book review in Washington Post 8/26/2012

Robert Sullivan and I share a surname and a lot of common interests. In this case, local history and travelogue. The American Revolution famously began in New England and ended in Virginia, but the majority of the war took place in New York and New Jersey where the battles are greatly overlooked. Even the coldest winter on record when the Continental Army encamped at Morristown, NJ doesn't get the press of the somewhat milder winter at Valley Forge, PA.
Sullivan visits sites in New York and New Jersey, attempting to experience the long marches of a Continental foot soldier, while also exploring the popular memory through books, poems, museums, and reenactments. I really like the premise of the book and some of the historical details of the Revolution and how the landscape continues to inform the New York/New Jersey area. On the other hand, the book is meandering and not very cohesive, and well ... a bit boring at times. For example, a long portion of the end of the book Sullivan describes in detail many visits to the Watchung Mountains in New Jersey to attempt signaling his family in Brooklyn using a mirror. It's just not lively reading. All the same, I like the way Sullivan thinks and will seek out his other books. ( )

This is not my favorite of Sullivan's books but if you enjoy his typically personal, idiosyncratic, and frequently humorous approach to history, you find this book interesting and entertaining. I grew up in New Jersey so I particularly enjoyed reading about the places Sullivan visits with which I'm familiar. ( )

Great idea, poorly executed

I thought this was a really great idea, a modern revisiting of Revolutionary War sites with an overview of how they have changed over time. Instead the book is the rambling writings of the author as he rambles around the New England area. There is little coherence to his methodology and this combined with focus on unrelated topics (his father's health, how fresh muffins at a local bakery were) made much of this book quite tedious. Its clear that the author is very passionate about history, he frequently mentions names of local historians and re-enactors, however it is unfortunate that this book was not given more editorial guidance because I do feel it could have been much better than it was.

Also, no map? How can you have a history book that focuses on a specific area and not add a map? ( )