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Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution. Nathaniel Philbrick. New York: Viking, 2013. 398 + xvii pages. $32.95 (hardcover).
The very name Bunker Hill is deeply embedded in American folklore, and most people probably feel that they know as much about it as they need to, so it requires courage for even a well-known historian to tackle this subject. In what is assuredly his most ambitious effort to date, Nathaniel Philbrick rises to this challenge with a fresh, comprehensive and readable summary.
This book falls clearly within the category of popular history, in that it is presented as a continuous narrative, emphasizes personalities, relies largely on secondary sources, and avoids academic jargon and constructs. It is, however, a fine example of the genre: fluid, balanced, and solidly documented. Philbrick has made full and judicious use of recent scholarship, including Samuel Forman's biography of Joseph Warren, which was being prepared at the same time.
As the subtitle indicates, Philbrick covers much more than the actual battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. In fact, the battle and the fortifying that preceded it comprise only about 15 percent of the book. Philbrick traces Massachusetts autonomy as a persistent theme from the earliest settlement through the successive crises that preceded actual warfare, and concludes...