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kristy_k's review
3.0
I didn’t know much, if any, about the Green Mountain Boys. I found this to be informative albeit a little dry. It was interesting to see how much discord there was between the American colonies and groups and also how many people were wooed (or an attempt was made) by the British to give up their cause. I’d recommend to fans of The American Revolution.
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely loved this book. It was amazing, and a great look into the war, the men behind it, and the actions that drove them.
100% recommended!
100% recommended!
ctreed63's review against another edition
3.0
An engaging, well-written history of a poorly-covered and fascinating topic of the Revolutionary War, but limited in it's historical scholarship and precision.
I have long been searching for a definitive text concerning the true nature of the much-apocryphied Green Mountain Boys, and Mr. Wren presents an eminently readable and brisk submission. Mr. Wren's success in relating such a sprawling topic in so short and engaging a manner, however, is also his biggest failing here, as his news-man treatment of details and specifics tends to gloss quickly over events that deserve far closer to a paragraph or a page than a throwaway phrase.
Perhaps it is actually an overall recommendation of this book that I frequently found myself sufficiently inspired by an anecdote or throwaway line to thumb to the footnotes in the back in search of source references; however, often as not I was disappointed to find no such support for the topic of my interest. While this makes for a very engaging summer read for anyone who enjoys a bit of historical tourism, I do not, therefore, think it will fully scratch the itch of serious historical scholars in search of the ephemeral definitive history of the Vermont experience during the war.
I have long been searching for a definitive text concerning the true nature of the much-apocryphied Green Mountain Boys, and Mr. Wren presents an eminently readable and brisk submission. Mr. Wren's success in relating such a sprawling topic in so short and engaging a manner, however, is also his biggest failing here, as his news-man treatment of details and specifics tends to gloss quickly over events that deserve far closer to a paragraph or a page than a throwaway phrase.
Perhaps it is actually an overall recommendation of this book that I frequently found myself sufficiently inspired by an anecdote or throwaway line to thumb to the footnotes in the back in search of source references; however, often as not I was disappointed to find no such support for the topic of my interest. While this makes for a very engaging summer read for anyone who enjoys a bit of historical tourism, I do not, therefore, think it will fully scratch the itch of serious historical scholars in search of the ephemeral definitive history of the Vermont experience during the war.
stevenk's review against another edition
3.0
Ethan Allan and the Green Mountain boys are legendary American Patriots who fought the British in the Revolution however this book tempers that legend at least as far as Ethan Allen is concerned. The Green Mountain Boys were formed to chase off New Yorkers and land speculators in the Vermont territories by Allen and his cousins and went on to fight valiantly in the Revolution. Allen however attempted to invade Montreal when ordered not to and ended up captured by the British, his only real combat experience against them. After his release he engaged in negotiations to bring Vermont to the British side. An interesting look at the story of Allen and the Revolution in Vermont.
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