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1776 Hardcover – Deckle Edge, May 24, 2005
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In this masterful 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.
Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.
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.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster
- Publication dateMay 24, 2005
- Dimensions6.25 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-100743226712
- ISBN-13978-0743226714
- Lexile measure1300L
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
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
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
-- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"A master story-teller's character driven account of a storied year in the American Revolution. A sterling account."
-- Kirkus, Starred Review
"...McCullough brilliantly captures the Spirit of '76 in Washington's miraculous victories at Trenton and Princeton. An altogether marvelous contribution that deserves to be read by every American."
-- Library Journal
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster; First Edition (May 24, 2005)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0743226712
- ISBN-13 : 978-0743226714
- Lexile measure : 1300L
- Item Weight : 1.72 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #43,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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His current work "1776" is primarily a short military history of the Continental Army that begins in the summer of 1775 and ends in early 1777. Other important events of this time period, such as the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, are not discussed. But as far as military histories go this one is excellent. McCullough's writing skills are reminiscent of Charles Dickens (a writer whom he is said to admire) and his talent for visual descriptions are superb (McCullough is also a painter).
McCullough's narrative skills are immediately obvious in the opening scene of the book when he describes King George III's arrival at Westminster to open Parliament. The king, who had never traveled to Scotland or Ireland let alone America, was noted more for marital fidelity (he sired 15 children) and his interests in music and art, rather than as a military leader. Yet he gave a rousing and heartfelt speech to Parliament urging the immediate suppression of the American rebellion. This speech was necessary because almost a third of the members were against waging war.
Meanwhile, back in Boston, the other George arrives on the scene to mobilize an army. Washington's purpose was to mobilize the Yankees to evict the British troops from the city. He found his new recruits to be very inexperienced and undisciplined - not only did they not wash their clothes and dig latrines, they had the pesky habit of electing their officers. Washington, a Virginian who owned slaves and a 54,000 acre plantation at Mount Vernon, shared the view of many of the quasi-aristocrats of that era that New Englanders were "dirty and nasty" people.
There were, however, two officers that he held in high esteem: Nathanial Greene and Henry Knox. McCullough's telling of Knox's expedition of hauling 120,000 pounds of cannon and mortar from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights above Boston was eye-opening. This display of force was instrumental in forcing the British to retreat from Boston and to reposition in New York.
As the war moved to New York, Washington committed a series of blunders that almost doomed the revolution. Washington's decision to defend New York resulted in "utter catastophe." He not only lost four successive battles, he also lost over 16,000 troops out of an initial 20,000. When he was forced to retreat into Pennsylvania most Americans considered the war lost. However, on Christmas night 1776, he recrossed the Delaware with an army of 2.400 and defeated the Hessians at Trenton. A week later he had another victory at Princeton creating a renewed hope for the revolution.
It was not only the climax of the book, it was the turning point of the American Revolution. McCullough does not disabuse anyone of the legend that the Americans outfoxed the British and that henceforth everyone was enthusiastic about the revolution. On the contrary, the war lasted until 1789 and many remained skeptical about severing ties with the Crown. McCullough ends the book on a high and noble note which illustrates why he is one of our favorite popular historians.
It was this lack of historical depth that led me to purchase and read "1776" by David McCullough.
When I was done with the book, I had a much clearer picture of the first full year of the war and a MUCH greater appreciation for what the Continentals (and Washington) went through and accomplished. I didn't know how close we came to losing it all. For ¾ of the year, Washington and his army had their rear ends kicked from New York to Pennsylvania by a better trained, better equipped and better commanded army. It took nothing short of miracles for the Continentals to achieve their few victories (Boston, Trenton, Princeton) of the year.
I admit that when I began reading and as the story progressed, I expected more detail from the book. I wanted McCullough to tell me more than he did about the battle lines, disposition, weapons and movement of the troops. When I read a military (or semi-military) history it is what I expect.
And if it wasn't to be a military history, then I would have liked to see more of what the politicians and other principals were thinking and saying. "Common Sense" and the "Declaration" should have been covered in greater detail. That level of detail is what I have come to expect from historical works.
But when it was over, I found that McCullough's ability to paint subtle details over the broad strokes his book covered is what sharpened my awareness more than anything. Reading the book was akin to looking through a camera where the subject is blurry and then adjusting the focus. Some of the larger background objects went out of focus, but the picture of Washington and his army of "rabble" became crystal clear.
I think this is why some people are disappointed with the book. They want all the background objects like the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" to be in focus along with Washington and the Continentals. As it stands the book talks about the effects those things had on a struggling army and revolution that was badly sputtering militarily, but little else is said about them.
But to my mind McCullough did the right thing by focusing on Washington and the army. In the long haul of history neither the "Declaration of Independence" nor "Common Sense" would have been much good had there been no Washington and his Continental Army to enforce the ideas they contained.
This book is 4 stars out of a possible 5. It was a "good to excellent" work and I recommend it to anyone who is an arm chair historian. McCullough's style was easy to read and entertaining and he even brought the British perspective somewhat to light. I would have liked to see more detail in the military side of it, but that's a personal preference. This book has encouraged me to read more of McCullough's work, I plan on starting "Mornings On Horseback" tonight.
Top reviews from other countries
È uno dei migliori.
Descrizioni accurate, ricostruzioni degli eventi infarcite dei sentimenti, delle ansie e frustrazioni dei protagonisti davvero affascinanti.
La ricostruzione della battaglia di Trenton, epica.
Da non perdere.
1. Highly engaging. Very hard to put the book down
2. Seems to be an honest narrative. It does not talk only about the glories of Gen Washington and his men, but also of the troubles they were plagued with - diseases, desertion and destitution
Negative (Spoiler - some may consider):
Abrupt start and end. Starts right after the battle of Bunker Hill and ends somewhere in the middle of the war. No context setting whatsoever, and a hasty conclusion. Rather than being a narrative of the American Revolution, it is only about the events of 1776.
Positives strongly outweight the negative. Thus, no star deducted.
Dommage que le livre s’arrête avant la bataille de Yorktown.