leapracon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
One of my absolute favorite books. I'm a huge history buff and this really is a well written accountÂ
jacobman0313's review against another edition
Fun, easy read. Good primer/companion for a walkabout, plaque-reading trip to Boston. Some historical details seem to stretch into conjecture. Companion Copley portraits/other illustrations at back of E-Book were very nice, as were the maps interspersed in the chapters themselves.
statman's review against another edition
4.0
A relatively short history of the events that started the Revolutionary War with a focus on Boston and its pivotal role in the beginning. It starts around 1774 with some coverage of history leading up to that point. Goes into detail on the Boston Tea Party, the Midnight ride of Paul Revere, Lexington, Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the subsequent siege of Boston by Washington and the provincial army. It really brings you there to the time period and gives you a sense for how precarious the situation was at the time and how it could have changed in many different directions based on the decisions of a few key individuals (Washington, Sam Adams, General Gage, Knox, Putnam, Parker and many other less known individuals).
danchrist's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent telling of the story of the battle of Breed's and Bunker's Hill in 1775, something about which I knew almost nothing previously.
1teachingnomad's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook through Audible.
Like other works by Philbrick, this is an incredibly detailed and well researched book on what he believes to be an important historical event. While the book is very well done, I believe my own ambivalence towards American Revolutionary history (as well as US civil war history) meant that I did not find the same enjoyment from this book that I have from other works by Philbrick.
Like other works by Philbrick, this is an incredibly detailed and well researched book on what he believes to be an important historical event. While the book is very well done, I believe my own ambivalence towards American Revolutionary history (as well as US civil war history) meant that I did not find the same enjoyment from this book that I have from other works by Philbrick.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
Far too detailed about the most mundane, uninteresting things, making for a boring and tedious read. DNF'd at 11%.
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First Sentence: On a hot, almost windless afternoon in June, a seven-year-old boy stood beside his mother and looked out across the green islands of Boston Harbor.
Far too detailed about the most mundane, uninteresting things, making for a boring and tedious read. DNF'd at 11%.
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First Sentence: On a hot, almost windless afternoon in June, a seven-year-old boy stood beside his mother and looked out across the green islands of Boston Harbor.
mark_lm's review against another edition
4.0
A well-written history of the battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston, with a refreshingly objective view of the Patriots and the coming of the revolution. The author has insightful discussions about many of the principal characters including Joseph Warren, Thomas Gage and George Washington who, I shuddered to learn, was prepared to defy the advice of his various generals, invade Boston and, apparently, almost certainly destroy his army. GW was saved from his own folly by bad weather forestalling the Brit's attack on Dorchester Heights. Mr. Philbrick also points out the Patriot's hypocritical denunciation of their "slavery" to Britain, while thinking nothing of owning slaves themselves, and he has fascinating mention of the colonists' fear that the British soldiers would incite a slave rebellion.