Publishers Weekly
Born into a prosperous Quaker family in Rhode Island, Greene (1742-1786) had no formal education and remained at his family's forge into his 30s, when he abruptly abjured pacifism as the Revolution gathered steam. Through thorough research, Golway (So Others Might Live: A History of New York's Bravest), who has written for American Heritage, makes Greene's numerous and complex accomplishments accessible, committing few excesses of patriotism (and fewer of psychobiography). From the Revolution's earliest stages, Greene was appointed commanding general of the Rhode Island contingent in the Patriots' siege of Boston; Golway shows him as one of Washington's most trusted subordinates, with a mixed record as a field commander and a good one as a very reluctant quartermaster-general (a job that made making bricks without straw look simple). In the war's darkest days, in late 1780, Greene was appointed commander in the Southern theater, where the British had nearly swept all before them. Without ever winning a major battle, Greene, Golway shows, kept his army in the field, supported Patriot militias and suppressed Tory ones, undercut British logistics, eventually forced Cornwallis north to Yorktown and besieged Charleston. Along the way he married and had a lively family life, became a slave-owner (through owning land in Georgia) and then died of sunstroke and asthma. Golway makes a convincing case that Greene should be better known. (Feb. 2) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Nathanael Greene's early death in 1786 prevented him from being remembered in the same light as Washington, Adams, Hamilton, and others of that ilk. Golway (So That Others Might Live), a columnist and city editor of the New York Observer, contends that Greene, a revolutionary hero, has been lost to history, and he endeavors to correct this oversight. This book traces the life of Greene, who shed his Quaker roots to become the victorious commander of the American Southern army. Self-conscious of his lack of formal education, Greene strove to be recognized for his hard work. Four tedious years as the army's quartermaster earned him the confidence and praise of Washington, who made him his heir apparent. Finally, Greene's unconventional leadership in the South frustrated the English, and ultimately Greene won the day. Golway superbly intertwines Greene's personal life with his military and business ambitions. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Charles M. Minyard, U.S. Army (ret.), Blountstown, FL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
New York Observer columnist and editor Golway (For the Cause of Liberty, 2000, etc.) rescues a Revolutionary War hero from oblivion, and deservedly so. Nathanael Greene was a Rhode Islander who mysteriously earned a promotion from private to general of militia almost overnight, and who otherwise embodied a bundle of contradictions: he was a nominal pacifist who excelled at warfare, a pious man who was fond of a visit to the alehouse, "a walking incongruity: a self-taught child of the Enlightenment, dressed in the unadorned black garb of a Quaker." When textbooks mention him at all, they tend to cast Greene in a saintly light, whereas Golway accords him all the usual human failings. Among other things, the man wasn't above politics; he grumbled about George Washington's failings as a commander and lobbied hard for position, especially against rival general Horatio Gates, though he skillfully depicted himself as being the unwilling recipient of rank and honor. And he was also, Golway hints, not above earning a dollar here and there by helping mercantile relatives gain access to lucrative army contracts. Greene also had positive qualities, however, that more than matched his shortcomings, one being sheer bravery; he uncomplainingly turned up in the thick of important battles, such as the Continental victory at Trenton and defeat at Germantown, and at the end of the war his mere appearance on the battlefield, apparently, was enough to send his British foes into flight. Greene had a simple view of the war: "We fight, get beat, rise and fight again." That persistence wore down royal forces in the South, with the last battles of the Revolutionary War. At places like Cowpens, the Dan River,Guilford Courthouse, and Eutaw Springs, Greene met everything the British threw at him, and if he lost many battles, he at least kept up a fight that would have been all too easy to abandon. A fitting and welcome monument to a surprisingly complex actor in early American history. Agent: John W. Wright/John Wright Literary Associates
