Book Nine: Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer

This examination of the events surrounding George Washington's crossing of the Delaware and the impact it had on the remainder of the war was not totally my cup of tea, but I found a few things about it impressive. The honest evaluation is that for the most part, I simply prefer novels to non-fiction, so I always suffer a bit when I'm trying to slug it out through something that happened long, long ago, however fascinating the incident may have been. What Washington's Crossing does particularly effectively, though, is impart how very important the notions of freedom, patriotism and independence were to Washington, and the way that he utilized such ideas to encourage his rag-tag army. It shows a general in evolution, and contrasts his command style to that of other leaders of both the U.S. military and the British military, and how the things Washington employed that worked are still effective in the military of today. Most impressive is the fact that he was consistently willing to listen to the advice of various people from out in the field - from other officers to spies to local citizens, even. It's a well-written if slow-paced book that is perfectly targeted either for devotees of military history or the Revolutionary War.