Title: Not a place to start
Product review: The first three chapters of this book are unredeemable. They jump all over the place and completely clutter the narrative; almost as if they are unstuck in time like Billy Pilgrim; or the author couldn't figure out how to index background information and tried to tell you everything about a person in a single paragraph. It gets better later when the author seems to calm down and hit his stride. Oddly I found reading it from the back a better approach. There are some real gems in here, like the letter from the Viginia cavalryman which I hadn't encountered before, but its placement belongs in an index; bits of it should have been used more appropriately in the text. Unfortunately, in order to understand "September 11, 1777," you already have to have considerable knowledge about the battle in order to sort what you are reading. For a reader with casual interest, or tourist, this one will be confusing. A reenactor may find it of value.
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