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Title: 1776
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Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
List Price: $18.00
Our Price: $13.03
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| Customer Reviews: |
| 1776 by Simon & Schuster A masterful history from a master historian. | There is little I can add that other reviewers haven't already said, so I'll keep my comments brief. "1776" is a focused history, primarily of the events of that year, but more specifically of George Washington's leadership of the ragtag Continental Army through the most critical phase of the battle for independence. Other personages like Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox figure very prominently, as do British commanders like the brothers Howe (general William and admiral Richard).
The narrative picks up in the summer of 1775, just after Bunker Hill, with the appointment of Washington to lead the American army, such as it was in those days. It then traces through the siege of Boston and the capture of Dorchester Heights, through the catastrophic New York campaign and retreat through New Jersey, and culminates with the American victories at Trenton and Princeton. The story ends there rather abruptly. From beginning to end the tale is told from both the American and British perspective, from the highest commanders to the lowest foot soldiers.
Through it all, Washington is without a doubt the central personality on display. The strength of his character and resolve shine through in the face of myriad adversities, the failures of his ragamuffin troops, and his own occasional military ineptitude. McCullough strikes a trustworthy historical balance between the adulation afforded Washington in his times of success, to the doubts of those same admirers in his times of failure. Drawing heavily on primary sources in the form of preserved letters and diaries, both from Washington and those who surrounded him, McCullough paints an accurate and realistic portrait of the one man who, more than any other, can rightly be credited with saving the cause of American independence, by the grace of God.
My only criticism, and it is a minor one, is that I would have preferred that McCullough expand the end of the narrative to provide a synopsis of the remaining war years. Of course, this was evidently beyond the scope of what the author intended, so I'll have to look elsewhere for that portion of the history. What McCullough gave us, however, was brilliantly done, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know what REALLY happened during that crucial year. | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Just a joy to read | | As an undergraduate History student you would not think I would want to read historical books in my free time. I had a professor suggest this book to me and it took two years after for me to finally pick it up but I am so glad I did. It has instantly become one of my favorite books and I have already bought more of David McCullough books and look forward to reading all of them. | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Essential and timely reading for every American. | | Being a student of medicine and not American history, 1776 reawakened the collegiate interest that I had in American Revolutionary History in years past. While I am not knowledgable enough to be critical of previously reviewed shortcomings in detail and anacronism, I did develop a richness of appreciation for the story told, and further, developed a distinct understanding of the reasons why our current Administration decided to redeploy the First Union Jack, a standard from this period, on all of its Navy vessels since September 11, 2001. The probability of our fledgling Nation's rag-tag militias' ability to overcome a professional British Army is analogous to our current day probability of overcoming the barbarity and threat of Islamo-fascism and its global extent...a very tough uphill battle indeed, and in some minds, undo-able without divine providential assistance. 1776 should be read with the risk to our current-day liberties in mind. Few tell the story as well as McCullough, both in text and in the audiobook. I consider myself privileged, as a doctor of medicine, to have been a student of Dr. Benjamin Rush Jr., the great great great grandson of Dr. Rush, the Declaration signer. As if that were not enough, I recently discovered, while reading 1776, that my closest college friend, a Richard Henry Lee of NJ, just happens to be the great great great grand nephew of Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, another Declaration signer. I find the level of detail utilized by McCullough to be more than adequate for the purposes of alerting 21st century Americans to the fierce fight had in 1776, and how similar will be that fight to the fight we have before us to save our great Nation from Islamic barbarism. | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Amazing historical piece everyone should read | | I loved this book! I was so caught up in every element of the story. If I hadn't known that we had won our independence from Great Britain, I would never have imagined as I read this book that we could and did. It looked very bad for us until the last part of this book. A sheer delight! I didn't really care for American history growing up, although I was fascinated with European history. This book by David McCullough has changed my mind completely. Extremely well-written. The characters just come alive. I will be purchasing "John Adams" by McCullough next. | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Balanced and Interesting Digestible History | I was moved by the John Adams miniseries, and by my lack of knowledge about exactly what happened in the Revolutionary War after Concord and Lexington, to give this book a try. I found it to be an excellent book of its type. In particular, I admired what seemed to me a balanced presentation of the people and events. The author plainly holds George Washington in the highest esteem, but he shows his flaws and misjudgments as well as his triumphs with equal equanimity. One never feels that facts are being squeezed, highlighted or cajoled to fit a preconceived theme.
In addition, I found the depth of coverage just right for me. Not superficial, but not mindnumbing superflous detail either. The year 1776 is delivered as promised, and I learned a lot---relatively painlessly---by reading this book.
Ultimately, though, it is a straightforward history and, as such, was somewhat dry for my tastes, which run more towards historical fiction. I have no criticism of the author's presentation---to the contrary, it was impressive and reasonably engaging. While I was never at risk of not finishing, I would never describe the book as "hard to put down," and had no regrets when the year came to an end. | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Download Description | | "In this stirring book, David McCullough tells the intensely human 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. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough's 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history. " | | 1776 by Simon & Schuster Amazon.com | | 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
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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. 
