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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. 1   Zommbie1 | Dec 10, 2009 |  Not as good as the same author's excellent biographies of John Adams and Harry Truman, this is nevertheless a detailed and absorbing account of America's independence struggle. The ending is rather rushed though. (  )1 Devatipan | Dec 5, 2009 | A fast read that's really enthralling even though you know the outcome. I am amazed that our colonies ever broke free from England - we were so close to never attaining the independence that we sought. (  ) purkskis | Nov 28, 2009 | (unabridged audiobook read by the author): I take partial responsibility for my opinion of this book, because I really ought to have known better. I knew it would cover a pivotal year in the American Revolution, but what I did not realize was that it would focus exclusively on the military aspect. The Declaration of Independence is almost an afterthought while each battle, march, and strategy is described in painstaking detail. I did learn a lot about George Washington as a person, which was cool, but overall I was kind of bored. It didn't help that the author's voice was a tad dull and droning, making him easy to tune out. (  ) melydia | Oct 28, 2009 | Classic McCullough, well researched and reader friendly. ( )1 corrmorr | Sep 25, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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Military leadership in the American Revolutionary War New York and New Jersey campaign |
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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
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.
The Essential David McCullough 
John Adams 
Truman 
Mornings on Horseback 
The Path Between the Seas 
The Great Bridge 
The Johnstown Flood
More Reading on the Revolution 
The Great Improvisation by Stacy Schiff 
Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer 
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis 
Washington's General by Terry Golway 
Iron Tears by Stanley Weintraub 
Victory at Yorktown by Richard M. Ketchum
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400)
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He finds a good balance between the military history (NOT my thing) and a narrative around the important characters in the war. They are all presented in a sympathetic manner, even King George III. I found the geography easy to follow along in. He to time to explain the distances and the difficulties involved in getting to the different battlefields. I liked how he vowe in personal recollections of those that where there, down to the lowliest soldier. It made it feel like a history of people not just jerking from battlefield to battlefield.
The book was read by the author and for me this added a more personal touch to the readings. You could tell that he knew the material well and was invested in telling it well. I felt like he was reading it to me. Not some far off mass of people who knew about the material already.
I will want to listen to it again because there are bits that I have missed because something happened and I didn't hear it properly or it just didn't make sense. But that is no hardship at all. (