This is the story of a vicious struggle between brothers, friends and families which forged a new nation. Using the most up-to-date scholarship, vivid eye-witness accounts and original documents, this book tells the history of the passionate, violent and bloody events of the 1770s. The book argues against the commonheld view that the war of independence was the American people's struggle for liberty against an oppressive colonial power. The truth is far more interesting. Many Americans were loyal to the Crown throughout the war. Men and women often chose sides not because they wanted freedom, but because they wanted their neighbour's land. This book explores intriguing paradoxes through personal stories of women such as Jane McCrea, whose fiance was a British officer but whose brother was a rebel soldier. There are stories representing every interest group: Redcoats, loyalists, rebels, neutrals, French soldiers, Indian warriors, slaves, landed gentry and sharecropper. The text explains how the real victors of the War of Independence were the French, not the Americans, how the British Army could have continued the land war, and how intervention by the French Navy was decisive in the British defeat. Slave uprisings supported the British against the rebels, because of their brutal treatment by the colonists and many Native American tribes remained loyal to the British, while both loyalists and rebels betrayed the tribes who had supported them. When the conflict began very few believed the 13 colonies would gain independence - in Britain and in America. There were many mutinies in the rebel army including one in New Jersey which had to be put down by a large force sent by a man whose name has become synonymous with the conflict - General Washington.

Rebels and Redcoats

History

Bicheno, Hugh

Americas

HarperColinsPublishers

Controversial and revisionist history of America’s first civil war. Published with hugely successful accompanying four-part BBC TV series – written and presented by star military historian, Richard Holmes.
Most people view the American Revolutionary War of the 1775–83 (also known as the War of Independence) as a popular struggle for liberty against an oppressive colonial power. REBELS &amp; REDCOATS by historian Hugh Bicheno, written to accompany a four-part BBC television series presented by Richard Holmes, demonstrates that it was in fact America's first civil war.
Employing the latest scholarship and vivid eyewitness accounts, Bicheno argues t that the war was the product of a broad French imperial design, and greed of many prominent colonials. As many Americans remained loyal to the Crown as rebelled against it, and the reasons for adopting or changing sides were as varied as the men and women who had to make the unenviable decision. Native and African Americans overwhelmingly favoured the British cause.We hear not only the voices of Rebels and Redcoats, but also of German mercenaries and aristocratic French adventurers, as well as Indian warriors and Black slaves fighting for their independence, which together shed new light on events that forged a nation. The main loser was the French monarchy, which ruined itself to gain no lasting influence over the United States, while unable to exploit the distraction the war created either to invade Britain or gain control of the West Indies, which at the time were considered a far bigger prize than all of North America.

Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolutionary War

Harpercollins

For five years before the Falklands War, Hugh Bicheno was one of the top British spies in Argentina. As such, he gathered hard intelligence on Argentine intentions over the Falklands—which the British establishment then chose to ignore. The reasons behind this British decision, and its disastrous and inevitable consequences in the South Atlantic, are the main story of this book.

Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War

Military

Orion Publishing

In Italy, the Renaissance was more than a time of sweeping cultural advancement; it was also an age of nearly continuous military conflict and vicious personal feuds between powerful public figures. A lifelong vendetta pitted two of Italy’s most prominent condottieri, or mercenary warlords, against each other in a struggle that moved from the battlefield to the political halls of power to the Papacy itself. Duke Federigo da Montefeltro of Urbino, and Sigismondo Malatesta, the Wolf of Rimini,” were more than ruthless generals; they were cultured patrons of the arts who nonetheless took their rivalry to bloody excess. Here their story is set against the rich backdrop of 15th century Italy, a sweeping epic of nobility and war, betrayal and vengeance.

Vendetta: High Art and Low Cunning at the Birth of the Renaissance

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

This gripping narrative history, drawing upon primary sources and brimming with rare illustrations and informative maps, catapults you behind the lines at Gettysburg. From the strategic reasons for Lee's invasion to the culminating tragedy of Pickett's Charge, in which grossly outnumbered Confederate troops withstood a blistering barrage of artillery before finally being repulsed, every aspect, military rationale, and personality is explored. A must for Civil War buffs, this original account sheds new insights on the battle that changed American history.

Gettysburg

UNKNO

".at one stroke the dominant position of Japan in the Pacific was reversed."--Winston Churchill In 1942, Admiral Yamamoto, who had so successfully engineered the attack on Pearl Harbor, implemented a new strategy: the Imperial Japanese Army would seize the Pacific island of Midway and lure the US Navy into a decisive carrier battle. And, they felt confident of victory. But, right from the start, the plan proved disastrous--and the Japanese lost decisively, with all four major units sunk. Once and for all, the balance of power in the Pacific shifted, with the United States in control. Filled with exciting images of air clashes, and fiery devastation on the ground, as well as follow-the-battle maps, it's a compelling and authoritative account of the reasons behind the catastrophic Japanese strategy.

Midway

Cassell

In 1571, at the gulf between mainland Greece and the Peloponnese, the fleets of the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League clashed in a final great battle between oared fighting ships. This is the first major history for decades--and the first ever original study in English--on this epic encounter between two important cultures that marked a significant turning point in history. As a description of the age-old conflict between Christianity and Islam, it still resonates powerfully today and is a must read for anyone interested in why the two worlds seem perpetually at war.

Crescent and Cross: The Battle of Lepanto 1571

The controversial memoir of a top British spy which finally reveals what really went on behind the scenes of the Falklands War
For five years before the Falklands War, Hugh Bicheno was one of the top British spies in Argentina. As such, he gathered hard, corroborated intelligence on Argentine intentions over the Falklands - which the British establishment then chose to ignore. The reasons behind this British decision, and its disastrous and inevitable consequences in the South Atlantic, are the main story of this book.
There were three main players in the war, each of them trying to overcome their own cultural baggage. The Argentines were riddled with guilt: after years of fighting a morally repugnant campaign against its own people, the Argentine military saw a war for the Malvinas islands as a perfect opportunity to win back their self-respect. The hands of the Americans were also bloody from the likewise dirty wars they had sponsored and abetted in Central America. For Britain it was simply the last straw after decades of humiliation.

Razor's Edge

Phoenix

In Italy, the Renaissance was more than a time of sweeping cultural advancement; it was also an age of nearly continuous military conflict and vicious personal feuds between powerful public figures. A lifelong vendetta pitted two of Italy’s most prominent condottieri, or mercenary warlords, against each other in a struggle that moved from the battlefield to the political halls of power to the papacy itself. Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and Sigismondo Malatesta, the Wolf of Rimini,” were more than ruthless generals; they were cultured patrons of the arts who nonetheless took their rivalry to bloody excess. Here their story is set against the rich backdrop of 15th-century Italy, a sweeping epic of nobility and war, betrayals and vengeance.

Elizabeth's Sea Dogs investigates the rise and fall of a unique group of adventurers - men like Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Martin Frobisher and Walter Raleigh. Seen by the English as heroes but by the Spanish as pirates, they were expert seafarers and controversial characters. This riveting new account reveals them for what they were: extremely tough men in extremely hard times. They sailed, fought, looted and whored their way across the globe; in the process, they established a lasting British presence in the Americas, defeated the Spanish Armada, and made Queen Elizabeth I very wealthy, if seldom grateful. 
Author Hugh Bicheno sets the Sea Dogs in historical context and reveals their lives and exploits through diligent historical research incorporating contemporary testimony. With additional appendices, colour plates, the author's own maps and technical drawings, Elizabeth's Sea Dogs tells their vivid, extraordinary story as it was lived, in the author's trademark engaging style.

Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's mariners became the scourge of the seas

Europe

Adlard Coles

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Books by Bicheno, Hugh

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bicheno, Hugh. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Rebels and Redcoats

Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolutionary War

Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War

Vendetta: High Art and Low Cunning at the Birth of the Renaissance

Gettysburg

Midway

Crescent and Cross: The Battle of Lepanto 1571

Razor's Edge

Vendetta: High Art and Low Cunning at the Birth of the Renaissance

Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's mariners became the scourge of the seas