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Rating: 
Summary: A Great Eighteenth Century Rake (and his Mistress)
Review: Banastre Tarleton was, in many ways, something of an ideal young man, measured by the standards of English eighteenth century culture. Highly literate, well-educated, and brilliant as a cavalryman. As a cavalry colonel for the British side in the American Revolution, he participated in several key victories, particularly in the Carolinas, before being defeated at Cowpens and, again, at Yorktown. Tarleton was (and remains) reviled by American partisans as the cruellest of the English warriors, and though Bass relates several unsavory episodes in unsparing detail, he was not quite the unregenerate scumbag that is so often featured in popular histories. Having said that, his later career in English politics was an unmitigated disaster: constantly up to his eyeballs in gambling schemes, he flitted from party to party and had an unerring knack of finding the wrong issue on which to campaign. Mary Robinson, his long-suffering mistress, was an entirely different kettle of fish. Something of an underrated star of English literature, she was also one of the great actresses of her day. Her story in many respects resembles that of her contemporary, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire (who makes several appearances in these pages), especially given her dalliances with Whig politics. In other respects she reminds one of other great female intellectuals of this era such as Gertrude de Stael or (a little earlier) Madame du Chatelet. An engaging joint biography of two strong, if star-crossed individuals.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Eighteenth Century Rake (and his Mistress)
Review: Banastre Tarleton was, in many ways, something of an ideal young man, measured by the standards of English eighteenth century culture. Highly literate, well-educated, and brilliant as a cavalryman. As a cavalry colonel for the British side in the American Revolution, he participated in several key victories, particularly in the Carolinas, before being defeated at Cowpens and, again, at Yorktown. Tarleton was (and remains) reviled by American partisans as the cruellest of the English warriors, and though Bass relates several unsavory episodes in unsparing detail, he was not quite the unregenerate scumbag that is so often featured in popular histories. Having said that, his later career in English politics was an unmitigated disaster: constantly up to his eyeballs in gambling schemes, he flitted from party to party and had an unerring knack of finding the wrong issue on which to campaign. Mary Robinson, his long-suffering mistress, was an entirely different kettle of fish. Something of an underrated star of English literature, she was also one of the great actresses of her day. Her story in many respects resembles that of her contemporary, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire (who makes several appearances in these pages), especially given her dalliances with Whig politics. In other respects she reminds one of other great female intellectuals of this era such as Gertrude de Stael or (a little earlier) Madame du Chatelet. An engaging joint biography of two strong, if star-crossed individuals.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT
Review: Clearly one of the best books written on Banastre Tarleton. Clear, clean prose on a most complex man. A highly intellectual biography, perhaps over some heads in many ways--but well worth the effort. The book makes clear that it is important to remember that there was another side to our revolution.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is an excellent read on Banistre Tarleton. One of the best commanders of horse-mounted troops in history of the world.
This shows the human side of Tarleton and shows how his reputation as a wild eyed killer is underserved propaganda, like most anti-loyalist and anti-british statements are.
We need more books like this detailing the forgotten heroes of the struggle ad less books based on propoganda and subjective rhetoric.
Rating: 
Summary: Insipid!
Review: This is an exceedingly poor rendition of the most horrific British officer to serve in the field during America's rebellion. Tarleton was evil incarnate from the American point of view. He managed to amass a record of war crimes that put even the British to shame. However, to spend almost 500 pages on this sop's truly useless life is such a complete waste of the reader's time that one has to feel sorry for the author. There is nothing to be gained from reading this book, unless, of course, you identify with people who are failures in every facet of their lives.
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