The British Are Coming

America’s 250th birthday is fast approaching, making this an excellent opportunity for kids and teens to learn about the American founding. Rick Atkinson’s The British Are Coming: Young Readers Edition is a fast-paced and engaging read for middle and high school students. It’s part of a more detailed three-volume series on America’s Revolutionary War by the same author.

Not only does Mr. Atkinson bring to life fascinating details about General George Washington and Revolutionary War battles, but he also tells a moving story and is a splendid writer. A former Washington Post senior editor, Mr. Atkinson has become a premier military historian, winning a Pulitzer Prize for An Army At Dawn, one of the books in his celebrated World War II trilogy.

The book covers some of the events that led to America’s War for Independence, the first two years of the war (1775-1777), and the first campaigns in Massachusetts, Canada, New York, and New Jersey. Events include the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the first shots in Concord and Lexington, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Long Island, and the Battle of Trenton, which includes the famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day.

Readers learn something about the views of both sides through firsthand accounts and correspondence of King George III and others. They gain awareness of both the brutal and the civil aspects of the war. An early attempt to end the war through diplomacy was made in a meeting between Benjamin Franklin and British Admiral Lord Richard Howe.

Overall, the author underlines the price of freedom, the suffering and sacrifice of civilians, and the fact that many young men died.

The book might spur young readers to read more history about America and the West. That would be a worthwhile outcome.

Finally, the battles described in the book are enlivened by numerous pictures and excellent maps that depict geography, towns, troop movements, and maneuvers, adding much to the educational experience.