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Finished "The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire" by Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy. This was a shortlisted book for the 2013 Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History. O’Shaughnessy's thesis is that the reason why Britain lost the American Revolutionary War was not incompetent leadership but the outcome of multiple factors, many of them exterior to North America. He gives a reasoned argument, and in fairness includes a good deal of material that is contrary to his thesis; for example, there is a fascinating description of the Mischianza held in Philadelphia to honour Gen Howe on his departure from command.
This is the second book in the 2013 shortlist I've read so far. Similar to the winning book, "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion" by Allen C. Guelzo, in that it questioned the conventional view of the event.
Looking forward to reading the next book on the shortlist, "The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945" by Richard Overy.
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