Mesmerising!
I minored in history at university and wrote several books on local history, thus my keen interest. Another book, which I was previously reading (Iron Tears) before coming across this book, was too repetitive and bogged down in its many deatils of British public opinion during the Revolutionary War. But upon opening Taylor's book, it was like opening a window to the past and letting in a breeze of fresh air, in this case insight. We live in fear of "revisionist history" in much that is being written these days, but Taylor tells it like it really was and he has touched upon topics that heretofore have been avoided, topics such a slavery, French opinion of the American Colonists and vice versa. Taylor's writing style is easy to follow and he makes his points perfectly. He reminds me of that type of college professor in my past that everyone wanted to get into his class. This is a book that you will not want to put down.