The Fate of the Day, Rick Atkinson
The Fate of the Day, Rick Atkinson
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The Fate of the Day
The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780

Bestseller

Author: Rick Atkinson

Narrator: Grover Gardner, Rick Atkinson

Unabridged: 32 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/29/2025

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington’s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.

The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution—which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton—was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force.

Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated: fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.

Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans—even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.

Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of maps and illustrations from the book.

About The Author

Rick Atkinson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight narrative histories about five American wars, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light), and The British Are Coming, the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. He has won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on March 08, 2025

Let me get this out of the way real quick. If you are looking at reviews for Rick Atkinson's The Fate of the Day because you already read The British Are Coming and want to make sure Atkinson didn't magically forget how to write then fear not. Volume Two is just as exceptional as Volume One of his R......more

Goodreads review by Glenn on November 24, 2024

I received an advanced copy of this book thanks to a Goodreads Giveaway. It’s my opinion that Rick Atkinson’s previous body of work has already placed him in the pantheon of the true greats of American historical writing alongside the likes of Francis Parkman, Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote. This, th......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on May 19, 2025

It was worth the wait. I had been waiting for this book ever since 2017 when volume 1 was released. Props to my local library's inter-library loan program for promptly getting this book into my hands. You guys are awesome!! Volume 2 covers the time from Ticonderoga to the siege of Charleston. I woul......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on May 13, 2025

The fact that the audiobook is narrated by Grover Gardner, who previously narrated the audiobooks of Shelby Foote's Civil War Trilogy, cemented to me this connection: Rick Atkinson is the Shelby Foote of the Rev War. It is an accessible and thorough history of the war, covering even small actions yo......more

Goodreads review by Michael on May 15, 2025

This is the second volume of what will be the definitive narrative history of the American Revolution. People remember the first couple of years of the Revolutionary War; Lexington and Concord, the battle for New York, the Declaration of Independence, and Washington crosses the Delaware. They rememb......more


Quotes

“Rick Atkinson takes his place among the greatest of all historians. This superb second volume in his Revolution Trilogy is that rare narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Familiar characters become dimensional and complicated, new ones burst to life vividly, and the battles and struggles that created our country now have clarity and meaning.”—Ken Burns

“This is great history. . . . We witness Washington mature as a commander; we come to understand why Arnold sells his allegiance; and we recognize King George’s quandary as his generals repeatedly fail to draw this ruinously expensive conflict to an end[JS1] . . . . There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Atkinson.”—The New York Times

“Mr. Atkinson sustains dramatic tension in a detailed, comprehensive account of the Revolution’s pivotal middle years. . . . He deftly sketches personalities and incidents while stressing the uncertainty all those involved felt about the outcome.”The Wall Street Journal

“Atkinson writes with tremendous verve and detail. The result is a book that infuses the events… of the war with striking vibrancy, essentially bringing the conflict to life again. . . . Regular readers of history will have already heard of many of the people Atkinson describes—but after finishing this book, they might feel like they have met them.”The Washington Post

“Thoroughly researched and richly illustrated, [The Fate of the Day] is popular history at its very best, leading with narrative and rich detail while making often compelling but more analytical insights in passing . . . Much more than a simple retelling of battles, the book includes an immense amount about the craft of war, its relationship to and impact on politics and society, and the role of grand strategy in fixing the course of a conflict. It also raises a profound question about the role of principle in statecraft.”—Claremont Review of Books

“[Atkinson] has the journalist’s stylistic flair but a stupendous appetite for research that would put many a gray-haired Ph.D. to shame. . . . The result, in The Fate of the Day, is a massive, and massively enjoyable, excursion into the embattled history of the American republic, its imperial British enemy, and its opportunistic ally, France.”—The Washington Free Beacon

“[Atkinson] is vivifying the Revolutionary War in his mesmerizing histories The British Are Coming and The Fate of the Day. The latter, the second book in a planned trilogy . . . is being devoured by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.”The New York Times

The Fate of the Day contains those intimate details of conflicts that provide the reader a keen sense of the chaos and terror with which eighteenth-century battles were conducted. . . . [A] compelling, clear narrative, this volume is worth reading with the same care as it was written.”Journal of the American Revolution

“[A] riveting narrative. . . . Meticulously researched and marvelously told. . . . The Fate of The Day is a triumph of narrative history and cements Atkinson’s place among America’s finest popular historians.”—ARMY Magazine

“As ever with Atkinson, an exemplary work of narrative history.”Kirkus Reviews, starred review