I'm learning a lot about the revolutionary activities that led up to the American Revolution. The stuff we learned in school was n  son tame compared to much of what this book covers.

This book focuses on the role that African Americans, Native Americans, and common, poor laborers had in making the American Revolution successful. It had some very interesting information and portions were wonderful, but it dragged in parts to the point where I alternated between it and another book to keep myself reading it. Also, it did not seem as unbiased and fair as some other books I've read. The author's political views seemed to take precedence in how things were presented.

For those who may not know, New Historicism is a field of research that bloomed in the 1980s, hot on the heels of feminism, ethnic studies, social psychology, and other “new” academic fields that sought to overturn the old standards of scholarship. There’s a nice description here: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtu...

I was first introduced to Dr. Nash in a graduate-level history course on slavery in the Americas, and with a Master’s in English Studies, New Historicism fit nicely with my moral and ethical core. Instead of the revered top-down approach to history most of us grew up with, Nash and many others look at historic events from the bottom up. Instead of Queens and Presidents, Generals and Popes, New Historicism excavates the lives of the commoners—foot soldiers, farmers, women, slaves, and native populations. It throws History on its ear, showing how complex, fragile, and explosive life events are for the majority, the marginalized, the impoverished, the enslaved, the voiceless, and the vilified.

Nash highlights the true bedlam of the Revolutionary Age, the fratricidal war interwoven with genocidal episodes towards native Americans, the blatant hypocrisy of the fight for “freedom” undergirded by institutionalized slavery and political misogyny, the pawn-playing of Africans by both sides of the conflict, the elitist-based consolidation of power, the ravenous greed of capitalism and war profiteering, and a general screwing-over of the enlisted soldiers that shed blood and tears (never mind endured starvation, frostbite, and bone-breaking musket balls) on the front lines, as well as their widows and families in the aftermath. The sweet lies our teachers taught us so long ago about heroism and nobility, virtues and freedom are nothing short of a rose-colored chimera that still vainly lives on today for some (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/...).

I do not believe that history repeats itself, but I know human behavior does. This, to me, is why it’s important to understand historic events so that we may try to derail the train of consequences so deeply entrenched in societies near and far.

Nash ends the book on poignant point: “Revolutions are always incomplete. Almost every social and political convulsion that has gone beyond the first disruptions of the [i]ancien regime[/i] depended on mass involvement; and that in itself, in every recorded case of revolutionary insurgency, raised expectations that could not be completely satisfied. In this sense, there has never been such a thing as a completed revolution. So it was with the American Revolution.”

Gary B. Nash is one of the best historians for early American history, and this book solidifies that opinion. This sumptuously-written book is a scholarly people's history of the American Revolution--perhaps a hair too long for popular consumption--that showcases the stories of those from below who played crucial and yet subsequently overlooked roles in the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers are not covered in exhaustive detail here because that is not Nash's purpose: he covers groups including women, African Americans (enslaved and free), Native Americans, enlisted soldiers, and working class farmers and mechanics who all contributed to the spirit of change swirling around before, during, and after the American Revolution.

Perhaps my scholarly reading has just been down certain paths and not others, but I particularly appreciated and learned from Nash's stories about the struggles and numerous mutinies of the Continental Army and state militias. The story of women, Native Americans, and African Americans getting pushed to the periphery of the new US is somewhat more widespread, but the stories of how fragile and negotiated the actual fighting forces of the colonists were shocked me and left me even more surprised that the American Revolution ended in American victory (and reinforces the importance of stressing the role of the Spanish and French in this victory).

This book is a great choice for an early American course of study and parallels well with Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth in its broadening and complicating of the traditional 1776 narrative. If one is seeking a more comprehensive look at the era, this would pair well with American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 or The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789.

The story of ordinary people and how they helped, hindered and were impacted by the revolution and its aftermath. Included are blacks, Indians and women, something you'd never find in books from 50 years ago. It also shows how radical the revolution was when it started out, Pennsylvania had a unicameral house with none of this Senate nonsense along with fairly liberal voting laws. After the war, rich, white, northern industrialists and southern plantation owners had to put a stop to that nonsense.

Along with depressing parts, there are some happy notes: Elizabeth Freeman freed herself via court action. John Adam's son, pushed for property rights for women, something his father refused to do even though he knew his wife capable of running his affairs as well as her own. Thomas Paine pops up from time to time, he's still one my favorite founders and has aged much better than Jefferson, Washington, etc.

And as for those Modern Militia twits, I have a simple description for them: Summer Soldiers. Most of them didn't fight or never show up. The revolution was not done with 3%, many more than that were active participants.

All in all an excellent book,

History books generally just mention the military leaders and politicians so it was refreshing to learn what role the common citizen played in the war.

Was upsetting to read of how cruel the settlers were to Native Americans which at times it seems that attitude hasn't change. The leading politicians could have done so much to help the Native Americans and the slaves but you get the impression they didn't want to deal with those issues.

Gary B. Nash takes a fresh look at the American Revoution by focusing on the forgotten participants of the Revolution and by examing the impact of patriots from every class and race in American society. He includes stories of ministers preaching milennial visions, slaves, women, and Native Americans who all had their individual reasons for supporting the quest for independence for the English colonies. Nash demonstrates that the new American nation was founded on a foundation of a wide variety of attitudes and opinions and demonstrates that the view of the American Revolution held by most Americans is, in fact, a myth.

A very thorough, and insightful look at the American Revolution through the eyes of its lesser-known participants. Nash's book takes us from Creek Indian tribes in the south to debates over land grants in New Hampshire, covering riots against manorial landlords in New York, slave owners in South Carolina and usurious merchants in Massachusetts. He challenges the traditional notions of Stamp- and Tea-tax opposition led by Enlightenment thinkers in favor of a messier, bottom-up approach. A scholarly book that's still quite readable, my only quibble was with the organization - while basically chronological, there are thematic turns that make it more difficult to follow the basic narrative of the revolution that he's established. Otherwise, this is an excellent book.

Wow, this guy goes into amazing detail about the pulse of the nation as it's about to start a revolution. He does a great job of setting the tone and looking at the most unlikely characters. I'm sure Washington, Adams, and Jefferson will show up in here eventually, but for now its all about the people. Can't wait to see how it turns out. ;-P

So far so good. A series of short, juicy, biographical vignettes. Colorful, narrative stuff. Very informative about time and place.

interesting topic, interesting anecdotes, but it wasn't organized very well.

This book by Gary Nash wonderfully tells the story of the American Revolution. He doesn't tell it from the perspectives of elites like Washington or Jefferson, but from the perspectives of the everyday person (e.g. Poor whites, women, African Americans, and Natives) Nash shows that this revolution was fought from the bottom up, not the top down.

After reading this book, I believe that we need to teach our children about THIS revolution. The revolution OF the people.