I love Colonial history & thought this book was great! Not boring at all..tells the story of the Revolution from the perspective of our founding fathers. Great book! ( )

Inspirational, this man writes about war as no other. You are there, you feel it. ( )

Have had this book for a while, but pulled it back out for some seasonal (Independence Day) reading. It's a well done account of the events and issues prior to the American Revolution from the viewpoint of several key players from both sides of the conflict. In light of the Summer 2009 "town hall rebellions," it's interesting to see some parallels with current events. ( )

I don't often stray away from my reading comfort zones, since I am typically wary of spending money on any book that I haven't heard much of anything about. Rise to Rebellion was a nice surprise, and very readable. I was quite drawn in over the course of the first few chapters, and it became quite a page-turner for me. I personally preferred many of the John Adams chapters, since Adams almost always found himself at the heart of some major conflict, and constantly tried to put reason to every situation. My inner history buff was also quite satisfied by how well-researched the author was on the subject. He followed the lives of the main characters of focus quite strictly when it came to political matters, but I rather enjoyed his artistic license when it came time for inner thoughts and personal affairs for the characters. I personally felt that this was the main idea that really separated Shaara's novel from a boring retelling to a genuine novel. Everyone had character.

Each person acted in ways that were reasonable for who they were as far as history was concerned, and you really get a feel for the few characters who are fictional; even one whose name we never learn, who is only present in the book for 10 pages. I especially liked how he gave special definition to each person, you could sympathize with Gage in many places, even though the novel mainly focused on the Americans. Towards the end of the book especially, there are a lot of names thrown at the reader, but we quickly develop identies to go along with each person, and the names don't become a jumbling mass as I feared they would. Knox and Lee especially, seem very clear-cut, even though they are rapidly introduced to us rather close to the conclusion of the book. Part of this is probably because he really exaggerates oddities about people to make them more recognizable to the reader, (over and over Jefferson is referred to as "the quiet Virginian, and he often mentions how much Franklin loves to be in the nude), even if it makes them lose a bit of their complete realism. I think character is really one of Shaara's main strengths in the book, especially in places where the plot began to drag a little. There were places in between events that got a little boring, but interest in the character is really what kept me moving through this book and turning page after page.

I think that the plot was tied together very well, and that this particular novel really did fit the definition of historical fiction. I feel that in some places it was more fiction than historic, and more historic than fiction in other places, but it does all balance out rather well. I had to keep reminding myself as I was reading that they were merely transplanted ideas of who the people were, surrounded by what we know as historic fact about what happened at the time.

One of the flaws of this book for me though has to be the fact that it's a bit daunting. Around 550 pages usually isn't a tough read for me, but there are places that do drag, and it was a bit disappointing then, because I'd expect something wonderful to happen and suck me back in. Another thing is that if this is just part one of two, this guy needs to make sure he's got himself organized. The book started out strong, dragged in the middle, and really picked up at the end. I hope part 2 doesn't run out of steam, because I'd hope it's as good as the second half of this one.

Overall, I say 4/5. Recommended. Shaara does a great job of creating a novel about a war for people, about people. Everything leads back to the people, his major strong point. Despite being a rather manageable length, it was daunting and a little slow in places, and that turned out to be the major weak point. This weak point, however, is almost forgotten when you lose yourself in the more gripping, intense parts that really make it for me, and watching these interpretations of the founding fathers not only survive, but interact with history. My inner history buff was smiling all the way through.
(full review at http://jestergundam.livejournal.com ) ( )

I loved this book. Jeff Shaara takes you on a journey through the leading days to the American Revolution through the eyes of Ben Franklin, John (and Abigail) Adams, George Washington, and British General Thomas Gage. We see the Boston Massacre, the turmoil surrounding taxation, and the attempts to get Parliament and the King to treat the colonies as regular citizens. The characterizations and plot development make this book flow very well; you learn about people's background and motivations that aren't necessarily common knowledge for historical figures. It's a wonderfully written book that should be required reading in schools. It portrays the time and place of the American Revolution and its importance very well. ( )