Ordinary Courage: The Revolutionary War Adventures of Private Joseph Plumb Martin - Softcover

James Kirby Martin is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Houston. Martin is a nationally recognized scholar of Early American history, especially the era of the American Revolution, and he is also well known for his writings on various aspects of American military and social history. Martin is the award-winning author and editor of eleven books, including Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered (1997), and, with M.E. Lender, Drinking in America: A History 1620-1980 (1987). Most recently, he has completed a major revision of his co-authored book, A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789. He has also finished (with Joseph Glatthaar) Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution, to be published in 2006 by Hill & Wang, and he is completing (with Marla Miller) a study of Revolutionary America for Oxford University Press.

Comments offered in response to an H-Net survey about the best books to use in courses treating the American Revolution:

"I especially like James Kirby Martin, editor, Ordinary Courage: The Life of Joseph Plumb Martin. Martin wrote the best account of the Revolutionary War by any common soldier. His narrative is beautifully written with excellent accounts of the day-to-day hardships of the war along with descriptions of several major battles including Yorktown. James Kirby Martin’s admirable introduction and notes are very useful in providing information, where needed, to flesh out the account." – J. William T. Youngs, Eastern Washington University

"Brandywine Press publishes Joseph Plumb Martin’s Diary as edited by James Kirby Martin. Students not only love this short and colorful memoir, but it provides material for discussion on everything from social mores to issues surrounding history and memory." –Gretchen Adams, University of New Hampshire