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

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.

1776 is a truly excellent work, as it conveys how important that year was to the fledgling United States in its struggle for independence from Great Britain. The courage and wisdom of those who struggled for freedom comes fully to light in this book. For those readers who enjoyed 1776 (as did I), I would also highly recommend reading God of Our Fathers: Advice and Prayers of Our Nation's Founders

McCullough is a master storyteller. He tells this story with vivid detail and transports the reader into one of the most pivotal years of our nations history.

I thought that this book was fantastic. It goes into great detail about the year 1776, the problems with keeping the army together as well as the the battles. McCullough writes in such a unique and interesting way that it grabs and holds your attention. It is one of those books you just don't want to end.

How on Earth did the 13 Colonies ever win the Revolutionary War against the British Empire? It was a lopsided match-up from the start. Yet, somehow, the American rebels pulled it off. David McCullough's "1776" gives us a glimpse into the first full year of warfare - which may have been the bleakest for the new country. The Army was made up of misfits (mostly from New England) and the citizens were starkly divided (especially in that Tory stronghold of New York City). McCullough takes us from the Siege of Boston to the Battle of Trenton (the turning point for General Washington and his Continental Army). McCullough tells us the story from the perspective of Washington, his generals, his officers, and his soldiers (but there are parts from the British point of view as well). What we get is history as a suspense novel. The action is fast. The characters are larger than life. Although this is a story that most Americans have heard a thousand times (starting in elementary school), McCullough gives it a fresh coat of paint and oftentimes it's easy to forget that the action had already happened. That's the sign of a good historian and a powerful writer. It's amazing that the Colonies ended up winning the Revolutionary War. The British - by nearly every barometer - should have won. But they didn't. McCullough shows us why through the eyes of the determined Washington and his troops.

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I read this on holiday. I like reading about 18th century military history. I found this well written and engaging but too .. trite almost. The Hessians are described as mercenaries - this implies something immoral but they were hired by Britain from treaties with their home states as Britain had done for years. I see this book as a readable starting point for study of this part of the war. I think what is needed is a British account of the war that provides the kind of balance begun by Macksey.