“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
“[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.”—Allen C. Guelzo, 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.”—Maureen Dowd, The New York Times
“[Atkinson] provides amazing detail and masterful staging. You’re in the action, seeing the violence that bitterly divided neighbors and families and understanding how close-run the war was. . . . Two of Mr. Atkinson’s three volumes are out. . . . I can’t wait for the third.”—Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal
“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
“Epic in scale but rich in detail, this captures the drama and world-historical significance of the revolution.”—Publishers Weekly
“[The Fate of the Day] is not only an entertaining story, but more importantly, a comprehensive addition to a well-studied period of history. For readers of American history, this is a must-have volume.”—Booklist
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