“Game Changer: Military Decisions That Helped Win the American Revolution” by Jack Darrell Crowder

Game Changer: Military Decisions That Helped Win the American Revolution

Jack Darrell Crowder
Independently Published (2021)
ISBN: 979-8514085798
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (09/2021)

I decided to read “Game Changer: Military Decisions That Helped Win the American Revolution,” while I was on a trip to South Carolina and Georgia. I began reading it on an airplane while traveling from California. It helped give me a different perspective about the areas where I was visiting because it is where so much of our American history took place.

The author, Jack Darrell Crowder, leads the reader through insightful discourses that examine how the outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military decisions made during key events. Twelve chapters review noteworthy situations that took place during this time. The in-depth discussions are often illustrated with maps, drawings, and quoted material. These aids really help the reader gain a greater visual understanding of what was occurring. Crowder critically examines the impact of how decisions for each event not only affected the outcome of the war but also how long it lasted. Earlier decisions could have been made to greatly shorten the time involved. Poor decisions made by some of the British leaders also allowed the American military to gain an upper hand, despite the difficult circumstances they were experiencing. These included smallpox and other health issues, lack of supplies and sustenance, and inclement weather.

Personally, I found “Game Changers,” to be well written and insightful. I wish my history books had been written as well as this one. I would have paid much more attention. There were several areas that stood out to be of more interest to me. Washington’s use of spies was a big one. Washington himself was an interesting character, but to see him utilizing spies made him even more engaging, especially since women were able to help gather intelligence without appearing conspicuous. The Overmountain Men were an interesting group of backwoodsmen who came in to help fight. Details about their skirmishes were particularly riveting.  Reading about Baron von Steuben coming in and instituting more discipline and cleanliness was very informative as well. In addition to saving lives from the diseases due to lack of sanitation, he also helped make our troops more disciplined and in turn our military more effective.

“Game Changer: Military Decisions That Helped Win the American Revolution,” will be enjoyed by fans of history. It would also make excellent reading material for a history class. Students will find themselves enjoying the information gained in these well written pages.