When I finished this book I had a new understanding of the Revolutionary War. The book contains writings from all perspectives about all aspects of our fight to be born as a nation. At the end I felt a real sense of surprise in my new understanding of what this struggle meant to the participants as it was occurring.
The Library of America makes an excellent book with first class binding and paper. They also get the highest marks for scholarship. The editors of this volume used all contemporary sources and documented them carefully. At the same time they produced an entertaining book on a subject that has been covered in thousands of volumes.
As I read the accounts from privates and generals and everyone in between I was surprised by the high level of literacy of all parties. They all expressed different points of view with a level of articulateness that is missing in most of the writing of today. I learned a new appreciation for the letter as a means of communication. An amusing surprise was the spelling of that era, which was not was not near as uniform as today.
Reading this book gives an insight into the experience of the revolutionary war that is unique. I have read many volumes on the political and military history of that era without gaining the understanding of the events I gathered from this book. If you are interested in the subject at all reading this volume is an investment of time well worth the effort. ( )

Outstanding in every way. This is an indispensable look at the Revolutionary War. This volume strikes a proper balance between American and British, officers and enlisted men, and rebel and loyalist first hand accounts of the war. I have read many histories of the Revolutionary War, including McCullough's wonderful 1776, but all pale in comparison to seeing it through the eyes of the participants. I cannot give high enough praise to Mr. Rhodehamel for the job he did editing this volume. ( )