Pulitzer prizes are sexy!

This chronicles Washington's army from just after Bunker Hill to the dramatic crossing of the Delaware and his Christmas attack of the Hessians at Trenton. Well researched and superbly written, very entertaining.

McCullough paints a vivid portrait of legendary time.

Fireworks and the Declaration of Independence are the only 2 things we normally associate with 1776. I thought I had a good outline of the war. Was I wrong, this book reveals so much that is skipped over in most history classes and books. Read this incredible story to find out the real story of that fateful year. How close we came to being crushed by the dominant military power in the world. What increased admiration I have for the men who fought through to end that year in victory when all seemed lost. Washington comes through as a real person, not some misty legend. He made plenty of errors on the way to learning how to lead an army. The stories of Greene and Knox are also wonderfully revealing. Should be mandatory reading for all high school students. And it is a easy book to get through-I wish there were some more maps but that's me. Story is fine as it is.

Having read Truman and John Adams, as well as one more recent book, The Pioneers I am a huge fan of David McCullough’s work. I have three others on the shelf (actually in a cupboard - they aren’t allowed on the shelf until they are read!) to be read over the next few months.

1776 is another wonderful book about one year in the eight-year Revolutionary War. A year that was mostly disastrous and ended with a couple of consequential wins that are nothing short of miracles.

That Washington was far from a great general is not glossed over and I come away amazed at how this rebellion was anywhere near successful. History obviously proves it was and this book describes this slice of the war brilliantly.

На четвърти юли 1776 г. във Филаделфия, Пенсилвания е подписана американската Декларация за независимост. Това се случва в условията на разрастваща се война с Англия, която ще завърши след почти 7 години чрез Паржикия мирен договор от 1783 г. След началните сражения край Конкорд, Лексингтън и Бункер Хил, английската армия се оказва обградена край Бостън от континенталната армия на Джордж Вашингтон. Но крал Джордж Трети със сигурност няма да се откаже лесно от проспериращата си колония и изпраща подкрепления, включително германски (хесиански) наемници. Англичаните успяват да избягат с корабите си от обсадения Бостън и само няколко месеца по-късно завладяват Ню Йорк и фортовете около него. Американската армия изглежда победена, войниците са гладни и уморени от постоянните изтегляния, а някои от тях решават да дезертират. Едрата шарка (вариола) и коремният тиф взимат повече жертви от реалните бойни действия. Обрат настъпва след неочакваната атака и превземане на Трентън и Принстън, Ню Джърси от континенталната армия. Описаните събития са запечатани в съзнанието на американците чрез серия от известни картини - портрети на водещите генерали Натаниел Грийн и Хенри Нокс от Чарлз Уилсън Пийл, както и още по-известната "Вашингтон прекосява Делауеър" на Емануел Лойце.

Войната през 18 век е била много по-различна от днешната. Мускетите, когато са били налични, са можели да произвеждат само няколко изстрела в минута. Често щиковете са влизали в употреба при бой лице в лице. Артилерията е била изключително примитивна и трудна за пренасяне на дълги разстояния. В битките са участвали само няколко хиляди войници, което би било достатъчно за крайна победа, ако нямаше постоянни стратегически изтегляния с цел избягване на тежко поражение.

Книгата "1776: Америка и Британия на война" на Дейвид Маккълоу е придобила легендарен статус в САЩ и има над двеста хиляди оценки в Goodreads.

Really good, entertaining as McCullough always is. An especially appropriate time of year to read as we are warm and cozy in our homes remembering Washington and his beleaguered men and arms crossing the frozen Delaware in a blizzard on Christmas day 1776. Probably all Americans should re-read every year as a reminder of America's perilous, remarkable, and brutally fought first steps toward Independence.

t' Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning- how often circumstances, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual characters had made the difference – the outcome seemed little short of a miracle'.

The most spellbinding account of history I've read so far!
I could not put this book down!
When I realize all that American soldiers endured during the Revolution, the situations that favored us merely by chance, and the miraculous deeds that eventually won the war for us, I am in awe of America!
George Washington was not perfect, nor were his men. And maybe it's that imperfection which elevates them to true hero status, because they overcame countless defeats and obstacles, but also their own vices and insufficiencies in order to win the war for American independence.
This is not your average historical dry recitation of facts.
It is a story like your Grandpa might have told, except it's real, and it is our history.

Review of the audiobook narrated by the author.

McCullough does a masterful job of setting the historical stage, introducing us to the characters and telling a comprehensive tale of the events of 1776, both in his own voice and (thanks to letters he researched) in the voice of many involved in the conflict. He gives us just enough of the names and places without getting bogged down in the minutia and sounding like a textbook. Focusing on this crucial year he is able to give us a taste of the bigger American Revolutionary War with an average length book.

The detailed blow by blow of events during 1776 paints a stark picture in relation to the well known eventual outcome of the Revolutionary War. Seeing just how close the British were to winning the war on more than one occasion makes for an extraordinary tale that no one would believe if it wasn't actually history. The book focuses on George Washington as he played an important role in most of the events which are chronicled, which I liked because I don't know enough about our first President.

The is the second book I've listened to by McCullough, both narrated by the author. He's a capable narrator and of course knows the material, but I feel that a great narrator would do better justice to the text. He doesn't ruin the experience at all though, and it won't stop me from listening to any others he narrates as I can certainly appreciate his dedication to his own work.

Final verdict: 5 star story, 4 star narration, 4.5 stars overall

I listened to this on audio-book, although I do have a hard back copy in my library. David McCollough's distinct voice, which makes his speeches so enjoyable, also makes him the perfect candidate to read his own books. His is the recognizable voice from the 90's as the narrator of Ken Burns PBS classic "The Civil War". The only McCullough book I've read is his Pulitzer Prize winning biography, John Adams.

1776 is not quite on the level with John Adams, but it's very good, very enlightening, about a part of history that most of us just received the highlights of during high school history class. Of course the main highlight of the year was the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. But this book focuses on the military campaign of George Washington and the Continental Army. For the most part 1776 wasn't a very good year for either. It did see the British Army and it's naval fleet evacuate Boston after Washington, in a brilliant one night manoeuvre, move his army and artillery onto Dorchester Heights, making the British retreat necessary. Washington then moved the army to New York to defend there, but the British Fleet returned, and with superior forces, total naval domination of the harbor and rivers, they routed the Continental's in a series of battles, finally capturing Ft. Washington. What was significant though about this episode was the fact that the British could have ended the war right then if they had pushed their advantage. But in another brilliant night manoeuvre, Washington stole quietly across the river with his army and escaped.

Washington moved his army to New Jersey to be in a position to defend the Capitol, Philadelphia. They camped on the west side of the Delaware River while the British occupied the east side which included Trenton and Princeton. This set the stage for the famous night crossing of the Delaware by boat, and the successful attack and taking of Trenton the next morning. They followed up the next day by taking Princeton, probably saving the army and the country from defeat.

The war would last another five years before Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1881. The treaty of Paris was signed in 1883 officially bringing peace. A lot happened in those years, but this book focused on 1776 and the events I've mentioned here. Again I'll say that I think my appreciation of the book was enhanced by listening instead of reading.

I'm not sure how something so short can still be so complete but this does the trick. If you have the slightest interest in the American revolution, this is a great place to start. As entertaining as it is informative.

Man oh man why, did I wait all these years to enjoy this great book?
Now, per the title, it only covers 1776, so battles and events are mentioned that occurred earlier so If you want to know what happened at say, Lexington or Concord you’ll have to read another book.
History really jumps out of the page, it humanizes larger than life figures such as George Washington who could be indecisive and indeed lost 4 battles in a row that year!!
The British point of view is also written in great detail, no doubt due to McCulloughs exhaustive research in England, and of his large research team.
No dry or dull text anywhere in the book.
Since I’ve completed it, it’s spurred a great interest in the American war of independence. I’ve got three checkouts from the library on events covering 1765 to 1789. Stay tuned!

Have a great reading week, many blessing from Texas.

George Washington was a terrible general: indecisive, dilatory, proud, inwardly contemptuous of his troops (though his troops, in fact, WERE contemptible). He hated New Englanders, thought they were smelly, avaricious & lacking in Southern elegance. He had a “chief slave” who hung around with him always; they were like the Lone Ranger and Tonto. His big mistake was trying to hold New York City – but he was a politician WHILE being general; he couldn’t abandon Manhattan after fighting nobly for Boston, without looking prejudiced.

New Yorkers were the same then as they are now: two-faced, ambitious, decadent, culturally advanced. Soldiers, British & American, loved hanging out there. (But there were lots of prostitutes in “Puritan” Boston, too!) 20,000 people lived in one square mile.

Eventually, in the course of one year, Washington mastered the Taoist Art of Retreat – the length of New Jersey! As for the fabled victory at Trenton (the one for which Washington crossed the Delaware), those were Hessians, not British soldiers, and they were not drunk on Christmas Day – just taken by surprise. And mowed down by Patriot cannon in the streets.

The Continental Army would march uncomplaining through a blizzard – many of them barefoot! Back then Americans were tough as pruning shears.

David McCullough may be the greatest prose writer in our nation.

"If a good bleeding can bring those Bible-faced Yankees to their senses, the fever of independency will soon abate."

You can hardly overestimate the number of books written on this hallowed, almost holy subject. That the events of 1776 get shoved down the throat of every American child is hardly hyperbole. Honestly, you get kind of tired hearing about it. Hagiography is the salad dressing of the needy iceberg lettuce of America's curious bout of low self-esteem. It seems we have to chase every bit of minutiae to prove to someone else somewhere, somehow, that we are superior.
Whatever. Nationalism is more like year-old ranch dressing than a fine, primping vinaigrette.
Luckily, we have writers like McCullough to re-toss our salads for us. McC, who probably wrote this over a weekend away from other projects since he could literally write shit like this in his sleep, gives the reader a pared-down and streamlined look at the military goings-on of the titular year.
No politics, no Declarations, other players are mentioned only tangentially (I can recall only one mention of Jefferson, none of Madison, etc). There is nothing celebratory or wanking. This is almost purely a look at the "campaigns" of this year, which were in reality were little more than blunder after blunder of a constantly retreating and regrouping "army" (I use the term loosely) under ol' GW himself. It's a nice corrective to the usual masturbatory fawning since this famed year was one of defeat, doubt, and disaster for the raw Union.