"From acclaimed historian John Ferling, a major, global reappraisal of the Revolutionary War on its 250th anniversary"--Book jacket.

"A bold, comprehensive rendering of the world war that erupted out of America's battle for independence. Ferling highlights underestimated pivotal moments to reveal why the British should have put down the rebellion within a couple years of fighting. As European rivals France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic entered the fray, Britain's problems grew, but after seven long years the war's outcome remained very much in doubt. Ferling assesses military and civilian leaders, the choices they faced, and the political, tactical, and strategic decisions they made as the war raged in North America, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and Asia, and on the high seas, affecting peoples and countries miles from American soil"--