1776 - David McCullough
David McCullough's new historical masterpiece, 1776, leaves me in great want of a book called "1777." The book is well put-together and flows through Washington's experiences as the new general of a new nation's so-called army with expertise. McCullough isn't afraid to point out the immortal Washington's human blunders - and masterfully shows why those mortal mistakes kept a nation alive...and how they came so dearly close to allowing George III to crush the infant nation in its cradle.
This book is also great in that it doesn't read as a biased 'we beat them' story narrating the colonies' defeat over the British Empire. It goes to great lengths to show the thoughts of George III as well as his officers in the field making the decisions that nearly defeated Washington's army - it is a two-sided story from a viewpoint I've never read before.
As many biographies that have been written on Washington, the reader can easily see how elusive his character can be to the author/historian. As careful as the first "Mr. President" was to leave not a shadow of evidence he was anything less than what was his contemporary public opinion, McCullough is just as exacting and determined to make the reader miss that point. McCullough examines the situations of the battles of Boston, New York, and the surrounding forts, the accounts of Greene and other officers and even the enlisted militiamen in order to get to the heart of what made 1776 Washington's dullest and yet somehow most glorious year of the revolution.
1776, if it isn't obvious by the above text, earns a full five stars. McCullough does it again by authoring another must-read for any fan of U.S. history.
This book is also great in that it doesn't read as a biased 'we beat them' story narrating the colonies' defeat over the British Empire. It goes to great lengths to show the thoughts of George III as well as his officers in the field making the decisions that nearly defeated Washington's army - it is a two-sided story from a viewpoint I've never read before.
As many biographies that have been written on Washington, the reader can easily see how elusive his character can be to the author/historian. As careful as the first "Mr. President" was to leave not a shadow of evidence he was anything less than what was his contemporary public opinion, McCullough is just as exacting and determined to make the reader miss that point. McCullough examines the situations of the battles of Boston, New York, and the surrounding forts, the accounts of Greene and other officers and even the enlisted militiamen in order to get to the heart of what made 1776 Washington's dullest and yet somehow most glorious year of the revolution.
1776, if it isn't obvious by the above text, earns a full five stars. McCullough does it again by authoring another must-read for any fan of U.S. history.
posted by Frobinso at 5:15 PM
1 Comments:
A great book. The best story is without a doubt the account of Henry Knox's sledding of abandoned British guns from Fort Ticonderoga back to the Dorchester Heights in Boston. Washington's men pointed those bad boys at the Harbor and the Red Coats couldn't get the hell outta dodge fast enough.
On a personal note, another thing I love about this book is McCollough's glowing treatment of Generals Nathaniel Greene and Henry Knox. As a guy that has lived in two places: GREENEville and KNOXville, I'm particularly proud of these guy's bravery and general badassedness.
I've been on the lookout for portraits of Knox and Greene to hang up in my house ever since I read this book.
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