The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson recounts the first 20 months of the American revolution, in which the initial revolt was nearly crushed by the weight of the British empire. Atkinson won a Pulitzer Prize for Army at Dawn, which chronicles the little known but savage 1942 North African campaign, in which an unprepared American Army was first tested.  As in Army at Dawn, this new book tells how citizen army learned to stand against professional soldiers and officers like George Washington learned to effectively lead men into battle. Atkinson stays true to academic standards but writes a vividly account infused with human pathos.