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

With his riveting, enlightening accounts of subjects from the 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

Boring, Boring, Boring.

This book is over 300 pages long, and we still don't get to find out who wins the war! I hope we find out in the next book, and I hope it's not as long. Sheesh!

As a professional educationalist, I say it's OK, but

IT was ok, but less than outstanding. Like most of Davids books it is quite long---nearly 300 pages---and takes a long time to read. I would have like to have seen real photos of Washington and his crew and of George the King, but the writer included none.. After 300 pages and weeks of reading, we don't even get to learn who won the war.

I saw David on PBS and find his talking easier to follow that his writing. I also believe that one could watch Mel Gibsons classic "The Patriot" and learn as much about the era and be finished learning in 2 hours.

I am a teacher at Berlitz language schools and know a thing or too about teaching, and while this book is fine for the over-motivated historical enthusist, it is overdone for the general public. It is OK though, just don't expect alot of excitement.

Gripping!

There are amazing narratives to be told through history and David McCullough does an excellent job of this. The book reads like great fiction, with real insight into the character behind each figure in the story. His use of private correspondence gives a deep look into the thinking of important figures in American history, especially George Washington.

Another book I enjoyed recently that brings gripping narrative to a genre that is typically devoid of such is "The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book"