This is a great story that is too long. The writer suffers from the historian's disease, which is to include too many details. Nevertheless, the story is a great story. It recounts a pivotal moment in America's history, the 6 month period from the end of 1776 to the early months of 1777, in which the fortunes of the Americans in the Revoluntionary War completely reversed. The events themselves are dramatic, filled with tiny twists of fate that assumed monumental importance -- e.g., a delayed response to command, an untimely love affair, sudden changes in the weather that dramatically affected outcomes on the battlefield, misunderstood messages that turned events. What makes the story even greater is the larger than life importance that these events came to assume. It is an inspiring story of men who lived, and were willing to die, for something greater than themselves. After reading this story, I was inspired, and felt especially blessed to be an American.