Bøker av Jim Stempel

As few books regarding American history have achieved, Jim Stempel’s The Enemy Harassed brings a previously neglected period of the American Revolution to life.In late December 1776, the American War of Independence appeared to be on its last legs. General George Washington’s continental forces had been reduced to a shadow of their former strength, the British Army had chased them across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, and enlistments for many of the rank and file would be up by month’s end. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and George Washington responded to this crisis with astonishing audacity. On Christmas night 1776, he recrossed the Delaware as a nor’easter churned up the coast, burying his small detachment under howling sheets of snow and ice. Undaunted, they attacked a Hessian brigade at Trenton, New Jersey, taking the German auxiliaries by complete surprise. Then, only three days later, Washington struck again, crossing the Delaware, slipping away from the British at Trenton, and attacking the Redcoats at Princeton—to their utter astonishment. The British, now back on their heels, retreated toward New Brunswick as Washington’s reinvigorated force followed them north into Jersey. Over the next eight months, Washington’s continentals and the state militias of New Jersey would go head-to-head with the British in a multitude of small-scale actions and large-scale battles, eventually forcing the British to flea New Jersey by sea. In this captivating narrative of the American War of Independence, author Jim Stempel brings to life one of the most violent, courageous, yet virtually forgotten periods of the Revolutionary War. Sure to enthrall professional historians and book lovers of all stripes, The Enemy Harassed is scholarly history presented in an accessible style anyone can enjoy.

Windmill Point is gripping historical fiction that vividly brings to life two desperate weeks during the spring of 1864, when the resolution of the American Civil War was balanced on a razor's edge. At the time, both North and South had legitimate reasons to conclude they were very near victory. Ulysses S. Grant firmly believed that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was only one great assault away from implosion; Lee knew that the political will in the North to prosecute the war was on the verge of collapse. Jim Stempel masterfully sets the stage for one of the most horrific battles of the Civil War, contrasting the conversations of decision-making generals with chilling accounts of how ordinary soldiers of both armies fared in the mud, the thunder and the bloody fighting on the battlefield. ';We must destroy this army of Grant's before he gets to the James River. If he gets there it will become a siege, and then it will be a mere question of time.' General Lee.Jim Stempel's Windmill Point captures the dreadful fury and desperate humanity of the American Civil War with a power and immediacy few authors have been able to achieve. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in a vivid portrayal of that violent crucible from which our modern society ultimately emerged.Mark Robert Waldman, Executive MBA Faculty, Loyola Marymount University andauthor of Words Can Change Your Brain

This compelling history chronicles a pivotal moment in the American Revolution - from the consequential leadership of General Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette to the experiences of the men who marched and fought in the ranks - and reexamines one of the most controversial periods of early American history.

On January 17, 1781, a remarkable battle took place in the backwoods of South Carolina. British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, handpicked by General Charles Cornwallis for command due to his dash and record of accomplishment, was opposed by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, a rough-and-tumble son of the American frontier. Morgan employed a scheme so brilliantly conceived and masterfully executed that within an hour, the British found themselves overwhelmed, enveloped, and routed from the field. In response to this stunning American victory, Cornwallis embarked on a reckless, desperate trek north in pursuit of Morgan-a strategy that ultimately led to his own defeat at Yorktown. In his compelling account of the Battle of Cowpens, Jim Stempel makes the case that Morgan's victory closely mirrors Hannibal's extraordinary triumph at Cannae, regarded by many as one of the greatest military accomplishments of all time. With a narrative style that plunges readers into the center of the events, American Hannibal will enthrall students of American history and newcomers to the subject alike.

On October 27, 1864, two marvels of the Civil War collided on the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina. The first was the formidable Confederate ironclad Albemarle, a 376-ton behemoth that had for months roamed the nearby rivers and waters of Albemarle Sound, defeating in turn everything the Federal Navy could throw at it. The second was William B. Cushing, a 21-year-old Federal naval lieutenant who had been selected to lead a virtual suicide mission to destroy the ironclad in her berth. This chronicle of the young officer's "David vs. Goliath" victory over the daunting ironclad presents a tale of courage and accomplishment.

It is commonly accepted that the South could never have won the Civil War. By chronicling perhaps the best of the South''s limited opportunities to turn the tide, this provocative study argues that Confederate victory was indeed possible. On June 30, 1862, at a small Virginia crossroads known as Glendale, Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee sliced the retreating Army of the Potomac in two and came remarkably close to destroying their Federal foe. Only a string of command miscues on the part of the Confederates--and a stunning command failure by Stonewall Jackson--enabled the Union army to escape a defeat that day, one that may well have vaulted the South to its independence. Never before or after would the Confederacy come as close to transforming American history as it did at the Battle of Glendale.