Book of the Day

Robert, Kenneth, The Battle of Cowpens: The Great Morale-Builder (Doubleday, stated 1st ed., 1958). This essay was the last work of the noted New England journalist, novelist and Revolutionary War-era historian (1885-1957). Awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in history for his contributions to the discipline, Roberts was a longtime correspondent for The Saturday Evening Post who was the first American to cover Hitler’s abortive 1923 coup attempt in Germany. In this book Roberts considers how the one-hour battle, just three months after Kings Mountain, turned the corner in the American Revolution and made inevitable Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. His publisher, Herbert Faulkner West, wrote in the preface, “I am proud to be the publisher of a small limited edition of his last piece of historical writing, characterized as usual by a slight air of belligerency hovering over it.” Octavo, 111 pp, with a nine-page appendix of Roberts’ collected works. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $85.