The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution

by Barbara W. Tuchman

The prize-winning historian’s fresh look at the people and events that decided America’s struggle for independence. Its suspenseful climax is the 500-mile march undertaken by General Washington to surround Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, War, American Revolutionary War, Military History

Audible Audio

First published September 12, 1988

About the author

Barbara Wertheim Tuchman, historian, won a Pulitzer Prize for The Guns of August (1962) and for Stilwell and the American Experience in China (1971).

As an author, Tuchman focused on popular production. Her clear, dramatic storytelling covered topics as diverse as the 14th century and World War I and sold millions of copies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara...

Reviews

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

استاد باربارا تاکمن در کتاب سلام اول به حوادث قبل از اعلام استقلال آمریکا می پردازد ، در حقیقت کل ماجرا از آنجایی شروع می شود که یک کشتی آمریکایی با پرچم کنگره آمریکا به جزیره ای که از مستعمرات هلند است نزدیک می شود و به نشانه احترام چند توپ شلیک می کند ، حاکم هلندی جزیره هم به این احترام جواب می دهد ، اما این پاسخ برابر با به رسمیت شناخته شدن آمریکا ( که مستعمره بریتانیاست ) به عنوان یک کشور مستقل است و قطعا خشم بریتانیا را در پی دارد . به گمان نویسنده جرقه بین المللی شدن جنگ استقلال آمریکا و همچنین نام کتاب از همین سلام ناشی می شود .
تاکمن در فصول ابتدایی به طور مفصل به کشور هلند پرداخته و به قدرت زیاد آن ، بی باکی دریانوردان آن و شم بالای تجارت هلندیها . کتاب به این موضوع می پردازد که هلند به خاطر کسب سود و منفعت مالی دست به فروش اسلحه و مهمات ( برخلاف توافق با بریتانیا ) به انقلابیون آمریکا زده و آنها را از لحاظ مالی و اسلحه تغذیه می کند . در حقیقت نویسنده در ابتدای کتاب بیشتر هلند و قدرت دریای آن و منازعات تاریخی و همیشگیش با انگلستان را بیان کرده. کمتر نامی از آمریکا و کنگره و انقلابیون آن می شنویم .
تاکمن همچنین قدرت بسیار بالای بریتانیا ، هم از نظر مالی و بازرگانی ، از لحاظ قدرت دریایی و تعداد ناوگان و تکنولوژی بالاتر آن را هم بررسی می کند ، این قدرت به حدی ایست که هیچ یک از کشورهای اروپایی به تنهایی نمی توانستند به هیچ صورتی حریف بریتانیا شود .

با صبر و حوصله و انبوهی از جزئیات ( همانطور که از تاکمن انتظار می رود ) نویسنده توضیح می دهد که چگونه قلدر بازی های بریتانیا باعث اتحادی بین هلند آزاد ، فرانسه و اسپانیا دیکتاتوری شد و چگونه هر یک از این کشورها بخشی از بار جنگ را پذیرفتند .
البته مهمترین این کمک ها از طرف فرانسه در زمان لویی شانزدهم رسید ، این کمک ها خزانه پادشاهی فرانسه را خالی کرد و زمینه را برای انقلاب کبیر فرانسه آماده کرد . با یاری کمک نقدی و نیروی دریایی فرانسه ، طلاهای اسپانیا و بازرگانی فعال هلند ، ارتش انقلابی آمریکا به فرماندهی جرج واشنگتن جان دوباره ای گرفت و در نبردی سرنوشت ساز و باز هم به کمک فرانسویها ، ارتش بریتانیا را شکست داد و زمینه برای مذاکرات صلح و استقلال آمریکا فراهم شد .
کتاب ما را مردان برجسته ای مانند جرج واشنگتن یا ژنرال لافایت فرانسوی و همین طور آدمیرال رادنی ، دریاسالار برجسته بریتانیایی آشنا می کند . جهان امروز واشنگتن را علاوه بر اولین رئیس جمهور ، سمبل و نماد و پدر آمریکا می شناسد .
ژنرال لافایت هم پس از پیروزی آمریکا در انقلاب فرانسه نقشی بسیار مهم داشت . او پیش نویس قانون اساسی فرانسه نوین را تهیه کرد و اصول ملی گرایی لیبرالیستی را بنیان گذاشت .
خانم تاکمن در سلام اول به بررسی خطی استقلال و تولد ملت آمریکا نمی پردازد ، او نگاه بسیار خاص و پیچیده ای به این مقوله دارد که شاید مناسب اشخاصی که میخواهند ماهیت کلی جنگ های استقلال آمریکا را مطالعه کنند نباشد .

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75* of five

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 for?

[Breck Baumann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara W. Tuchman was known for her substantial amount of contributions to the genre of history, and just before passing away, she added one final historical work to bookshelves and audiences alike. In taking on the unique task of researching and writing about the American Revolution through the transcontinental financial and wartime policies of the Dutch Republic, England, and France, this book meets its target—but misses drastically when keeping the reader’s attention, sense of depth, and pleasure. Beginning with the very first acknowledgement of American Independence from a foreign nation (by a colony of the Dutch Republic), and ending with the aftermath and legacy of Yorktown, Tuchman sets a nice pace throughout.

Unfortunately, the chronology feels scattered by such random tangents as the naval escapades of England’s Admiral Rodney, overdrawn histories of the rivalries and alliances of the three European powers being discussed, and ultra-specific details on such matters as negotiations, frustrations, and battles. As the focus is a bit blurred from one plot being uncovered to the next, the real gems are found in the alliance between France and America. Whether involving French matters of trade policy with the infant nation, or the manner of titles in command and troop strength in battles—there are fascinating tidbits and concise biographies of France’s contribution and its liberty-minded gentry:

…Tarleton had led his Cavalry Legion out for foraging and was returning with wagons loaded with Indian corn when he was met in a narrow lane by Lauzun’s legion armed with lances. When a horse wounded by a lance thrust collided with Tarleton’s, he was thrown; his dragoons scrambled to his rescue, enabling him to seize another horse to remount and escape under the protective rifle fire of his infantry. Outnumbered, they were ordered by Tarleton to retreat, while Lauzun’s men charged in pursuit, protected in their turn by the steady fire of the Virginia militia.

By the end of the book, it becomes apparent that each chapter discussed could very well have had its own separate book—and that wouldn’t necessarily be an issue when considering Tuchman’s expertise and commitment to thorough research. While interesting in its scope and discussion of the foreign weight and influence in the American Revolution, the dryness and spotlights on minor affairs and people involved may leave the reader rather fatigued and unfulfilled by an otherwise fascinating transcontinental history. Detailed maps and a generous amount of illustrations accompany this book, as well as an extensive amount of source material.

[Peiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

از متن کتاب :
ه(16 نوامیر 1776 لکه های سفیدی از دود شلیک توپ ها، آنگاه صدای غرش توپ ها، از قلعه محقر جزیره هلندی کوچک سنت اوستاتیوس در هند غربی برخاست و بر بالای دریای فیروزه فام به جولان در آمد. توپ خانه قلعه اورانژ جواب سلام کشتی آمریکایی اندرو دوریا به بندر بیگانه را می داد و کشتی با پرچم راه راه سرخ و سفید کنگره آمریکا بر فراز دکلش به لنگرگاه نزدیک می شد. سنت اوستاتیوس با صدای کوتاهش اولین مقام رسمی بود که به بزرگ ترین رویداد قرن درود می فرستاد: ظهور دولت تازه ای که مسیر تاریخ را عوض می کرد)ه

در واقع در اون زمان آمریکا از مستعمرات بریتانیا بود و این اتفاق اولین زمزمه های انقلاب و استقلال آمریکا. کتاب انقلاب و استقلال آمریکا رو به نمایش میذاره در طی سالیان دراز مبارزه و کشمکش بین انگلیس و فرانسه و هلند و حتی اسپانیا و کمک های اونها به طرفین ماجرا. آزادیخواهان مستعمرات آمریکا یا ارتش و به طور خاص تر نیروی دریایی اونها. اکثریت کتاب از دید اروپاییان به این قضیه نگاه شده. روند کتاب از همون شلیک توپ به عنوان سلام اول آغاز و با نبرد یورک تاون به پایان میرسه. اطلاعات کتاب جالب و خوندنش سخت نیست به نظر من.ه

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

اطلاعات و وقایع خواندنی و جالب کتاب، در دل انبوهی از جزئیات، اعداد و ارقامی که گاهی بیش از حد کش دار و خسته کننده ست، گم میشه...🫠

اما در کنار همه ی این کم و زیادهای تاریخی، جمله‌ی مهم و قابل تاملی در این کتاب هست که نمیشه و نباید ازش غافل شد:

📚...غریزه آزادی خواهی انسان و اعتقاد به حق عزل حاکم بیدادگر، ریشه های مشترک عمیقی دارد...! 📚

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

"First Salute" is the best book I've read on the American Revolution. It starts with a mistaken cannon salute by an obscure cannoneer in a Dutch port in the Carribean which inadvertently recognizes the government of the rebelling colonies which is an insult to England which leads to war between England, France and the Netherlands which leads to a fleet being sent by France. The French fleet stops in Cuba and receives news that George Washington wants to move the army from New York to Yorktown to trap Cornwallis but doesn't have the money to make the move. Funds are acquired in Cuba, the French fleet sails north and does battle at the mouth of the Chesapeake with an English fleet, the French win, Washington moves the army south, Cornwallis is trapped and the rest is history. Barbara Tuchman has a way of writing from a point of view seldom considered by other authors and "First Salute" is a perfect example of it. The entire affair was a series of miracles, all of which were necessary for the establishment of the United States.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Tuchman has been criticized by some reviewers for straying off topic, i.e., from the American fight for independence from Great Britain, I found that she provided us with useful viewpoints: starting with Dutch vs British vs French naval forces in the Caribbean and elsewhere just as revolution in America was breaking out. She is very detailed in her explanations. You never have to thumb back through chapters to refresh your memory of whom she is referring to. Every utterance is packed with solid support by research. You can feel that, and it is reassuring. One enlightening conclusion she comes to in the epilogue is not surprising, but it does make one pause, especially after the 2016 presidential election, and that refers to what George Washington had envisioned that a future America would look like. I feel compelled now to read other Barbara Tuchman histories, such as "A Distant Mirror" and "The Guns of August". Also of note in Wikipedia, is "Tuchman's Law". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara....

[Jerome Otte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Call me a traditionalist, but I think it is reasonable to assume that a book promising to be about the American Revolution, even one claiming a "fresh approach", should have more than a passing reference to the battle for American independence. Instead, Barbara Tuchman has given us a very scholarly and well-researched discourse on the Dutch and British navies, with an occasional mention of the conflict in the colonies. Ms. Tuchman wants to demonstrate the importance of the Dutch navy, the Dutch's recognition of American vessels, and their willingness to trade with the colonies despite Britain's embargo, on the overall outcome of the war. That is all well and good, but she gets so hopelessly bogged down in detail that the average reader loses focus as she meticulously explores topics such as the history of the "ship of the line" method of naval warfare, complete with irrelevant digressions on earlier British court martials of admirals from the 1740's who deviated from the rigid rules of naval warfare. If you have a unique interest in the conflict between the British and Dutch navies, and the historical context of the American Revolution to that European conflict, than this is the book for you.

A glaring error is her treatment of Burgoyne's surrendered army.

Twice she refers to it as being paroled back to Europe, when it wasn't. Gates terms were too generous for the Continental Congress, and King George III would have adamantly refused to officially recognise the rebellion if it approving the scheme of exchange had ever reached him officially.

Furthermore, the "convention army" was not just never paroled, it stayed in the colonies, marched from Boston to Virginia then Pennsylvania as determined by the Congress, until the end of the war; all the while losing over 40% of the 6224 POW's to desertion, ie they liked what they saw in America to life back home with their families, etc.

This book is a serious page turner. Too bad that Tuchman doesn't stop at her available documentation. When she runs out of direct quotes and well documented facts, she speculates. It is a shame to see someone who is obviously such a meticulous scholar jump to such conclusions when the facts she had at hand were more than adequate. While trying and to a point succeeding to give an adequate picture of the minds of people like Generals Clinton and Cornwallis, and Admiril Rodney, Tuchman uses eighteenth facts combined with twentieth century sensibilities. The chronicals a large part of the revolutionary war, and the queat to bring an end to Britian's naval superiority in American waters. Tuchman does a wonderful job of searching through accounts of events and battles, but doesn't stop there. When she has told the facts as they are documented, she begins to speculate, perpetuating a number of myths about american social and military history that have taken a century to begin to dispel. This is inexcusable as in many cases the plain truth of the Americans fighting from behind rocks and trees from Lexington to Yorktown have been dispelled and are easy to document as she proves herself, when she provides a map of the siege at youktown laying out the lovely linear siege tactics employed by the French and Americans. She implies that Cornwallis at Yorktown was more interested in preserving some mideavil idea of honor by requesting to march out of Yorktown with his colors displayed in full parade. Her condescinding tone criticises the general sharply without bothering to examine that the military standards of the day dictate that if your defenses are breeched to the point that you can march out through them in full parade and regailia, you are essentially indefensible. If you don't march out, basically, your enemy will march in the same way. Cornwallis wished to prove and document for all time that he was indefensible. Tuchman robs this sad historical figure of this consideration and ridicules him for it. One of the problems I find with historians when it comes to the Rev. War is that without making a study of military history, they make a habit of forming conclusions, which First Salute does repeatedly.

The book is diffuse and a bit chaotic - certainly I understand her premise: in telling the history of the Revolutionary War at sea, and its effect on the world itself, it is certainly necessary to detail preceding events - certainly the war of independence was not an isolated event, but one of a web of changing international conditions. But her scope is so ambitious, and her seeming energy and will to accomplish so weak, that I had the feeling of reading a pile of miscellaneous facts, some of them not particularly well researched, rather than a coherent discussion. Admiral Rodney, despite being sidelined during much of the conflict, is given a outsized portion of this book - we have details of his debts and his preoccupations which tell us why he was not there; relevant to an extent that it illustrates the British mishandling of leadership, but not worth page after page - in a book the scope and size of Distant Mirror, this may have been absorbed; in a book this size this admittedly nicely studied character dominates the book, without dominating the story.

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

اولین به رسمیت شناختن بین‌المللی پرچم مستعمرات شورشی آمریکا توسط بندر سنت اوستاتیوس در هند غربی بود. تاکمن از این رویداد استفاده میکنه و انقلاب آمریکا رو از دیدگاه متفاوتی بررسی میکنه. در نیمه اول کتاب تاکمن انقلاب آمریکا رو از منظر کشتیرانی هلندی‌ها و سپس توجه ما را به سر جورج رادنی، دریاسالار بریتانیایی که با تصرف و اشغال سنت اوستاتیوس در اوایل سال 1781 انتقام سلام هلند به آمریکا را گرفت جلب میکنه. و در نهایت به اتحاد فرانسه با آمریکا و نقش مهمی که نبرد یورک‌تاون داشتن میپردازه.
تاکمن انقلاب آمریکا رو از دیدگاه بین الملل و نقش نیروهای دریای اروپا بررسی میکنه و جزییات و زیاده گویی زیادی داره که گاهی خسته کننده میشه و برای آشنایی اولیه با انقلاب آمریکا کتاب مناسبی نیست.

[Tioarifi · Rating 4 out of 5]

امتیاز ۴.۵

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Barbara Tuchman that I read and the irony for me is that this is the last one she wrote prior to her death in 1988. I have had Ms. Tuchman’s books on the radar for quite some time and I am hoping to get to her book “Guns of August” before the end of this year or early 2017. Ms. Tuchman had dedicated this book to her four grandchildren – keeping this thought in mind I could see clearly how she was also attempting to teach her grandchildren the finer more detailed levels of the time period.

What I thoroughly enjoyed in this book was how it dovetailed with Volume III – The Age of Revolution from A History of English Speaking Peoples (Sir W.S. Churchill) with respect to the section on the “American War for Independence.” The book is properly titled “The First Salute” the coexisting sub-title is in my opinion brilliantly placed. The act of the first salute is a keyhole in a door (if you will) to which one can bend down a bit and peep through the hole to see the much larger room and how the view of the whole by the simple act of a gun salute to the Andrew Doria one of 4 merchant ships of the time converted to create the Continental Navy following the Second Session of the Continental Congress of 1775 – she carried sixteen 6-pounders and was 75 feet in length with a width of 25 feet. She had a hermaphrodite rigging system of square sails on her mainmasts and triangular fore and aft. She carried a crew of 130 and contained many swivel guns atop her deck rails. What Ms. Tuchman was so detailed in this book specifically on was the description of raunchy sea going life of a sailor that was for the time frame. She writes in such a fashion that one can hear the songs of grog drunken sailors and port stops where women entered the berthing areas for a round of interludes. She applies this same sort of feel and writing to the whole of the book and the whole of the book is dedication to the Revolutionary War.

Any person interested in the American Revolution will find this book to be a treat – especially those persons that have dived into the topic above the surface and into the manner to which methods of war were fought. This book is now indelibly intertwined with my personal being as during the course of this read my own Father had passed away – this is also a reason it took me so long to finish.

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tuchman delivers a history of the American Revolution with a perspective on repercussions for Europe. She sees the War of American Independence as the beginning of the modern Western world, where inflamed passions would presage the upheavals of the nineteenth century. She makes an excellent example of France, which in coming to the aid of the colonists, basically bankrupted herself and set the stage for her own revolution, just around the corner.

Given the large sweep of history to be explored, Barbara Tuchman also finds time to focus on individuals, such as George Washington and Lord Cornwallis. While I have always found the author rather dry, I nevertheless enjoyed her telling of the saga. The Americans had some rather eccentric leaders and the most amazing part is that they somehow managed to work together to achieve one objective.

"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace.
That two are called a law firm.
And that three or more become a Congress."
- John Adams

Book Season = Summer (open the windows)

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first got turned on to Barbara Tuchman by Richard Hyde back in high school, reading her The Proud Tower and The Guns of August at the time. Since then I've kept my eyes open for more of her titles, reading March of Folly, Stilwell, Distant Mirror and The First Salute over the years.

This book contextualizes the American Revolution within the broader canvas of intra-European conflicts of the eighteenth century, using as its device the first recognistion of the new American republic by the Dutch in 1776. As always with Tuchman's books, it reads as easily as a novel.

[Adrian Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idiosyncratic account of the American War of Independence, that focuses on the naval war, and the roles played by the Dutch and the French. There is a lengthy digression into Dutch history, representing the United Provinces as a precursor to the United States. It was the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius that provided the first salute to a sovereign U.S. naval vessel, but it was the French navy that sealed the deal.

If there is a central character in this, it is British Admiral Rodney, rather than American General Washington. Rodney had been a very dashing and very successful naval commander in his prime, but by the time of the American Revolution he was well past his prime, and suffering from prostate problems for good measure. Like George III's other commanders he was appointed because his loyalty was beyond question, even if his enthuasiasm for waging this war wasn't. There was a general lack of enthusiasm not just among George's commanders, but among his government and people too. A significant factor in the British loss was their lack of interest in winning. The Caribbean colonies were producing far more money, and were causing far less trouble. America's future greatness was unimagined, if not unimaginable

Apart from Admiral Rodney's prostate (which explains why he was late getting off to Yorktown) the general cause of the British loss was the now inconceivable poverty of naval communications in the 18th century. A Ship left port and disappeared over the horizon, months later news returned on another ship on where the ship had been some weeks before. For the Battle of Yorktown to be won, which involved marching an army 300 miles down country to coordinate with a naval blockade sailing up from the Caribbean, seems extraordinarily unlikely.

To reiterate; the birth of the United States was extraordinarily unlikely; the future power of a United States was unimaginable. These conclusions immediately create all sorts of historical counterfactual questions, the answer to which would have had massive impacts on our world today. If the Thirteen Colonies remained in British hands, would the French and Spanish allowed them to expand across the Mississippi? Because the Mississippi Basin is the geopolitical source of American economic power. Would the pattern of European emigration to the U.S. have been altered, and Britain's colonies remained sparsely populated like those of Canada, Australia and New Zealand? Or would the rapidly growing population of America, already 2.5 million to Britain's 8 in 1776, mean that another - better provided for - Revolution was inevitable? Without the liberalising provisions of the Constitution, would America have become the superpower that it now is? Would there have been a political union between the North and the South or would those colonies have developed separately...it goes on.

A good read but more interesting for what it doesn't say rather than what it does.

[Mahya danesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب های‌تاریخی که نشر ماهی منتشر میکنه بیشتر حالت رمان گونه داره تا مستند ، و این باعث میشه کشش شما برای خوندن داستان بیشتر بشه ، اما خب راستش همه این کتاب ها جذاب نیست ، مثلا همین کتاب واقعا خسته کننده بود شاید به علت زیاد بودن اسامی و هیجان ندادن به واقعیات البته تا حدودی اجتناب ناپذیر بود ولی وقتی با کتاب (صلحی که همه صلح ها را بر باد داد) از همین انتشارات مقایسه میکنم اصلا هم تراز نیست . لحن نویسنده اصلا من رو نگرفت و دیگه این اواخر به زور میخوندمش، کتاب (توپ های ماه اوت) از همین نویسنده شاید بهتر بود ولی خب بازم من زیاد نتونستم با نویسنده ارتباط برقرار کنم انگار شما رو یه جایی بین داستان رها میکنه و میره و شما همش حوصله اتون از خوندن متنش به سر میرسه. کتاب از جایی شروع میشه که بریتانیای شکوهمند قیام امریکایی ها رو در حد شورش میبینه و زیادی اون ها رو دست کم میگیره و شما شاهد سیر حوادث از قبل انقلاب تا شکست ناوگان بریتانیا هستید. ترجمه خوب و روانی داشت و شاید نکته مثبتش هم همین باشه 😌
خلاصه که من امتیازی بالایی به کتابش نمیدم و امیدوارم کتاب بهتری در این زمینه بتونم بخونم

[Jason Adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Barbara Tuchman was a touchstone of my teenage years. I found an old paperback copy of "Practicing History" on a library discard shelf in the late eighties and read it through in a single sitting. From there, I was entranced by "The Guns of August" and "The Proud Tower." "Stillwell..." was not my favorite, but I recognized the craft that went into it. I was excited when I chanced upon "The First Salute" at a Half Price Books, but confused that I had not heard of it. I do not know the circumstances of its writing, but the outcome is a muddled hash of anecdotes that wander generally around the American Revolution. We begin with the first salute from a Dutch colony in the Caribbean to an American ship and somehow meander through an in-depth discussion of the life of George Rodney and an implicit comparison between the British in America with the Americans in Vietnam. By the end of the book we find ourselves on the Chesapeake as Cornwallis surrenders his sword at Yorktown.
Throughout, Tuchman hops back and forth through time in a confused narrative that comes off as recursive and wandering. As it has been two decades since I last read a Tuchman book, and the vast majority of my scholarship and learning have occurred since then - even inspired by her works - I am forced to wonder if these observations were true of her other works and I lacked the sophistication to see them. Or, if this represents some type of severe slide in the quality of her work. Rarely do you come across a book that forces you to reexamine your thoughts on a historian, but the "First Salute" has done that for me.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an eye-opening account of the American Revolution! Who knew the Dutch played such an important role? It's an facet sadly left out of history lessons today.

Plus, the author herself had such a light touch, making history accessible to the general public. Her skill at prose brought history back to life.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution" by Barbara W. Tuchman had been sitting on my "to read" shelf for ages. Having previously read many of Barbara W. Tuchman's previous works, including The "Zimmerman Telegram," "The Proud Tower," "Bible and Sword," and (my all time favorite history book) "The Guns of August," not to mention my recent excursion into the Age of Revolution, I knew it was time.
As with all the previous works mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Barbara W. Tuchman's perspective of (in this case) the American Revolution. Meticulously researched, Tuchman frames the American fight for liberty from the perspective of Holland, France, and to a lesser extent Spain. We get an excellent account of the importance of sea power on the conflict, an assessment of the power players (Washington, Rodney, Cornwallis, Clinton and de Grasse) and a brilliant account of the Yorktown campaign.
It was excellent as all the writings of Barbara W. Tuchman are.
Highly recommended. 4-Stars!

[Tomasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently if there was anything Barbara Tuchman hadn't known about the American Revolution, it was not worth knowing. Nevertheless, this one wasn't her best effort. There is some chaos within, a lot of irritating repetition (track the Saint-Simons for an example). Still, an enjoyable and illustrative read, just not stellar, not by far.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take on the American Revolution. It unfolds in a discursive, indirect manner, so that getting from A (a cannon salute by the French colony at St. Eustatius in the West Indies to an American ship, representing the first recognition of the revolutionary government) to Z (Washington's triumph at Yorktown) is nonlinear.

Sometimes this is frustrating, as one asks: "Where is this narrative leading us?" But Tuchman writes well (one time, she associated an army marching ahead, living off the land as a "devouring incubus" [Page 244:]). There are layers of detail that provide a rich tapestry.

The book, once it begins moving, provides a telling tale of the politics among nations--England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States. A minuet of great power politics.

The discussion of Washington's coming to terms with a battle at Yorktown rather than New York is well told. Just so, one gets some insight to key French actors, such as General Rochambeau or Admiral de Grasse. Also, the mediocrity of English leadership--at sea and on land--is well described.

All in all, an interesting take, although the indirect development of the work can be almost maddening at times.

[Au Yong Chee Tuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

On 16 November 1776, the little known port of Saint Eustatius fired her guns in salute to the American vessel "Andrew Doria." The vessel then entered the port while bearing the red and white flag of the newest country in the world, the Continental Congress. This was the incident that marked the "First Salute" by a foreign port to the United States of America.
This book looked at the naval events during the American Revolution. However, unlike most other naval histories of the period, Ms Tuchman did not deal with the naval battles between the US and the Royal Navy. Instead, she focused on the naval exploits of Admiral Sir George Byrdges Rodney in the Caribbean.
She expertly weaved her narrative against the backdrop of the deeds of other historical figures such as George Washington, Lord Cornwallis and French admiral Paul de Grasse.
A well written book by a historian who knew her subject matter intimately.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exuberant with the joy of story stelling and swirling back and forth across the Atlantic the book provides interesting perspective on the roles of the Netherlands in th American War of independence and elegantly uses the person of Admiral Rodney to expose how strategic and tactical blunders - especially naval - hastened the eventual defeat of the British. But at the end you have some difficulty in capturing the core message and purpose of why these stories had to come together as a coherent volume

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned more about the historical context of my nation's birth from this book than I learned in my schooling. I have read many of Tuchman's books, and was not disappointed with this one. Her popular histories have a nice flow, and she doesn't pad the book with poetic attempts to put the reader into the scene.

[Raymond Hwang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read books that tell the usual information about the American Revolution but this book takes a fresh look at a perspective from the naval point of view. This book emphasizes the contribution of the Dutch and the French to the cause of independence. If you are a fan of this period, then your education is incomplete without this book.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable history of American Revolution with strong focus on the European involvements and very little on many of the commonly known battles.

[Alireza rahimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

به نظرم اگه بیشتر راجع به اصل مطلب صحبت می کرد و سعی نمی کرد داستان ببافه جذاب تر می شد.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read nearly all of this author’s historical works; and after a slow start, I really enjoyed reading this one about the American Revolution and the effects it had on most of the other Western countries besides Great Britain. (At one point, Empress Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great) offered to mediate the disputes between Great Britain and her American colonies.)

Generally, the book covers the period from 1776 to 1781, and covers the salute to the American colors of the Andrew Doria by the Dutch governor of St. Eustatius, the affairs of the Dutch Republic, naval warfare of the period focusing on Admiral Rodney of Great Britain, the American land battles in the South, the intervention of the French with money, material and ships, and the long march leading to the siege of Yorktown.

It seems fairly clear that the American colonies had a better will to win the war than the British had to win it. For many years, indeed all the way to Yorktown, the British considered the rebellion of its American colonies to be nothing more than a population of loyal Britons deluded by demagogues who would soon see the error of their ways and return to the mother country. They thus saw the war as being one that would be won by Great Britain as a matter of course, and never entertained the thought that the Americans under Mr. Washington could win the war, with or without French assistance. Additionally, the British priorities were firmly with keeping their islands in the Caribbean safe from the Dutch and French (they were known as the “sugar islands”, and they had a tendency to not send their best men, either army or naval, to tend to the affairs of their colonies farther north. Finally, the French aided the Americans not because they loved the idea of representational democracy (at the time they were a monarchy), but because by doing so they would seriously upset the British trade and British complacency.

As always, I enjoyed reading this historical work of the authors; I have read most of her books, and need to find the ones she has written that I haven’t read yet to put in the pile of books to read.

[Mark Stidham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The re-read reconfirmed my five-star rating. Tuchman's style is vivid, original, and compelling. She sets the scene, including pithy sketches of the cast of characters in the action, then uses quotations and detailed descriptions from the sources, creating tension that makes the reader wondering what happens next. Most satisfying is how she then steps back from the event to ask, "What were they thinking?" Then there are offered intelligent guesses, some ruled in, others ruled out, and often concluding, "We'll never know." This telling deserves its high reputation. I only wish it was known and understood more widely. The ultimate surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown could be believed to be a miracle, but in the light of this account, it appears to be an unlikely accident with consequences no one could possibly foresee.
One little nugget particularly relevant for today: The French Admiral de Grasse, who commanded the fleet that prevented British support for Cornwallis at Yorktown, raised a considerable sum of desperately needed money for the American army from... Cubans! This money helped pay militia who had been near mutiny because of lack of payment from the Continental Congress.

[W.C. Clinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Barbara Tuchman, this time a history of the American Revolution. However, the focus is from an unusual vantage for an American - Tuchman provides the history of how the Revolution was perceived and fit into the economic and political agendas of the European powers. The titular salute was provided by the Dutch for an American ship entering one of its Caribbean ports, and marked the first official recognition of the United States as an entity by a foreign power. Tuchman explores the relationships between the Dutch, the British, the French, and the Spanish powers, and how the American Revolution fit into their various agendas. She follows the Revolution from the time of that salute until the surrender at Yorktown and the aftermath. Gifted with the ability to tell history like a story instead of a dry analysis of dates and names, Tuchman provides a very readable account of a familiar subject from a unique perspective.

[Bob Koelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The incompetence and unpreparedness of the Royal Navy was the biggest eye-opener for me. Also, I was also not aware of the huge geo-political ramifications of a small island in the Caribbean recognizing a ship from the US as sovereign during the war. It sparked massive outrage against the Dutch by the British, internal debate among the Dutch, who were organized much like the US under the Articles of Confederation, and nearly brought them into the war.
If you're not familiar with the debates in Parliament about the rightness of the Revolutionary cause, this book can serve as an introduction. It's a reminder about how close the British were to being able to resolve their differences with the colonies prior to the first shots. Loss of the American colonies was regarded by all sides in Britain as a tragic loss, but many felt it was deserved, based on their own poor behavior before and during the war.