Esteemed historian David McCullough covers the side of
the momentous year of 1776 with characteristic in 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 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