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Loading... 1776by David McCullough
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. cmbohn | Jun 10, 2009 |  1   This was a great read if histroy is your thing, and it is mine. I have injoyed several of David McCulloug's books (  )ndr | May 8, 2009 | 1 A wonderful read that was hard to put down. It is the telling of a part of U.S. history that usually is relegated to just a series of dates. Who says history is dry, boring, and hard to relate to! McCullough shows the struggles that Washington had to deal with and the miracles that continued to 'save' beleaguered troops from complete defeat. (  )dichosa | Apr 17, 2009 | 3 I listened to the audiobook version which McCullough himself narrates. Despite his excellent voice he only rarely reads his own books. Get this. You will come out of it with a much clearer picture of what the American/English conflict was really like at its beginning and just how many times the upstart country could have foundered before it ever got started. ( )JohnMunsch | Apr 10, 2009 | Not a bad historical-fiction. ( )06nwingert | Apr 9, 2009 |  0.702 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0743226712, Hardcover)Esteemed historian David McCullough covers the military side of the momentous year of 1776 with characteristic insight and a gripping narrative, adding new scholarship and a fresh perspective to the beginning of the American Revolution. It was a turbulent and confusing time. As British and American politicians struggled to reach a compromise, events on the ground escalated until war was inevitable. McCullough writes vividly about the dismal conditions that troops on both sides had to endure, including an unusually harsh winter, and the role that luck and the whims of the weather played in helping the colonial forces hold off the world's greatest army. He also effectively explores the importance of motivation and troop morale--a tie was as good as a win to the Americans, while anything short of overwhelming victory was disheartening to the British, who expected a swift end to the war. The redcoat retreat from Boston, for example, was particularly humiliating for the British, while the minor American victory at Trenton was magnified despite its limited strategic importance.Some of the strongest passages in 1776 are the revealing and well-rounded portraits of the Georges on both sides of the Atlantic. King George III, so often portrayed as a bumbling, arrogant fool, is given a more thoughtful treatment by McCullough, who shows that the king considered the colonists to be petulant subjects without legitimate grievances--an attitude that led him to underestimate the will and capabilities of the Americans. At times he seems shocked that war was even necessary. The great Washington lives up to his considerable reputation in these pages, and McCullough relies on private correspondence to balance the man and the myth, revealing how deeply concerned Washington was about the Americans' chances for victory, despite his public optimism. Perhaps more than any other man, he realized how fortunate they were to merely survive the year, and he willingly lays the responsibility for their good fortune in the hands of God rather than his own. Enthralling and superbly written, 1776 is the work of a master historian. --Shawn Carkonen The Other 1776
More Reading on the Revolution
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
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With his riveting, enlightening accounts of subjects from Johnstown Flood to John Adams, David McCullough has become the historian that Americans look to most to tell us our own story. In his Amazon.com interview, McCullough explains why he turned in his new book from the political battles of the Revolution to the battles on the ground, and he marvels at some of his favorite young citizen soldiers who fought alongside the remarkable General Washington. 
Pros:
The opening. Every other Revolutionary War book starts with the Americans. This one started with the British. There was some great stuff in there I'd never read before, and I really enjoyed the reminder that this was a war with TWO sides.
The information. Lots of good stuff in there, thoroughly researched.
Cons:
A little too much information. Get to the action already!
The layout. There were 2 or 3 sections of pictures and maps and that was it.
No maps. Maybe it's just me, but I have trouble following the action of a battle. A map right where the battle is being described is much more helpful than if I have to turn back to look at it. There actually were 2 maps, both drawn at the time and almost impossible to read. Not helpful.
In summary, I compared this with Washington's Crossing which I read this year and I found 1776 lacking. I wasn't as motivated to pick it up and keep reading. Still, I'm glad I read it. But if you wanted to read a book on the subject, I would recommend Washington's Crossing and not this one. (