John F. Ross (1) (1958–)
Author of War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier
For other authors named John F. Ross, see the disambiguation page.
Works by John F. Ross
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier (2009) 234 copies, 7 reviews
Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed (2014) 145 copies, 8 reviews
The Promise of the Grand Canyon: John Wesley Powell's Perilous Journey and His Vision for the American West (2018) 124 copies, 2 reviews
The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America: The Atlantic Coast & Blue Ridge (1995) 61 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1958-12-29
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- editor
- Organizations
- American Heritage
Invention & Technology Magazine
Face the Nation
Explorers Club - Short biography
- [excerpt from author's website]
Formerly the editor of American Heritage and Invention & Technology magazines, he is the recipient of the 2011 Fort Ticonderoga Award for Contributions to American History. Before that he was on the Board of Editors of Smithsonian magazine, during which he wrote four cover stories.
On assignment Ross has dogsledded with the Polar Inuit of northwest Greenland, lived with nomadic Khanty reindeer herders in Siberia, chased scorpions in Baja, and dived 3,000 feet underwater in the Galapagos for Smithsonian, gone technical mountain climbing in Siberia for the National Geographic, and explored old castles in Europe for The Discovery Channel.
He has appeared on more than 50 radio and television programs, keynoted a dozen conferences around the country, and given talks at the Explorers Club of New York, NASAs Ames Research Center, the Pritzker Military Library, and the Smithsonian Institution.
He has helped start and run two magazines, been a producer for CBS News's Face the Nation, and edited many large-format books for Smithsonian Institution Press. His organization of the most northern canoe trip into the Arctic earned him membership in the Explorers Club of New York. For his television documentary work he won a national cableACE award. - Places of residence
- Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Maryland, USA
Members
Reviews
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier by John F. Ross
War on the Run by John F. Ross is subtitled "the epic story of Robert Rogers" - I would suggest it is really "the tragic story of Robert Rogers." This terrific biography of Robert Rogers ably demonstrates his enormous contributions to the British American cause in the French and Indian War. His relationships with a large number of American Indian tribes and his adaptation of the war tactics they used to create the first American based ranger units are the heart of the story. Unfortunately, show more these crucial exploits, and some poor judgments, also put him at odds with first the British military command and, later, the American Colonial officials. He ended up on the British side in the American Revolution, including capturing Nathan Hale. His meeting with American Military Commander George Washington at a critical turning point is especially telling about the conduct of war in the period. Class differences were very real, at the time, which we often forget or overlook, today. show less
War on the Run. The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier by John F. Ross
I keep thinking that I have read this book before, but if so I am glad I read it again. Descriptions of his battles, tactics and personal life read alot like Rogers was a military savant, brilliant at leading small groups of rangers in battles, but hopeless in getting straight answers from his British bosses, or even getting paid by the British. He was pretty successful at making enemies, such as Gage, who worked very hard to screw up his military career and finances. Here was a true show more American hero in the French & Indian War who was considered a traitor by the Americans in the Revolution and who ended up in debtor's prison, not once but several times. A truly tragic figure. ...and, as usual, crappy maps. show less
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier by John F. Ross
Thanks to Mr. Ross for opening my eyes up to this very interesting historical figure. War on the Run dashes through life of Robert Rogers. Rogers made his living as a scout for the British during the French and Indian War and laid the blue print for non-typical and close range combat for centuries to come. It is hard not to admire the man and his actions, what they accomplished and ground they paved for the course of history.
Sadly it would see that due to the jealousy of certain individuals show more he always had the shadow of few certain powerful men over him than in the end led to his downfall. More than popular than Washington it seems, Rogers if groomed instead of held back could have very possibly been the first president instead of Washington. But both men had different ideas. Rogers was more of an expansionist and explorer and Washington simply saw that the Colonies need to, first and foremost, save their rears from the Crown.
War on the Run is a well written and open love letter to a mysteriously captivating figure. It was just not in the cards for him to be anything more than what he was…. More so due to the fact that he was not the one holding the cards. show less
Sadly it would see that due to the jealousy of certain individuals show more he always had the shadow of few certain powerful men over him than in the end led to his downfall. More than popular than Washington it seems, Rogers if groomed instead of held back could have very possibly been the first president instead of Washington. But both men had different ideas. Rogers was more of an expansionist and explorer and Washington simply saw that the Colonies need to, first and foremost, save their rears from the Crown.
War on the Run is a well written and open love letter to a mysteriously captivating figure. It was just not in the cards for him to be anything more than what he was…. More so due to the fact that he was not the one holding the cards. show less
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier by John F. Ross
I'll admit that I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. To a degree this is about lackadaisical editing and a somewhat overwrought writing style. In the first case this was brought out by a run-on paragraph which essentially conflates the battles of Monongahela and Fontenoy, to the point that one wonders how Gen. Braddock managed to get 15,000 men to western Pennsylvania to lose. In the second there are times where I had to wryly think of Mark Twain's famous literary show more dismantling of James Fenimore Cooper.
A deeper problem is probably that Ross is too in love with his subject as the prototype of the modern special operations leader, and Rogers had to have charisma to convince men to follow him on desperate mission after mission. That said, this is also a man who came within a hair of being branded as a rogue for his counterfeiting activities, a man who really didn't do right by his wife, and on the whole had more than a little of the confidence man about his nature. To the point, Robert Rogers was mostly on his own side and that nature probably had something to do with the hard end the man came to, and which Ross chooses to spend little time dwelling on. show less
A deeper problem is probably that Ross is too in love with his subject as the prototype of the modern special operations leader, and Rogers had to have charisma to convince men to follow him on desperate mission after mission. That said, this is also a man who came within a hair of being branded as a rogue for his counterfeiting activities, a man who really didn't do right by his wife, and on the whole had more than a little of the confidence man about his nature. To the point, Robert Rogers was mostly on his own side and that nature probably had something to do with the hard end the man came to, and which Ross chooses to spend little time dwelling on. show less
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 590
- Popularity
- #42,529
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 20
- ISBNs
- 24
