
- By KickingChemo on 02-22-19
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Napoleon
- By: J. Christopher Herold
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Napoleon Bonaparte's rise from common origins to the pinnacle of power, as well as his defeat at Waterloo, still influences our daily lives, from the map of Europe to the metric system. Here's the fascinating story of the great soldier-statesman.
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3 out of 5 stars
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modern and cynical history of Napoleon
- By Mavs on 06-21-18
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Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life
- By: Albert Louis Zambone
- Narrated by: Tom Taverna
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story5 out of 5 stars 59
On January 17, 1781, at Cowpens, South Carolina, the notorious British cavalry officer Banastre Tarleton and his legion had been destroyed along with the cream of Lord Cornwallis’s troops. The man who planned and executed this stunning American victory was Daniel Morgan. Once a barely literate backcountry laborer, Morgan now stood at the pinnacle of American martial success. When George Washington called for troops to join him at the siege of Boston in 1775, Morgan organized a select group of riflemen and headed north.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Book
- By Rob K on 04-08-20