Esteemed historian David McCullough covers the military side of the momentous year of 1776 with characteristic insight and a gripping narrative, adding new scholarship and a fresh perspective to the beginning of the American Revolution. It was a turbulent and confusing time. As British and American politicians struggled to reach a compromise, events on the ground escalated until war was inevitable. McCullough writes vividly about the dismal conditions that troops on both sides had to endure, including an unusually harsh winter, and the role that luck and the whims of the weather played in helping the colonial forces hold off the world's greatest army. He also effectively explores the importance of motivation and troop morale--a tie was as good as a win to the Americans, while anything short of overwhelming victory was disheartening to the British, who expected a swift end to the war. The redcoat retreat from Boston, for example, was particularly humiliating for the British, while the minor American victory at Trenton was magnified despite its limited strategic importance.

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

In this stirring 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.

Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war.

At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books -- Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of winter.

But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost -- Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time. David McCullough's vivid rendering of the Battle of Brooklyn and the daring American escape that followed is a part of the book few readers will ever forget.

As the crucial weeks pass, defeat follows defeat, and in the long retreat across New Jersey, all hope seems gone, until Washington launches the "brilliant stroke" that will change history.

The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.

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.

"In this stirring 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. 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. "

This book deals with the pivotal year - 1776 - in the American Revolution. While the revolution started before and American victory ended at Yorktown in 1781, this is the year in which the fate of the American Revolution hung in the balance. There was still hope in some quarters that the colonists could reconcile with Britain and King George III. But the events of this year, including disastrous losses after a surprise victory at Boston, almost doom the dreams of the colonists. An incredibly harsh winter contributed to the gloomy outlook for the Founding Fathers. The British expected a very short war but were surprised by the tenacity and zeal of the American militias. The best passages described and illuminated the character of George Washington. He publicly held aloft a torch of optimism while personal correspondence and intimate conversations conveyed his despondency and desperation. But he was the right man at the right time for this job. The most telling passage was Washington, up late at night before a battle, writing the code word for the night on slips of paper: "Victory or Death". This dedication gave us America and the world a Beacon for Freedom.

Michael Mandaville, Author - "Stealing Thunder"

It can be said of this book, as it can for most of McCullough's work, that it is a rare example of accurate history blended with well-crafted story telling that is equally appealing to both mainstream history buffs and seasoned professionals. Usually with books (music and movies too for that matter) it is the case that integrity and depth of ideas become diluted proportional to their popularity - something meant for a larger audience looses the specifics and details that are only appealing to a smaller set of people, thus reducing marketability. David McCullough, whether writing about a person, an event, or in this instance, a year's worth of events, consistently breaks this rule. 1776 is a readable book that deserves credit for its ability to enlighten the historical novice while contributing a worthwhile perspective to the first "official" year of American History.

The book itself is a simple narrative that moves proportionally and chronologically through the events of 1776. George Washington is the book's central figure. His relationship with Henry Knox stands out among numerous themes. Most of the emphasis is placed on the Siege of Boston, the Fall of New York, the New Jersey retreat, and the Battle of Trenton. While it takes place in early 1777 the Battle of Princeton is briefly detailed, largely because of its proximity in both time and importance to the Battle of Trenton. McCullough fills the spaces in between with a variety of stories pertaining to notable figures on both sides including Nathanial Greene, Israel "Old Put" Putnam, William and Richard Howe, and General Henry Clinton. One such story, a Thursday afternoon journey to Parliament by George III in October 1775 to discuss the Colonial problem, effectively starts off the book as it reviews the events of 1775, particularly Bunker Hill, and also delves into the daily political and social life of London. Some readers will be surprised to see an American book about the American Revolution cast King George III in a favorable, yet objective light. Absent from this book are the reports of a delusional tyrant. Instead we are given the description of a simple man, whose reported two favorite things included "a leg of mutton and his plain little wife", with a job to do and an empire to preserve.

A few things come to mind upon completion of this book. One is a sense that the real significance of the year 1776 was that of the decisions and sacrifices that were made along with the physical and mental conditions endured by those at every level who did the work. This same sentiment is also noted by the surprisingly brief appearance made by the Declaration of Independence roughly halfway through the book. Its absence does not imply a diminished sense of importance, rather a commitment to the reality that it was only a document that, no matter how eloquent, meant nothing without military success, which was hard to come by for the colonials in 1776.

Most notable of all is a point that McCullough alludes to throughout the book, first early on by the British parliament or through the eyes of loyalists fleeing Boston, then later from the perspective of the English and Hessians troops pushing through New Jersey. The point being the fact that this revolution was started and carried out by people who had some of the best material lives that the 18th century had to offer. The question of why they were doing it and what they were willing to go through is a large part of what makes the American Revolution the fascination that it is. 1776 is a thorough exploration of this important history that should, and probably will, contribute something significant to any reader's understanding of the American Revolution.

NOTE: There are some authors who read their own work on audio format and David McCullough is one of them. This book is available unabridged. Sometimes, particularly with abridgments, listening to a book in audio format gets frowned upon, as if it is considered cheating or at least skimping. This review has been written by someone who has both read and listened to parts of this book. McCullough's narrating skills being what they are, which is to say superb, leave one with the sense that both formats are legitimate and make a strong case for the validity of well produced audio presentations.

1776 Adds perspective to the American Revolution, and provides many new details, but is a bit long for those just wanting basic history.

This may not be the definitive book about the Revolutionary War, but it is a great place to start learning more about American History. It's meant to be a companion book to the biography "John Adams" and it serves its purpose well.

I like history, and I love the way that David McCullough conveys history not as a set of dates, places, and events, but as stories. He brings each historical figure to life and has a unique way of teaching history that I think most readers will enjoy.

Do yourself a favor and pick up "John Adams" too and read them both.

This is a heckuva well researched book. In terms of content, it can't be beat. The writing tends to be a bit uneven at times, with sentences that seem to lack flow and rhythm, but McCullough is first and foremost a historian and not a stylist.

Overall, 1776 deserves high praise.