Synopses & Reviews
Too often George Washington gets dismissed as little more than a bumbling but lucky military leader. Not so, says distinguished military historian Dave R. Palmer in his compelling volume. Palmer shows in convincing fashion how Washington showed courageous flexibility in formulating the strategy that would bring the rebellious Americans victory in their War for Independence. From beginning to end,
George Washingtons Military Genius makes for gripping reading....Highly recommended!!"
James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered
Too many Americansincluding scholarsdownplay Washingtons military leadership, implying he was just the right man at the right place. General Palmer demonstrates once and for all that Washington had a strategy to win the war, and the determination to survive against all odds.”
James C. Rees, president of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association
Palmer makes a convincing case that America is free, united, and governed by civilians because of Washingtons strategic foresight and tactical brilliance.”
Publishers Weekly
Dave Palmer rightly portrays General George Washington as a shrewd and effective commander in chief who understood better than anyoneAmerican or Britishthe connection between political goals and military operations during the American Revolutionary War. Palmers superb history is clearheaded and insightfulanyone interested in the art of war at the strategic level will find this thoughtful book indispensable.”
Colonel Lance Betros, head of the Department of History, West Point
Synopsis
George Washington: Genius or Goat?
Many military historians dismiss George Washington as merely lucky: he won the Revolutionary War by sheer dogged persistence against a half-hearted British enemy that decided the prize wasnt worth the cost. But this, says Lieutenant General Dave R. Palmera combat veteran, former superintendent of West Point, and expert military historianis simply wrong. Washingtons strategy was suited to his aim and changed with the circumstances of the warbut through it all he practiced the way of the fox. In George Washingtons Military Genius, Lieutenant General Palmer reveals:
- What guided Washingtons boldness in the first year of the war
- How Washington held his army together and built it upwith little or no money and, in the beginning, no allies
- How Washington used European professionals to train his soldiersand capitalized on the results
- Washingtons keen appreciation for French naval power
- The secret of Washingtons unparalleled moral leadership, without which the war might not have been won
A stirring and provocative military history of the war and George Washingtons leading place in it, George Washingtons Military Genius is sure to enlighten and entertain any reader with an interest in Americas War for Independence.
Synopsis
George Washingtons military strategy has been called bumbling at worst and brilliant at best. So which is it? Was George Washington a strategic genius or just lucky? So asks Dave R. Palmer in his new book, George Washingtons Military Genius. An updated edition of Palmer's earlier work, The Way of the Fox, George Washingtons Military Genius breaks down the American Revolution into four phases and analyzes Washington's strategy during each phrase. "The British did not have to lose; the patriots did not have to triumph," writes Palmer as he proves without a doubt that Washington's continuously-changing military tactics were deliberate, strategic responses to the various phases of the war, not because he lacked a plan of action. Confronting the critics who say Washington's battlefield success and ultimate victories were a function of luck, George Washington's Military Genius proves why the father of our country also deserves the title of America's preeminent strategist.
About the Author
Dave R. Palmer is a retired lieutenant general of the United States Army, two-tour veteran of Vietnam, former superintendent of West Point, and accomplished military historian specializing in the campaigns of George Washington and the eighteenth-century American army. He often appears as a commentator in television documentaries on the Revolutionary War period and its generals and is the author of many books, including
George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots, Summons of the Trumpet: U.S.- Vietnam in Perspective, and
George Washington: First in War. A graduate of West Point and Duke University, he lives with his wife in Belton, Texas.