Valley Forge

"Valley Forge" picks up the unputdownable narrative of America's birth one year after Washington's triumphant surprise attack on Trenton, and much has changed since then. It's the winter of 1777, and Washington's battered, demoralized army retreats from Philadelphia. Arriving at Valley Forge, they discover that their repeated requests for a stockpile of food, winter clothing, and building tools have been ignored by Congress. With no other options available, the men settle down for a season of agony. For weeks the dwindling army freezes under tents in the bitter cold. The men are on the point of collapse, while in Philadelphia the British, joined by Allen van Dorn, the Loyalist brother of the dead patriot, Jonathan van Dorn, live in luxury. In spite of the suffering and deceit, Washington endures all, joined at last by a volunteer from Germany, Baron Friederich von Steuben. With precious few supplies and even less time, von Steuben begins the hard task of recasting the army as a professional fighting force capable of facing the British head-on - something it has never accomplished before - and in the process changing the course of history.

About the Author :
NEWT GINGRICH, former Speaker of the House, is the bestselling author of Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor and the longest serving teacher of the Joint War Fighting course for Major Generals. He resides in Virginia with his wife, Callista, with whom he hosts and produces documentaries, including their latest, A City Upon A Hill. WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN, Ph.D., is a Faculty Fellow at Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University and is the author of more than forty books. He is the New York Times best selling author of One Second After, published by Tor/Forge of St. Martin's Press. He resides near Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter, Meghan.

Review :
"This second title in the George Washington series (after To Try Men's Souls) offers an energetic dramatization of the Continental Army's grim winter bivouac at Valley Forge, Pa., in 1777.... Gingrich and Forstchen recreate the sights and smells of the Continental Army's hand-to-mouth camp life and the battlefield action around Valley Forge with a brisk panache that should bode well for future entries." --Publishers Weekly on Valley Forge "Masterful storytelling." --William E. Butterworth IV, New York Times bestselling author of The Saboteurs, on Pearl Harbor "Creative, clever, and fascinating." --James Carville on Gettysburg "Compelling narrative force and meticulous detail." --The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Gettysburg "Gingrich and Forstchen write with authority and with sensitivity." --St. Louis Post Dispatch on Gettysburg "Grim, gritty, realistic, accurate, and splendid, this is a soaring epic of triumph over almost unimaginable odds." --Library Journal on To Try Men's Souls "With each book... Gingrich and Forstchen have gone from strength to strength as storytellers." --William Trotter, The Charlotte Observer, on Never Call Retreat "The authors' research shines in accurate accounts of diplomatic maneuvering as well as the nuts-and-bolts of military action." --Publishers Weekly on Gettysburg "The writing is vivid and clear." --Washington Times on Gettysburg