Review
This entertaining, enlightening, and objective volume is highly recommended.”
From the Back Cover
A failure in midlife, the Baron de Steuben uprooted himself from his native Europe to seek one last chance at glory and fame in the New World. Steeped in the traditions of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great—the most ruthlessly effective in Europe—he taught the demoralized soldiers of the Continental Army how to fight like Europeans. His guiding hand shaped the fighting force that triumphed over the British at Monmouth, Stony Point, and Yorktown. But his influence did not end with the Revolution. Steuben was instrumental in creating West Point and in writing the first official regulations of the American army, and his principles have guided the American armed forces to this day.
In The Drillmaster at Valley Forge, Paul Lockhart tells the remarkable story of an extraordinary man—bringing to flesh and blood life the hitherto little-known figure whose image has long been part of the iconography of our Revolutionary heritage.
About the Author
Paul Lockhart is a professor of history at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and the author of Denmark, 1513–1660: The Rise and Decline of a Renaissance Monarchy.
Norman Dietz is a writer, an actor, and a solo performer. He has also performed frequently on radio and television, and he has recorded over 150 audiobooks, many of which have earned him awards from AudioFile magazine, the ALA, and Publishers Weekly. Additionally, AudioFile named Norman one of the Best Voices of the Century.
In the late 1770s, his promising military career aborted, Baron de Steuben uprooted himself from his native Prussia and landed in America, where he schooled its troops to fight in the European manner, thereby influencing the outcome of the Revolutionary War. Norman Dietz's smooth, clear delivery make this biography easy to follow, and his energy never flags. He gives a straight reading, rather than adopting different voices or accents, which suits a text that is long on description and short on dialogue or quotations. This is a fine introduction to a significant player in Revolutionary War history, and Dietz makes it a listening experience even nonmilitary buffs may enjoy. A.E.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
