The Fire of Liberty

This anthology gathers first-person writing from the American War of Independence, 1774 to 1783, drawn from diaries, letters, speeches, and memoirs on both the rebel and British sides. Typical pieces cover political argument before shots are fired, camp life, battles, occupation of towns, and the strain on households that split over loyalty. Recurring figures include soldiers, officers, politicians, and civilians who record a day's events rather than a later overview. There is no single narrator. The book is a documentary sampler of the Revolutionary War, not a continuous campaign history written by one historian.

Compiled. 24 pages of colour and monochrome plates showing contemporary prints, portraits and etchings. Glassine dust-jacket with no slipcase or white slipcase printed in lilac. The Presentation Volume for 1984.