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Robert Conroy
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Liberty: 1784: The Second War for Independence Kindle Edition

by Robert Conroy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 333 ratings
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In 1781, George Washington's attempt to trap the British under Cornwallis at Yorktown ends catastrophically when the French fleet is destroyed in the Battle of the Capes. The revolution collapses, and the British begin a bloody reign of terror. A group of rebels flees westward and sets up a colony near what is now Chicago. They call it Liberty. The British, looking to finish what they started, send a very large force under Burgoyne to destroy them. Burgoyne is desperate for redemption and the Americans are equally desperate to survive.

Had the Battle of the Capes gone differently, a changed, darker, New World would have been forced into existence. But even under those dire circumstances, Liberty may still find a way!

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

About Robert Conroy's Rising Sun:
“Conroy extrapolates a new and militarily plausible direction for WWII . . . A thrilling adventure.”—Booklist

About Robert Conroy’s Himmler’s War:
“[Conroy] adds a personal touch to alternate history by describing events through the eyes of fictional characters serving on the front lines. VERDICT: Historical accuracy in the midst of creative speculation makes this piece of alternate history believable.”–Library Journal

About Red Inferno: 1945
“An ensemble cast of fictional characters. . . and historical figures powers the meticulously researched story line with diverse accounts of the horrors of war, making this an appealing read for fans of history and alternate history alike.”—Publishers Weekly

“[E]ngrossing and grimly plausible. . .the suspense holds up literally to the last page.”—Booklist

About 1945:
“ moving and thought-provoking. . .”—Publishers Weekly

“Realistic. . .”—Booklist

About 1942:
“. . .fans of Tom Clancy and Agent Jack Bauer should find a lot to like here.”—Publishers Weekly

“A significant writer of alternate history turns here to the popular topic of Pearl Harbor, producing. . . this rousing historical action tale.”—Booklist

“A high-explosive what-if, with full-blooded characters.”—John Birmingham, bestselling author of Without Warning

About 1901:
“. . .cleverly conceived. . .Conroy tells a solid what-if historical.”—Publishers Weekly

“. . . likely to please both military history and alternative history buffs.”—Booklist

Robert Conroy is the author a run of hugely popular alternate history novels, including Himmler’s War and Rising Sun for Baen Books. His 1942, which is set within a Japanese conquest of Hawaii, won the prestigious Sidewise Award for alternate histories. Conroy has written for Military History magazine and has traveled extensively in Europe where he’s taken a special interest in battlefields, historical collections and castles. After a first career in business, Conroy has turned his lifelong passion for writing and military history into an immensely satisfying new occupation. He is married, lives in southeastern Michigan, and, when not writing, teaches business and economic history at a local college.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Conroy is the author a run of hugely popular alternate history novels, including Himmler's War and Rising Sun for Baen Books. His 1942, which is set within a Japanese conquest of Hawaii, won the prestigious Sidewise Award for alternate histories. Conroy has written for Military History magazine and has traveled extensively in Europe where he's taken a special interest in battlefields, historical collections and castles. After a first career in business, Conroy has turned his lifelong passion for writing and military history into an immensely satisfying new occupation. He is married, lives in southeastern Michigan, and, when not writing, teaches business and economic history at a local college.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IHF29QI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Baen Books; 1st edition (February 15, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 15, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1089 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 333 ratings

About the author

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Robert Conroy

Robert Conroy

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My next novel, "1882-Custer in Chains," will be published in May, 2015. I had hoped for sooner, but it's the publisher's decision. In my tale, Custer not only survives the fight at the Little Big Horn in 1876, but becomes a war hero and then President of the United States. Urged on by his ambitious wife Libbie, he gets us into a war with Spain with the conquest or liberation of Cuba as its goal. The result is a bloody invasion and a series of battles on both land and sea in which the outcome is never a sure thing. As always, there are a number of historical characters as well as fictional ones. Since 1882 was only seventeen years after the end of the Civil War, memories of that bloody conflict are always present.

As I've written before, I want my alternate histories to be plausible; ergo, no time travel or magic. Now, could Custer have survived? Absolutely yes. He had two Gatling guns that he felt would have slowed him down; therefore, he left them behind. What if some energetic young officer had defied him and brought them just in time to save Custer and what remained of his force from annihilation? Victory for Custer, of course and that is the take off point for 1882-Custer in Chains.

Following on the heels of "Liberty-1784" and "1820-America's Great War," Custer will be my twelfth published novel and it's still a thrill. I wonder what the nuns at now closed St. Ambrose High School would have thought.

Why not check out my website at robertconroybooks.com or email me at conroybooks.net?

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
333 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Robert Pollack
5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive story, a great read.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
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Great reading, as detailed as anything I’ve read of alternate history, including the works of Harry Turtledove. Very enjoyable, riveting and unable to put down. Can’t wait to read the rest of his works, which I will do in chronological sequence.
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Ronald C. Tobin
4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Different Kind of Independence
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2014
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Liberty 1784 starts off with a very plausible, very possible even, divergence from history. The French fleet in 1781, instead of winning the Battle of the Capes and sealing Cornwallis' doom at Yorktown, loses the battle. As such, the American colonies lose the Revolutionary War and the British institute an increasingly brutal occupation. The book starts with George Washington being beheaded at the Tower of London. Most of the other top leaders are in prison on Jamaica, while many military officers of junior rank are slowly wasting away on prison hulks, several of which are in New York harbor. One of these hulks fall apart and the prisoners escape and the story really gets going.

In this history the Kingdom of France has already fallen, worrying the British enough that they are keeping most of their troops in Europe. The remaining American rebels have set up a base called Fort Washington, near modern Chicago. The British devise a plan to destroy this place and the Revolution once and for all. So who prevails? Read the book, it is a very satisfactory and believable campaign, filled with well fleshed out characters.

Conroy's strengths are believable characters and sound alternate history. This story shows the issues both sides would have faced had 1781 turned out differently. The editing was sound, no major typos and nothing to interrupt the flow, which as a reader I appreciated.

Well written alternate history allows one to ponder the 'what if' factors. Liberty 1784 certainly meets this criterion.
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Teamjj
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding What If
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2014
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Great tale of what if we had lost at Yorktown. Can't say if we finally won or not but it was an exciting story with twists and turns that kept you reading. Chocked full of historical figures placed in situations they were never in. Best thing about Mr. Conroy's books is that each book is the whole story. He doesn't write series that keep you buying the next book to see what happened to people you've become involved in. But he writes books that keep you coming back to Mr. Conroy. Great book by a great alternate history author. Harry T, watch your 6 as Robert is gaining on you.
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Bert Erland
3.0 out of 5 stars A BIT WEAK
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2014
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I loved the idea of this novel just it did not pay off as well as the others. There was lots of potential with this story however it seemed rushed. The action and players were not as well thought out as his other alterative history efforts.

It seems the author was more concerned with reminding us that our forefathers had sex often than the actual plot line. Yes we get that they may not have been puritan but there are more sex scenes than battles in this one.

As with his past effort the use of historical figures in different roles adds to the appeal. Probably could have been a good multi book effort as there are lots of story lines to be work but it ended in a rush. Still a fan of the author and hope he does better on his next effort.
3 people found this helpful
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Charles F. Kartman
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, plausible, exciting, and a good example of what we lost with the passing of Mr. Conroy
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2016
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The passing of Robert Conroy at age 76 was a great loss to fans of alternate historical fiction. An economics professor, he somehow found time to write 14 novels in 20 years, all but one in that genre. Although most fans would not rate him at the very top, his work was reliably entertaining. fairly plausible within the conventions of alternate history, and always well worth reading. Most of his topics were within the twentieth century, and he did not strive for the rhythm and "feel" of earlier periods when he tackled them, sticking to the unfolding of events.

"Liberty", then, is sort of an outlier as the only story taking place in the 18th century. This is not unusual inasmuch as the great struggle to establish our nation has always occupied second chair behind the drama of the Civil War, much as WWI is lost behind WWII. As usual, one does not find the speech or, for the most part, the other atmospheric touches of the period. What one does find, however, is the author's probably accurate sense of the brutality that may have been endemic to the struggle among Crown, Rebels, Tories, and native Americans.

The premise is that Yorktown was a victory for the British, and the remnants of the rebellion, minus most of its leaders, attempt to regroup to the west in a grouping of settlements collectively known as Liberty but one day to become Chicago. Although the distance through forested country poses a challenge for the logistics of the time, the British decide to send a large expedition to stamp it out; it should come as no surprise that the outcome must be decided in a grand and bloody battle. There is an assortment of characters of all types, including Ben Franklin, but with a few exceptions the British and Tories are the clear bad guys. Warning: there is more graphic sex than usual.

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4 people found this helpful
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James Tortolano
5.0 out of 5 stars One of Conroy's best! The inevitability of 'Liberty'
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2014
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I've read all of this author's books, and while they are all interesting, the originality level has tended to plateau into a familiar pattern. But in "Liberty 1784, The Second War for Independence," Conroy seems to have caught a second wind. He varies just enough from his tried-and-true approaches to pique your interest and mines an underexplored topic (the American Revolution) in alternate history to create another page-turner. I burned through "Liberty" in a day and a night. It's plausible, well-paced and full of enough twist and turns to keep you from dwelling too much on the obvious: that the good guys (Americans) will win. He deserves special credit for suggesting that women could help turn the tide of a battle, something we rarely see in fiction. Women are victims and romantic objects, not actual players in world history, or so we are led to believe. The only thing I would have liked to have seen is an epilogue in which some discussion of the postwar roles of black and women could be discussed. Otherwise, excellent.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Hutch
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017
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Good read
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Willow Arune
3.0 out of 5 stars I do enjoy Robert Conroy's books and normally rate them at four ...
Reviewed in Canada on September 12, 2015
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I do enjoy Robert Conroy's books and normally rate them at four or five stars. This ones regrettibly not to his regular high level. It lacks the focus of the other books, and the attempt creating "love interest" is sad indeed.
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Greywolf
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2018
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Like his books, even though he is slightly anti British.
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David Orr
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2015
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It was a nice light read.
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technophile
3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2019
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I have read just about all of Robert Conroys books and I have enjoyed all of them but I found this book a bit of a chore to read. I found it rather slow and not very interesting. As a Brit the characters names meant nothing to me which may be different if you are American.
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