A mighty military with a global reach and a warrior tradition bogged down in the complexities of war waged in dispersed battlegrounds upon another continent. A fearsome host unable to achieve its goals despite outclassing the training, discipline, equipment, and resources of its foes. National leaders with every confidence in victory reinforced by a continuing stream of misleading and optimistic reports. Although evocative of a more contemporary conflict and military, war historian Rick Atkinson’s latest work is about the bloody birth of America and masterfully exposes the Revolutionary War in all its confusion, complexity, and discord.