A very interesting book of revolutionary history.Well researched well written so much information to digest.and learn about our history.#netgalley #st.martinspress

A thorough and interesting account of the money behind the American Revolution.

Shachtman, clearly a diligent researcher and (refreshingly) a lovely writer, walks us through the finances of the revolution, both how the war itself was funded and also how that informed the nascent country’s financial system.

If you’ve previously read up on the American Revolution, most of the players here will be familiar to you. What’s new and different is the focus on economics and finances. Shachtman takes some commonly known financial information about the Revolution (the Stamp Act, inheritance laws under the crown, etc.,) and expands on how the basic concepts we understand about them informed other aspects of the time period, both micro and macro.

The book does touch on some basic history from the era, but I’d urge those who are new to Revolutionary history to start with something broader and more basic. This book does assume a certain amount of knowledge, and is thus an excellent resource for those already informed on the topic and looking for something more or something different.

This is a fascinating account of the secret funding behind our Republic. It is a true account of the wealth that was necessary to fund the Revolutionary War and make it a success by a few prominent families. . This is not taught in schools however it should be. The author documents pre war, wartime and post war success of the wealthy who were so committed to our Republic that they risked their hard earned family fortunes. Many of these are never known in history and quietly were funding the war effort to make America a success.
I found it very well researched. the writing is well crafted and the amount of historical information here is unprecedented. I enjoyed learning about the people behind the war and how it was funded with private funds at great risk during the most difficult of times. . If you have a great interest in our countries early beginning as I do, you will enjoy adding this book to your library of early America. Very well done to the author. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher. My review opinion is my own.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. The majority of the book covers the Revolutionary War with the economics and politics around the economics. Its what i was most interested in, and the part that dragged the most for me. I didn’t feel like i was learning anything new, or details about anything i already knew. The last 6 chapters post-Revolution were more interesting and more detailed as the country worked out economics for the future, but by then i was really ready for the book to be over. Overall, a book i felt like i worked really hard to get through and none of it stuck or was very rewarding for the work.

I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tom Shachtman has written another well-researched, entertaining, and informative history book. Having studied early American history extensively, I have not read anything that highlights how much the founders of our country had to pay, barter, and charge on credit from and against their own pockets to ensure the Revolution was successful the way this book did so successfully. To read how much they were willing to put toward American independence, from cash to losing ships and trade, puts into perspective how much was truly involved in what it took (not just soldiers, battle strategies, thoughts, and riotous action) to bring the colonies from the grip of British rule. I also enjoyed that the book didn't just end with the revolution but continued through the benefits received and continued struggles the young country and its founders faced forging past the revolution. Shachtman's writing style is easy to read, easy to understand, and worth putting in the time it takes to understand the dense and comprehensive information on each page. Shachtman clearly stated his thesis and maintained the focus on it through the entire book.

I have already recommended this book to numerous friends and colleagues and will post a longer additional review to my blog following the publication date.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. The book is divided into several sections starting with the colonial times from 1763-1776, the actual Revolutionary War between 1776-1781, the aftermath of that war from 1781-1789, the formation of the Federal Government from 1789-1796, and finally, financial independence between 1797-1813. If any of these eras interest you, then you may want to take a look at this book. It is well-written and well-researched, but it reads like a thesis. Many of the historical figures discussed are well known (i.e., George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, etc.). However, there were many names I had never heard of before (i.e., Elias Derby, Henry Laurens, Henry Clinton, etc.). In all fairness, however, the book focuses on how the war, the government and the states were backed financially. Some of it was interesting, but I prefer reading about the lives of the men involved. I like to know their backgrounds and how they ended up where they did. There was very little human aspect, but given the topic, I guess that should have been expected. I took away one thing...the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Some things never change.

This book was well researched.  I never thought much about how the American Revolution was funded.  I just thought that France loaned the money and that did it all.  Not the case at all.  A number of well-to-do men in the colonies loaned the money to make sure that the army had the supplies it needed.  Shachtman makes sure to cover all of those.  

The one problem I had with the book is that there are so many people to keep track of.   It isn't a book for an easy afternoon of reading.  But it is definitely a book for filling in your knowledge of the foundations of the American revolution.

Historian Tom Shachtman has furnished a rock-solid, impeccably researched investigation into a side of the Revolutionary War that tends to get scamped by both the patriotic rah rah histories and the Let’s Trash The Scum diatribes: just how a colony of thirteen very different entities managed to go to war against the most powerful empire in the western Europe.

There were definitely those who profited off war, as in every war, and they get their due, but there were also those who took a risk in uniting with people they didn’t necessarily agree with in order to fund what was actually a very long war, in the hope of winning independence for all.

The structure follows the lives and fortunes of twelve men, whose economic soldiering were crucial to the emerging finances of the baby republic. A lot of these names rarely show up except in footnotes of Revolutionary War histories: Henry Laurens; William Bingham, Jeremiah Wadsworth, and Stephen Girard; Elias Hasket Derby; and of course famous figures such as Alexander Hamilton, Robert Morris, and John Hancock, as well as Hamilton’s successors at the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. and Albert Gallatin.

This is not an easy read, as each page is packed with information, but it’s an involving one. As I read about these financial privateers and pirates (in a couple cases, literally!) I couldn’t help but see some parallels to today. Only I don’t see any of these modern pirates doing anything for anyone but their own greed.

Anyway, a thoroughly worthwhile book for anyone interested in Revolutionary War history—and even if you think you aren’t.

This is a well researched book that presents a perspective that I have not seen before in my extensive reading about this time period. This book is the type that requires concentration to follow the author's revelations about a small group of individuals including John Hancock, Robert Morris, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and others who put up personal fortunes to keep the revolution going. The book itself covers the time period from just before the conflict begins to a number of years after. 

I recommend this book to those who are interested in how finances played a part in the revolution, but caution that this is not a once over lightly read.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

This book is an excellent survey of how the creation of wealth and wealthy, mostly conservative, individuals were instrumental in the success of the American revolutionary war of independence, how the Jeffersonians (Democratic Republicans) pushed back against it, and how Madison completed the war for economic freedom.

This is a story that the textbooks do not tell. I strongly recommend it.

Joseph Corsmeier
10/27/19

In times of war, the rich usually do get richer and the poor are still poor, yet free. Somewhat.  This well-researched telling of the well known and not so well known who put their money into biting the very hand that was feeding them. In order to have control over what they grew and who they sold to this young country and its leaders were far from perfect and often put their own interests above the country. 

The British wanted total control and the John Hancocks and George Washingtons of the time wanted the opposite. To control their own taxes, representations, to settle their own disputes and have free trade. We also meet a lot of people who were less well-known but never the less played significant roles in this time period. 

Several things struck me reading this book. One, these guys did not have, as a rule, long lives. So what they accomplished as very young men was astounding. They were determined to define their own destiny in this new world. They had left England for a reason and that was the freedom to determine their own fate.

Excellent research and a much-needed history lesson for the times!

NetGalley/ January 21st, 2020 by St. Martin's Press

This is really a complicated read but you can understand it if you pay attention. Found out all sorts of different things on how the country became our country with finances and who did what to help get this country going! Like everything else it costs money to support anything. All the wheeling and dealing that no one really knows about to keep this country going. What these men have done and sacrifice for what they believed in to make the country going!! It's well worth the reading of this book,you never know you might learn something new,I did!! Thank you Net Gallery!🙈🙉🙊

An interesting perspective with new and important insight into the revolutionary war and the underlying political and economic currents of the time.

I have studied the founding fathers for years and generally read almost everything I can get my hands on about the subject. I am fascinated by the men of principal and conviction that laid the foundation of this great country.

Reading this book opened my eyes to something that should have been more obvious and I believe this is a subject that deserves additional attention. Money, business, and taxes played a central role, much like it does today. While several chose to sacrifice their fortunes and businesses for the benefit of the whole, others took advantage with little regard for much beyond themselves. While Shachtman does a good job of showing the complicated nature of the environment, it is difficult to follow at times. The book handles a lot of people, covers several themes, and does it with a complicated political map over an extended period of time. This doesn't lead to light reading.

This is not a book you can read in spurts. It requires a concentrated effort in a quiet room. This took me a long time to read because of my schedule and I found myself having to go back and re-read several chapters with greater focus.

I feel like I gained new insight and the book is worth the time invested. It is important to know, going in, that, if you are like me, with a little chaos in the home, you may need to escape somewhere quiet to concentrate.

revolution, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, financial-backing

This is not an unbiased review because we were American Revolutionary War reenactors and are history geeks. But we still learned from the research that the author put into this book. To mention a few things: John Hancock was an experienced smuggler whose ideas were supported by tradesmen and others, the Boston Tea Party dumped in excess of 92,000 pounds of tea but other ports simply refused to allow the tea bearing ships into the harbor. If you didn't already know, the British viewed the colonies as a cash cow with more money and far fewer poor people than Great Britain. I'm not yet finished with it because family members snatch my e reader, and I know that when I get the print copy it will vanish mysteriously! What I have read is excellent and conversations with others who geek eighteenth century American history indicate that we'll all want our own copies. I will want the audio, too!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

The Founding Fortunes: How the Wealthy Paid for and Profited from America's Revolution is an interesting read. I give it five stars.

This is a well documented social history of the American revolution. I will be recommending my library purchase this title.

I will not be doing a full review for publication. I began this book and found it the subject interesting. Afte a short while I felt it too bogged down in details and decided I would not finish. I do not think it fair to the author to base a review on a book not finished.

With skill and thorough research, this is an excellent (and complicated) telling of some of our revolutionary history. You'll want to take your time with this one. I learned some really interesting facts and met a lot of historical figures I've never heard of that had an impact on our nation. Very engaging and memorable. Recommended.

I really appreciate the comp copy for an honest review!!

The Founding Fortunes is a complex read that takes time to read. Tom Shachtman has done a thorough research and it shows. This a interesting and informative book.