To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen, Albert S. Hanser

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"The real war will never get in the books," Walt Whitman once lamented. If that was true of the Civil War, how much more true would it be of the even more distant Revolutionary War? Apparently recognizing those odds, in this historical novel, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen have tried mightily to give 21st-century readers a visceral sense of an 18th-century struggle. To Try Men's Souls renders the fight for American freedom through the lives of three men: General George Washington, masterful pamphleteer Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a lowly private in Washington's army. Thus, this book presents the struggle as it was experienced by three very different men who shared nothing but the dangers the war thrust upon them. A solid addition to Gingrich's well-researched series of novels about American wars.

From the Publisher

After two bestselling series examining the Civil War and WWII, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen have turned their sharp eye for detail on the Revolutionary War. Their story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington’s army. The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington cross - ing the Delaware. Unlike the bold, courageous General in Emanuel Leutze’s painting, Washington is full of doubt on the night of December 25, 1776. After five months of defeat, morale is dangerously low. Each morning muster shows that hundreds have deserted in the night. While Washington prepares his weary troops for the attack on Trenton, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia, overseeing the printing of his newest pamphlet, The Crisis. And Jonathan Van Dorn is about to bring the war to his own doorstep. In the heat of battle, he must decide between staying loyal to the cause and sparing his brother who has joined up with the British. Through the thoughts and private fears of these three men, Gingrich and Forstchen illu minate the darkest days of the Revolution. With detailed research and an incredible depth of military insight, this novel provides a rare and personal perspective of the men who fought for, and founded the United States of America.

Publishers Weekly

After hacking their way through the Civil War and WWII, former House Speaker Gingrich and historian Forstchen take on the Revolutionary War with decidedly mixed results. Sharing narration duties are Thomas Paine, George Washington and Jonathan van Dorn, a young private in Washington's army. From Washington's crossing of the Delaware River to a daring night raid on the better-armed Hessians, the authors do a decent job of depicting the dire plight of the Continental Army, though the big chunks of backstory wedged into the narrative add little texture while slowing the pace dramatically. Historical cameos abound, and these, combined with the attention devoted to the gritty details of army life, help to offset Washington's acts of patriotic melodrama in what is surely to become another popular book for Gingrich and Forstchen. (Oct.)

Library Journal

In an intriguing departure from their two alternative history series on the Civil War and World War II, Gingrich and Forstchen marvelously retell the story of one of the darkest periods in American history, the Christmas of 1776. George Washington's army, defeated and starving, is in tatters and devastated, both physically and emotionally. Washington desperately needs a victory and pins all his hopes on a surprise raid on Hessian headquarters at Trenton, NJ. The battle for Trenton is told through Washington's agonized thoughts, as well as through the viewpoint of Thomas Paine, who wants to recapture the magic of Common Sense and inspire a nation, and Jonathan Van Dorn, an idealistic young American soldier. The American victory at Trenton was far from ordained; instead, it was almost miraculous and probably saved the American Revolution. VERDICT Grim, gritty, realistic, accurate, and splendid, this is a soaring epic of triumph over almost unimaginable odds. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09.]—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Kirkus Reviews

Historically minded Gingrich and Forstchen (Days of Infamy, 2008, etc.) fix their eyes on the Revolutionary War and the pivotal victory that saved America. Dec. 25, 1776. General George Washington, at the head of a ragtag, half-starved, oft-beaten army, is about to give his fledgling nation an unforgettable Christmas present. The Hessian mercenaries hired by King George are quartered in tiny Trenton, snug and smug, wallowing complacently in the limited pleasures of the season. Outside, sleet and bone-chilling wind relentlessly punish an exposed Continental Army. Wandering among the soldiers and sharing their misery is Thomas Paine, whose pen has been a goad to British sensibilities and a spur to American unrest. Now, however, Tom's under pressure. A clamor has risen on every side for a successor to his Common Sense, which sold 100,000 copies and fired up rebellious hearts throughout the colonies. Even Washington importunes him: "You must write something! Anything!" But the great pamphleteer suffers writer's block until he comes upon a campfire surrounded by a handful of hard-used militia men, including the fictitious 15-year-old Jonathan van Dorn. Suddenly a quarrel develops. Enraged at what he senses is a looming defection, young van Dorn cries out, "You were nothing but a patriot when the sun was shining but now that winter is here? My God . . . how you try my soul." And the rest, as they say, is history. Writer's block vanished, Tom gets his theme, Washington gets his victory and the overconfident Hessians get their comeuppance. The prose is rich in platitudes, especially when the underimagined characters are making speeches to each other. It takes more than vividly rendered battlescenes to make compelling historical fiction.

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