David McCullough - image from Ohio Magazine

This is an interesting book that describes in personal detail the battles of the early revolution. We see George and company in Boston, New York City, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. McCullough paints portraits of the military leaders of those campaigns, Howe primarily, and Clinton for the Brits, Greene, Knox, GW and a handful of others for the Yanks. He shows us some of GW’s correspondence and we learn of his disaffection for New Englanders. The troops were a rag tag bunch and George was constantly strained to keep them from running away, serving out their enlistments and going home, dying of various diseases. I did not have much of a sense of how much Tory sympathy there was until reading this. If Edward R. Murrow was still about I suppose it would have made a pretty fair episode of “You are There.” It was an entertaining as well as informative read.

I learned SO MUCH about the Revolutionary War from this book! But that's the point of reading books by David McCullough - he did the research and found the facts and knit them all together in a readable narrative, and all I have to do is read his books and learn from them. He was truly one of the greatest writers of the last century, maybe one of the top ten. He brought American history into the lives of 21st century readers and armchair travelers. This is the third book I've read by him and hopefully it will not be the last.

So, back to the topic: General Washington and his grand endeavor to free the American states from the rule and taxation of the British government. The book chronicles only one year of the war, 1776. It is considered the founding year of our country because the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4. The war was already in progress. It started April 19, 1775 and lasted until September 3, 1783.

1776 was a decisive year. It started with General Washington and an army of questionable soundness encamped just west of Boston which was occupied by the British. There were many problems with the army including that the men were often extremely sick and unable to fight. By the end of the year the army seemed dedicated to the cause but again in very bad shape, some even marching to battle on icy roads with no shoes. It is to these men that we owe a huge debt of gratitude because despite all the hardships, they persevered! Amazing!

I liked reading the book because I learned more about the people involved in the battles - both the Americans and the British. I learned what kinds of hardships the Americans endured to bring this country its independence. There's so much in this book worthy of note that I really knew nothing about before. Thinking back to what I learned about the Revolutionary War in high school I see now that what I thought it was, it wasn't. And what it was, was amazing. The battles, the retreats, the unexpected attacks, the decisions General Washington had to make - they are all detailed in this book.

Anyhow, I'm glad I read it and my only question now is: What David McCullough book do I want to read next?

If you want something so dense, so boring, and so un-enlightening, then THIS is your book. Does McCullough write specifically for people that have insomnia? The dictionary was more enthralling than this tome.

I would Wikipedia the Revolutionary War if that is your thing. You can get the highlights without loosing consciousness 9 times.

4.5 stars. David McCullough does it again. This is an excellent, entertaining and engaging description of one of the "pivotal" years in American History. Beginning with the early American victory at the "Siege of Boston," McCullough details the disastrous results for the Americans at a series of battles to follow (most notably the Battle of Long Island and the taking of Fort Washington and Fort Lee).

McCullough makes it clear that the American cause was on the point of collapse when, in December 1776, Washington makes his famous crossing of the Delaware and wins a decisive victory at the Battle Trenton, a victory that clearly re-invigorated the American cause.

The war would continue for another six years after 1776, but McCullough very powerfully gives the readers the impression that at the end of 1776, the American morale was as high as at any time in the past and that they truly believed that victory was now a question of "when" and no longer "if." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!