1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga covers the history of the thirty-three days of the Saratoga campaign. Utilizing historical archaeology and the words of the men and women that served in both armies, words taken directly from their letters, journals, diaries, and memoirs, of which many remain unpublished, Snow weaves an intimate and personal telling of the battles. It was for both sides a story of endurance. The Americans fielded an improvised and inexperienced army under Horatio Gates to face the highly trained British and German forces led by John Burgoyne. In addition to these initial inequalities were the advantages of short distances, regular supply, and fresh reinforcements enjoyed by the Americans and the disadvantages of long inadequate supply lines and thinning ranks endured by the British and German forces. There were painful losses on both sides, tragic deaths, and the combination of relief and protracted pain that always accompanies armed conflict. But in the end, the stark fact remained that one of the world's finest armies had been beaten by a force of amateurs, changing the direction of the American insurrection and making eventual independence inevitable. The skein of personal stories that comprise the bigger story of Saratoga has many threads, including that of Benedict Arnold, whose flawed personality was not yet fully evident. The contrasting personalities and fates of the commanding generals, Gates and Burgoyne, are better known, but these are but a few of the threads that form the larger story of Saratoga. By bringing together the stories of both the famous and the anonymous on both sides, Snow's narrative presents a thorough micro-history of the battles that tipped the balance of the American War of Independence.

About the Author
Dean Snow received his BA from the University of Minnesota and his PhD from the University of Oregon. He served on the faculties of the University of Maine, the University at Albany SUNY, and Penn State. He has served as president of the Society for American Archaeology and the American Society for Ethnohistory. He has also served as an officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and other organizations. His most recent book, Archaeology of Native North America, is the first truly continental synthesis of North American archaeology in forty years.

Reviews
... Snow has done a masterful job bringing together voices from across the battlefield, chronicling a pivotal moment in [America's] founding. * Doug Macgregor, Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies *
An exceptionally detailed narrative, following events day by day and, as the action intensifies, hour by hour. This chronological structure has the merit of making sense of a campaign for which the evidence is often complex and contradictory. The result is a vivid, almost novelistic, account. * Wall Street Journal *
[Dean Snow's] profiles of protagonists ... bring the battle to life. * The New York Times *
As the action builds and the characters come into focus, readers will get caught up in their hopes and frustrations ... Military history lovers will appreciate Snow's explanations of how battles are fought. * Kirkus Reviews *
In his latest book, Snow takes a magnifying glass to the Saratoga campaign ... [He] presents Horatio Gates and John Burgoyne not as competing chess players but as complex individuals immersed in a larger group of individuals who struggle with social politics, ambiguous authority structures, and subordinates with mixed motives and loyalties ... Snow's narrative keeps readers engaged, start to finish. * Library Journal *
An easy-reading and well-structured look at the battles that produced the British defeat. * Washington Free Beacon *
Dean Snow's narrative is a faithful and meticulous chronicle, ably interweaving a rich tapestry of first-hand accounts with detailed descriptions of the battle's geography, planning and execution. What follows is a panoramic of the issues, personalities and events that culminated in the great American victory of the early Revolution. * Jack Tracey, History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190618759
Author Dean Snow
Format Hardback
Page Count 456
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 794g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 165mm * 33mm