samuel_peterson's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook 4.3 stars
David Mccullough has written prolifically on the foundational events and people of early American history. "1776" is a brilliant close-up reporting of a pivotal year in world history. I was truly astounded at home often McCullough pulled from diaries and letters to bring life to the text. Reading Washington's words as he reported on the army's condition to John Hancock provided a visceral picture of the dire situation of the revolution. McCullough retells the story of the perilous first year of conflict as one of intense struggle and flux. In the words of Thomas Paine, it was certainly the "times that try men's souls." The story of the Continental Army in 1776 is one of disaster, luck and persistence; a story of men spurred on by tenacious and overwhelmed commanders.
Read if you want a great into into the Revolutionary War and the figures behind the major events.
David Mccullough has written prolifically on the foundational events and people of early American history. "1776" is a brilliant close-up reporting of a pivotal year in world history. I was truly astounded at home often McCullough pulled from diaries and letters to bring life to the text. Reading Washington's words as he reported on the army's condition to John Hancock provided a visceral picture of the dire situation of the revolution. McCullough retells the story of the perilous first year of conflict as one of intense struggle and flux. In the words of Thomas Paine, it was certainly the "times that try men's souls." The story of the Continental Army in 1776 is one of disaster, luck and persistence; a story of men spurred on by tenacious and overwhelmed commanders.
Read if you want a great into into the Revolutionary War and the figures behind the major events.
riotstallion's review against another edition
3.0
Loaded with great information. Learned a lot about Washington and how the war played out. Be forewarned, it has the ability to put one to sleep.
chanson7908's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
exjf56's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
cameronbmoon's review against another edition
4.0
Am I… a patriot? This was impressively put together, I wish every major historical event had a book like this, I would read them all. Havn’t thought of the revolutionary war since whenever we had a unit on it in grade school.
lleroux's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Not for me. Very detailed information but I would have preferred to read in it novel form instead of dissertation…
kurtwombat's review against another edition
4.0
History parades before us in many forms—quite often corrupted. Was Dolly Madison the wife of the fourth President of the United States or a baking company known for its ZINGERS? Gradually time calcifies the perception of history until the shape of it is all we see. And we get used to it—even rely on it as a short hand. Partly because of this I had assumed I had a decent general knowledge of the Revolutionary War. I have wanted to read something by David McCullough for some time. Having both 1776 and his John Adams bio on the shelf I pondered. I chose 1776 thinking the briefer time frame under consideration might allow me to walk before I learned to run with a new (to me) author. I assumed as I read that I’d be checking off familiar moments in history paying closer attention whenever John Adams was mentioned as a kind of prep for the more substantial book to come. I was surprised as I read 1776 that it all felt completely new to me. Events don’t unfold in domino fashion and even when they appear to, the fascination is derived from just how easily everything could have been different. McCullough does a marvelous job of breathing life into history we think we know. 1776 is certainly not the whole war but it is that part of the war that defined how the war would play out. The author unfolds the participants on both sides of the Atlantic revealing how they would rise or fail to rise to the coming war. Attention is given equally to weather of a given day, the perceptions of a soldier or baker or general, and the decisions of those wielding the most power. The thoroughly rendered details inform the world from which springs history broken from its calcification and allowed to breath. The pivotal character amidst all this is of course Washington who was clearly not the same man at the end of the year as he was at the beginning. America was not the same place by the end of that year. And thankfully I do not have the same view of the Revolutionary War that I did when the book began.