sheritolley's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book about the revolution. I love that it was in novel form and easy to read. It just brought out a deep appreciation for our founding fathers and all that they sacrificed for this great nation.
monicamjw's review against another edition
Read this on a trip to Boston - it made the history truly come alive.
silverph3nix's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
tarmstrong112's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty boring but I remember enjoying some of it because I had recently watched HBOs John Adams miniseries and they lined up rather nicely. I basically only read this because I like the author and wanted to be a completist.
webslingingadam's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
jsburt's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge fan of Jeff Shaara and his works of historical fiction and this one was great about the Revolutionary War!
elentikvah's review against another edition
4.0
This was historical fiction written in a way that I've never read before...and I really liked it!
Considering that I've been American history buff all my life, specifically of the Revolutionary period; I found this book to be a new, interesting look at this period of time and the major actors detailed therein.
This was the first overall view of the First and Second Continental Congress from the perspectives of the men at those meetings. I had recognized the initial damage that we did at "Bunker Hill," but had not realized the long-term effect that this had on Gage's career, and ultimately initial months of the War.
To watch as the Declaration was initially proposed, written and re-written both in committee and finally before the full Congress. The astonishing impact of Common Sense one the people of the colonies, and how this ultimately PUSHED the Congress to make a definite break with England. Finally, to experience that Declaration read before the fledging Continental Army was just amazing!
So, if you like history, and a well-written story, take a look at this book.
Considering that I've been American history buff all my life, specifically of the Revolutionary period; I found this book to be a new, interesting look at this period of time and the major actors detailed therein.
This was the first overall view of the First and Second Continental Congress from the perspectives of the men at those meetings. I had recognized the initial damage that we did at "Bunker Hill," but had not realized the long-term effect that this had on Gage's career, and ultimately initial months of the War.
To watch as the Declaration was initially proposed, written and re-written both in committee and finally before the full Congress. The astonishing impact of Common Sense one the people of the colonies, and how this ultimately PUSHED the Congress to make a definite break with England. Finally, to experience that Declaration read before the fledging Continental Army was just amazing!
So, if you like history, and a well-written story, take a look at this book.
fictionaltraveler's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
zena_ryder's review against another edition
2.0
This book was ok. And that's about it. The best thing it has going for it is the plot. It is a good depiction of what happened during the lead up to the American Revolution, and it did pique my interest to learn more about Washington and Franklin, who are the two most interesting, quirky characters in the book.
The second best thing about the book is that the writing is, for the most part, not annoying.
However, there was a particular technique that the author used very frequently, which made it a distracting rather than transparent device that the reader shouldn't have noticed.
Each chapter is from the perspective of one of the principal characters — Franklin, Adams, Washington, and so on — and the title of each chapter is just the name of the character whose perspective it is from. So you know right from the beginning who each chapter is about. However, Shaara would begin almost every chapter (especially towards the beginning of the book) with a few sentences referring to "he", rather than stating the character's name, or starting off talking about someone other than the main character of that chapter, or beginning with a description of the surroundings or of an event. I’m not sure what the point of this was, but it got very irritating, not because it is inherently bad, but because it was noticeable that the author was doing the same thing over and over.
But the bigger things wrong with the book are that the characterization is not good enough, and there is not enough emotional contrast.
If the characterization in this book had been excellent, then the reader would have been able to feel that one chapter was from Franklin’s perspective, the next one from Washington’s perspective, and so on. But, although the events in the story can indicate who is being written about, the tone, the patterns of thought, the speech, and so on — none of those things gave the reader any impression of character. All the chapters were written with the same tone, same type of dialogue, etc. The reader doesn’t feel any difference between any of the characters.
The other major flaw is that there is really very little emotional expression in the book. Although I could understand the American colonists’ anger and frustration with the British king and his representatives, I never really felt it. I didn’t feel the fear of an impending battle. I didn’t feel the elation of finishing the Declaration of Independence. It’s all rather emotionally flat.
This book is 500+ pages long, and by the last quarter or so, I was desperate to finish it. The plot was just enough to keep me wanting to finish it; but it wasn’t enough to make me enjoy it.
The second best thing about the book is that the writing is, for the most part, not annoying.
However, there was a particular technique that the author used very frequently, which made it a distracting rather than transparent device that the reader shouldn't have noticed.
Each chapter is from the perspective of one of the principal characters — Franklin, Adams, Washington, and so on — and the title of each chapter is just the name of the character whose perspective it is from. So you know right from the beginning who each chapter is about. However, Shaara would begin almost every chapter (especially towards the beginning of the book) with a few sentences referring to "he", rather than stating the character's name, or starting off talking about someone other than the main character of that chapter, or beginning with a description of the surroundings or of an event. I’m not sure what the point of this was, but it got very irritating, not because it is inherently bad, but because it was noticeable that the author was doing the same thing over and over.
But the bigger things wrong with the book are that the characterization is not good enough, and there is not enough emotional contrast.
If the characterization in this book had been excellent, then the reader would have been able to feel that one chapter was from Franklin’s perspective, the next one from Washington’s perspective, and so on. But, although the events in the story can indicate who is being written about, the tone, the patterns of thought, the speech, and so on — none of those things gave the reader any impression of character. All the chapters were written with the same tone, same type of dialogue, etc. The reader doesn’t feel any difference between any of the characters.
The other major flaw is that there is really very little emotional expression in the book. Although I could understand the American colonists’ anger and frustration with the British king and his representatives, I never really felt it. I didn’t feel the fear of an impending battle. I didn’t feel the elation of finishing the Declaration of Independence. It’s all rather emotionally flat.
This book is 500+ pages long, and by the last quarter or so, I was desperate to finish it. The plot was just enough to keep me wanting to finish it; but it wasn’t enough to make me enjoy it.