. >> tonight, we are delighted to derek beck. derek has always had a passion for military history which inspired him to start his career in the u.s. air force. he has served as an officer. in 2005, he earned a masters of science degree at m.i.t. where he also fell in love with boston's revolutionary past.

. >> up next on american history tv, author derek beck discusses his book, "igniting the american "the war before american independence." in this hour-long talk in new york city, mr. beck details the strategies on both sides of the conflict that took place in and around of boston, massachusetts prior to the declaration of independence. >> tonight, we are delighted to have derek beck presenting "the war before american independence." derek has always had a passion for military history which inspired him to start his career in the u.s. air force. he has served as an officer. in 2005, he earned a masters of science degree at m.i.t. where he also fell in love with boston's revolutionary past. to further pursue writing, he later transferred to the air force reserve. he still remains quite active, presently holding the rank of major. derek's first book, "igniting the american revolution, 1773-1775" was released in april. his second book was released in may. i would have like to welcome derek to the lectern. derek: thank you all for coming. it is an honor to be here. a very historic site so i

. >> tonight, we are delighted to derek beck. derek has always had a passion for military history which inspired him to start his career in the u.s. air force. he has served as an officer. in 2005, he earned a masters of science degree at m.i.t. where he also fell in love with boston's revolutionary past. to further pursue writing, he transferred to the air force reserve. "ignitingrst book, the american revolution, review75" earned a great -- was released in april. his second book was released in may. derek: thank you all for coming. it is an honor to be here. a very historic site so it is pretty cool to give a historic lecture at an historic site. i have two books and they together tell the entire boston campaign. the first covers from the start of the war which i describe the start of the action at the boston tea party in 1773. then the first shots are fired and it ends with the siege of boston just beginning. it is kind of how book two starts. both books are standalone, they can be read independently, but together they tell the