The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution

The American Revolution is so often romanticized and distorted by the political needs of Government and Policy that its reality, a ragtag rebellion of seditious wealthy men subsidized by the long-term enemies of England, gets completely lost. Tuchman, in her trademark popular-narrative, chatty style, reminds us that, had things gone a different way, we'd be *horrified* at the foolhardy yahoos who thought they could break the safe, profitable cocoon of Empire.

It's why I enjoy her books. She doesn't stint on facts, but she doesn't stint on personalities and ideas either. She has an eye for the telling detail, and she's not afraid to gore anyone's ox.

Easy reading, informative, and surprising. What more can a non-academic hist'ry reader ask show more for? show less

I don't know if I will ever tire of reading of the at turns plucky and then desperate revolting colonials eventually succeeding in their bid for independence. Tuchman has that here and I like in this "View" she pans out to shows us the American Revolution as one eddy in a global maelstrom between European powers (especially England, France, and Holland) vying for global supremacy. "The First Salute" is when an American flagged-vessel gets a de facto gun salute in a Caribbean port This is part of the interesting details on 18th Century European ways (another is detailed surrender customs) that give this history a unique and engaging flavor.

Tuchman was a great narrative writer and her take on the American Revolution is wide, focusing not mainly on domestic politics and the run-up to 1775/1776, but the international war between Britain, the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish. Focusing too on the END of the war, Yorktown and the naval fights of de Grasse, Rodney, et al., in an international perspective. I learned quite a lot, and was pleased with the shift of perspective. All of Tuchman's narrative gifts and researching skill are in full force.

Barbara Tuchman books are always quite well researched and extremely thorough. At least for me (a major history buff) they cover subjects with which many people are not familiar. This one partially covers the Revolutionary War. Most people with the slightest interest in history have some knowledge of that war. This book approaches the Revolutionary War from the south--not South Carolina or Georgia but the Caribbean. The book starts with a somewhat innocent first salute of Dutch cannons at the island of St. Eustatius .

The reason I don't give it five stars is that it doesn't proceed in chronological order. This makes in somewhat confusing. But the French and Dutch contribution to our independence cannot be overlooked. Barbara Tuchman show more does it justice. show less

Thirty years later, Tuchman's Whiggish teleology of the actions of great men in furtherance of progress is a bit hard to accept. It's still wonderfully written, and nothing of the facts included is particularly incorrect. But beyond a few lines in the epilogue that address the imperfections of the American legacy, it's largely a recounting of the brave boldness of the Americans and the French, and the sluggish complacency of the British commands.

Tuchman's analysis of the development of Dutch beliefs that led to events at St. Eustatius, and of the efforts of Rodney, are a notable departure from the book as a whole, and some of the traditional elements of American Revolution history are left out in favor of a clearer description of naval show more actions and geopolitical effects. These are welcome, but still don't quite make up for the lack of nuanced interpretations or social history--details that have been become all but required in the years since Tuchman's book was published. show less

Interesting though sobering history of the American naval forces during the Revolution. It was particularly sobering to read about how the British soldiers treated American civilians along the Atlantic coast during the conflict - it was basically just like Putin has treated the Ukrainian civilians during his war on Ukraine.

This is a good take on the relationship of the West Indies and the American Revolution. It also explains the history of the Netherlands, which I really never understood. All that stuff about Isabella's progeny who became involved. Why there are still Netherlands territories in the Caribbean. There is also a very good explanation of the battle of Yorktown and the end of the Revolution, including the debts that led France to the French revolution.

Tuchman always seems to pick good topics and have a good take on them.