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

America's most acclaimed historian presents the intricate story of the year of the birth of the United States of America. 1776 tells two gripping stories: how a group of squabbling, disparate colonies became the United States, and how the British Empire tried to stop them. This book destroys many popular myths about the wars of independence and reveals in fact how many Americans wished to remain British, and how many British had profound doubts about a military solution to the revolt. It shows that many of those fighting knew those on the other side well, and as the great decisions and battles of 1776 unfolded and attitudes hardened, the truly fratricidal nature of the conflict became clear. A must read. This exhilarating book is one of the great pieces of historical narrative.

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.

Want more literate blather? Well, go, sir or madam, to the Dark Party Review.

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.

David McCullough takes the reader back to the very first year of our Republic in 1776 which indeed is the seminal year of the existence of the United States.
Not only did America sever its relations with England, it went to war with that Nation. In essence this is a story of George Washington's struggles and it tells of the making of his leadership skills. It also tells of a man who learns from both his mistakes and the mistakes of mostly omission of the enemy.
McCullough's prose takes us from the early siege in Boston unto the battles in Brooklyn and New York City. The battles in New York were victories for the British. It is true that Washington lost in these battles, but in the long run he learned much of the enemy and their tendencies. It is true that England was the dominant military force in the World at this time. In reflection this meant little to Washington. Although the Continental Army was no more than a rag tag collection of volunteers who were poorly equipped and clothed to fight a sustained battle with a professional Army, they did indeed make life for the British elite a living nightmare.
The efforts of George Washington were indeed stuff made of legend and the stories of these epic struggles have been handed down in American lore. His surprise attack on Trenton on Christmas Day gave hope to a beleaguered Army. Washington's struggles show the character of a man who learned from the experience of his mistakes. Washington as outlined by McCullough was not a brilliant strategist nor was he an intellectual giant but he did possess common sense and the gift of timing to do the right thing at the right time.
As stated by my old friend at the New York Times Book Review, Michiko Kakutani, "A Nation is born, and You Are There".