About the Book:
“David McCullough tells the story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence – when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.” “Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.” “Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war.” “At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books – Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of winter.” “But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost – Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.” “The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time.”
Book Review: ★★★★★★
This was one of the first books I ever read — outside of assigned school reading — that dealt with the beginnings of the American Revolution. I guess I have always felt that you get bored easily, with what you should know the best, probably because that is always the beginning, end, and everything in between of starting an education. However, this book really caught me by surprise. It provides a close look at what was considered the very volatile environment of the American Colonies, in the year that relations between England, and her colonial subjects fell apart.
While I found the writing, and the history compelling, and very well researched, what really stood out for me in this book was the intense feel that the book conveyed. I know many people don’t associate a feel to a book, and frequently consider reading a strictly intellectual pursuit. But this is one book that I always point to when people tell me this. This is a book that is an edge of you seat suspense, because of the extreme pressure that existed during the time about which Mr. McCullough has written.
I have always heard about the highly overrated Boston Massacre — in which five people lost their lives. And then of course there was the great American temper tantrum, known as the Boston Tea Party. And there is even the unidentified shot that was heard round the world — interesting that they heard it, but never knew who fired it. But this book changed a lot of my perceptions. Not about these particular events — but about the underlying feelings of discontent, frustration, and volatility that existed in the American colonies, at the time. And it was also fascinating to have it lined up side by side, with the events that were taking place in England — and how these two differing opinions ultimately collided into a seven year war, which no one believed would last but a few months; ultimately leading to the severance of the Americas from the control of England, and gave birth to a new experiment in the merging of old political ideals, and the painful recent memory of wrongs committed by the more well known government that was no longer a great influence in the American nation. This book is not impressive for its replay of the usual events of the beginnings of the American Revolution — but rather it is the small details that make this book an interesting read.
This book also provides an interesting look into what went into making the American culture as we know it. How this new country managed to take a myriad of backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and political ideals, and merge them into one cohesive whole. No small feat — even for today, not to mention back then. But this book looks at the interesting, and unique circumstances that existed in making this era of American history so unusual. Few people give credence to the fact that circumstances, distance, and lack of communication determined the outcome of this confrontation, as much as, if not more so, than did any desire for political, religious, or personal freedom.
I have always enjoyed reading about American history — however, I frequently get frustrated with the one sided presentation, and the one sided accounts that are usually presented in this era of reading. I have never seen history as being one sided, and I always try to find accounts that present both sides of any situation. Mr. McCullough has presented an excellent work that has been very equal in the coverage of this volatile time in history, as he looks at an event that changed many perceptions in the world, and restructured the political balance of power in the years that followed.
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