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1776

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David McCullough is known as a sterling storyteller of American history with two Pulitizer Prizes for Biography ("John Adams" 2001 and "Truman" 1992) and a National Book Award ("Mornings on Horseback" 1981). What many readers may not realize is that he is a researcher par excellence as evidence by the ten years he spent reading original documents, interviewing and travelling to relevant sites for "Truman." Now he utilizes some of his previous background research for "John Adams" to tell the tale of the crucial year of the American Revolution. "1776."

Most Americans are familiar with the Christmas Eve crossing of the Delaware River to win the Battle of Trenton and to close out 1776. Mr. McCullough describes the more unfamiliar stories of the American siege of Boston in driving out the British army and the British victory in driving the Revoluntionary army from New York City.

His real strength is as an editor, in choosing which historical stories to include and to exclude, for his 284 page narrative (with 100 additional pages of supporting documentation) could easily have been thrice its current length. In fact, David Hackett Fischer's "Washington Crossing" (2004) and William Dwyer's "The Day Is Ours" (1983) are both over 400+ pages in reciting only the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. The reader should be aware that "1776" is merely an introduction to that year, for the actions of the other Founding Fathers (and Mothers) are barely mentioned.

"1776" is fun to read as the 229th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches. Mr. McCullough makes clear how close the American Revolution came to failing that year. British overconfidence and Washington's determination (for his battlefield experince as a military commander was nil) were the difference. The reader is directed to "Patriots" (1988) by A.J. Langguth for the best overall view of the American Revolution (1761-1783).

There are certain periods of history that never seem to become tired or dull regardless of how often they are written about. It seems that each new investigator finds some thing new to write about. The American Revolution is a case in point. A quick check of books in print will convince you.

David McCullough's 1776 is a terrific investigation into the beginning of the American Revolution. Is it perfect? NO. It does have some missing pieces. But these minor defects are just that...minor. If you look at the complete work, I think you'll find that what 1776 lacks is made up for by McCulloughs ability to deliver the main facts on time and in a way the reader can grasp.

As in John Adams, McCullough again finds the ability to make the main characters jump off the page. Washington, a figure that history has rightfully made larger than life is once again a human man, tortured with doubts and always mindful that disaster is just around the corner. I especially like the treatment that McCullough give King George III.

As a reader, I always like reading a book that moves along. McCullough's narrative does that quite well. In fact, some of the flaws that other reviewers have rightfully pointed out seem to spring from this style of writing.

Well researched and paced for the non-historian, 1776 is a winner. When all is said and done, you'll find that 1776 is worth the time you'll spend reading it.

At the crest of a hill on 150th Street, in Jamaica, Queens, a simple unobtrusive boulder with a bronze inscription announces that it was at that spot the Battle of Long Island was fought in 1776. The British had travelled throughout the night probably along what is now Hillside Avenue to take the American rear by surprise at dawn. The fact that the plaque sits on someone's front lawn, and is a brief ten-minute walk from my apartment is a reminder that before the asphalt and brick that predominate the landscape, our nation was taking its first, precarious steps toward nationhood.

David McCullogh's book, 1776 stirred my imagination about the tribulations of George Washington at the onset of the American Revolution that began in Boston, spread to New York City, and finally, Trenton. Beset by disloyalty, intrigues, and creating an army from scratch, the author makes you feel the weight of responsibility that was placed on Washington's shoulders. He was a man who had to assuage congress, keep his officers working together in spite of backstabbing, and fight the British.

McCullough provides trivial but interesting information that makes one whistle, "So that's how...." Murray Hill, a telephone exchange and landscape in Manhattan got its name from Mrs. Murray who served Washington and his officers tea as they were being kicked around Manhattan by the Brits. Washington was nearly shot from his horse near what is now 3rd Avenue and 34th Street. Although the bullets missed, today he would have most assuredly been run over by a number of vehicles that wouldn't have.

He describes how Providence saved Washington at Brooklyn Heights when a fog rolled over the East River as the Americans were fleeing to Manhattan. That and the procrastination of General Howe prevented their slaughter by Hessian bayonet the following morning. It's hard to imagine that Hessians were encamped in the same neighborhood as the house where "Moonstruck" the movie, was filmed.

Washington's other monumental task was shaping an army where conscripts never before in their lives had been told by anyone what to do. Many simply returned to their homes after a battle or at night. In a time when armies died more from disease caused by poor sanitation than battle, Washington had to teach them to stand and fight, and relieve themselves in only one place, and not do all three at the same time against a formidable enemy. The US Army was in its infancy, and it was fighting the sun-won't-dare-set-on-it-if-it-knows-what's-good-for-it British empire.

The book takes us to the Battle of Trenton where Washington pulled off another miracle and did the unheard of, attack during winter. He destroyed the Hessian garrison at Trenton without the loss of a single soldier. This was particulary sweet for Washington whose troops were bayonetted unmercifully by the same contingent, earlier in the year at Harlem Heights.

For the history buff who wonders what was it like back then, David McCullough will provide the vision. All you have to do is provide the imagination.

What topic could be more current than independence or the passionate desire that all men have for freedom? David McCullough brings his considerable literary talent to the fore in describing the fascinatingly pivotal year of 1776. Just one year in an eight year long armed conflict with Great Britain, but a year packed with precedent and momentous events that united the thirteen disparate colonies in a common cause.

This book focuses almost entirely on the actual armed struggle rather than the politics of that struggle. Very little is mentioned about the Continental Congress or any of the debates that took place there. All those men and their giant personalities remain on the periphery and instead we learn a great deal more about General George Washington, General Nathanael Green, Colonel Henry Knox, and to a lesser extent the commander of British forces, General William Howe. McCullough's narrative shows us--time and time again--the very human qualities and frailties possessed by these men. In the best of circumstance, war is basically a sustained period of unspeakable suffering, but for these patriots it was a time exacerbated by extreme inexperience, unseasonably harsh weather, shortages of food, muskets, gunpowder, clothing, shoes, and even pay. Poor knowledge of proper field sanitation and personal hygiene created perfect conditions for the growth and spread of deadly diseases. Smallpox flourished and actually plagued Washington's army without ceasing. Fully aware of these handicaps, Washington and his men were tasked to defeat a professional military force that bettered them in ever respect. The British land and sea forces were in fact the most powerful and successful military in the world at that time.

In spite of these overwhelming adversities, the men in this ragtag army gave all that they had for the cause of liberty and in the process these soldiers went from ordinary to extraordinary. This is a uniquely informative and compelling novel from one of America's premier historians. It is in fact a timeless story that deserves constant retelling and David McCullough has done wonderfully with this rendition.

Having first read David Hackett Fischer's 'Washington's Crossing', I felt like I was reading a Cliff Notes version of that book when reading 1776. Clearly Fischer's book is the superior product. First, it contains many more maps and better detail of troop movements and significantly more detail of the battles themselves and critical decisions that were made. Second, it contains more interesting detail on Washington's life before assuming command and more detail about his critical decisions. Frankly there was little new in 1776 and much missing compared to 'Washington's Crossing'. I was so struck by the contrast that I couldn't help wonder if McCullough was essentially 'coasting' when he wrote this short book.

McCullough's book is worth reading, but if you are going to choose to read one book on this time period, Fischer's book is clearly the better choice.

David McCullough is my favorite historian. His telling of history brings the people and times to life for the reader, usually bringing in the politics and science of the time to give even more perspective. As such, I was thoroughly excited for this book. Unfortunately it isn't as good as most of McCullough's work.

1776 is still a very readable account of the year of our country's Declaration of Independence with some well-researched history, but it doesn't have the engaging style and pacing for which McCullough is so well known.

If you want a book that covers essentially the same events and time period, I'd recommend another recent book, "Washington's Crossing," by David Hackett Fischer first. (The two are very good read back-to-back for compare and contrast purposes) If you are curious about McCullough, start with "The Great Bridge" about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge or "John Adams."

This is by no means a bad book, but there are better books by this author on different topics, and better books on this topic by other authors. Recommended for history fans who want to cover all their bases.

David McCullough's already stellar reputation as an erudite but highly readable historian will be further burnished by his latest offering. 1776 is the story of the year every American knows, but doesn't really understand. While we all know the significance of July 4, 1776, few recognize that the act of declaring independence was only part of a larger story of struggle, defeat, and near catastrophe during that turning point year. McCullough provides fascinating descriptions of battle after battle lost, of scruffy Americans withering under fire from the most efficient and best trained army in the world, and of despair turning to elation as the Americans turned on and crushed their foes at Trenton and Princeton.

One of the many fine features of McCullough's work is his ability to draw portraits of men we revere as almost god-like (like Washington) that help us see them as actual humans, flawed but nevertheless exceptional. Another fine trait is McCullough's even handedness. One of the best sections of the book comes at the beginning with a description of King George III's declaring the colonists to be rebels. McCullough shows us the King and his ministers not as the bumbling fools of legend but as the honorable, patriotic, leaders they were, blinded by their inability to understand the colonial point of view and certain that they were upholding the rights of free Britons by putting down the American rebels.

1776 also pleases by liberally quoting from the letters and diaries of numerous American soldiers, so that the reader gets a sense of what life was like for the "grunts" as well as the leadership. That aspect is what I will remember longest about 1776, the story of those grimy farmers and small businessmen who weren't really sure they wanted to be there, and who didn't really trust or like their fellow soldiers from other colonies, but who put up with the dirt and the starvation and the danger because they trusted General Washington and were willing to fight for a vision they didn't fully understand but nevertheless valued. A great book to read on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July or any day when you want to remember the past and be proud.

I am beginning to wonder how David McCullough can continue to produce such important, informative and sheer entertaining works. This does not approach the magnificent JOHN ADAMS but it does shed light on a subject on which the American populace is woefully ignorant: The American Revolution.

More particularly it is the story of one year of that long war, the most important and most tenuous of the entire campaign. One is simply astounded at the feats of the revolutionaries - fighting without shoes, clothes, pay or guns, taking on the most powerful force on the planet, sticking to their principles in spite of a cascade of setbacks. The story is, of course, about individuals since in the end, it is the action of the few that determine the outcome of history. One notes the youth of the colonists, their fervor and beliefs in a country not yet in existence.

McCullough goes out of his way to be not only fair but also just. His biography of King George is notable for its historical accuracy and its reliance on facts and not legend. The lives of the major characters - British and the American - are detailed. This is also a book about leadership and in particular that of George Washington, the linchpin of the Revolution. It is fair to say that it would have been a lost cause without him at the helm. It was certainly not his strategic skill that shone - his mistakes, errors and misjudgements are legend.

Three qualities stand above all others when one reads about the exploits of the Father of the Nation. The first is his courage and steadfastness in the face of overwhelming odds. The second is his ability to recognize and rely on superb aides. The third is his willingness to dare, to cross the river in the middle of the night, to attack on Christmas Day, to know when to run and when to fight. Reduced to a rag-tag army of 3,000, he led the rebels to major victories over the Hessians and over the British at Trenton. These two events rekindled the fire of hope in the colonists and enabled them to endure year after year of almost unbelievable hardship.

McCullough presents his characters as they were and yet it seems they are larger than life: Adams crossing the Pyrrenes as an old man, Franklin negotiating and always trying to promote "his fair land", Hale giving his life, Washington leading the troops and Jefferson and the others knowingly risking their lives by signing the Declaration of Independence. A magisterial story by an author at the apex of his powers.

I have no doubt that David McCullough's stirring new narrative, 1776, will be a bestseller. McCullough is a brand name and media outlets will love to have him appear. And 1776 is a particularly compelling read when you can hear Pulitzer Prize winning McCullough's deep, PBS voice. After the phenomenal sales on JOHN ADAMS, booksellers will be delighted to display copies of this well written, but flawed, book.

1776 (the book) opens in 1775 with `the other' George, in London. The king and his government had had enough of the traitorous instigators who had turned into more than just provincial rabble rousers. Blood had been spilled at Lexington and Concord and the unacceptable losses of his troops at the battles for Breed's and Bunker Hills had convinced King George III it was time to reel in these ungrateful and misguided subjects. McCullough's early chapters are entertaining and enlightening as we learn the political maneuvering in the halls of Parliament and the court. As 1775 moves through the New England fall months, we are introduced to some of the principles that will carry through the title's main events. As a literate nation from the start, we are blessed with a good deal of historical writing about all our wars. Our better historians are the most skilled in deciphering the morass of material and presenting a digestible story. Deftly tapping the letters, memoirs, colonial gazettes and other source materials, McCullough proves, once again, that his is one of our better historians. We can almost hear the voices of the patriots, the provincials, the Tories and their proud British soldiers.

The problems with 1776 (the book) begin when the problems began for the Continentals in 1776 (the year). While McCullough's cadence and narrative style are maintained throughout 1776 (the book), there are important issues that are completely ignored in 1776 (the year). The second half of this $32.00, 290 page (of text) book seems rushed. While we do hear, on a number of occasions, General William Howe's proclivities toward his married mistress, there is no mention of Gen. Howe and his Brother Lord Admiral Richard Howe's disagreements toward London's hawkish policies against the colonies and how this may have affected their actions. We learn of how the British radical, Thomas Paine was a `bestselling' pamphleteer with publication of his "Common Sense". We learn not of what effect the publication of his "American Crisis" (Certainly one of most important calls to patriotism in American history and a compelling reason why Congress relinquished control of the army to Washington). We read of how the dreaded Hessians were merciless in their treatment of prisoners, but we do not learn of why they were with the British in the first place. After all, it was the Hessians that lost the battle of Trenton. Who were these boys? We hear of how the British `ravaged' the New Jersey women and its countryside, but we get no sense or mention of the tremendous impact of the raiding Hunterdon County militia had on the British's New Jersey outposts and it's effects on the future battle at Trenton.

Even more disturbing in what has so much promise to bring such and important topic to light for, I am sure, hundreds of thousands of readers, is that there are some facts that are simply left out or even wrong. On page 178, William Alexander Lord Sterling is captured after a gallant stand in Brooklyn. On page 254, he reappears back in action, with the Continental Army, at New Brunswick, with no explanation of why he is no longer a guest of his British captors. (He had been exchanged, by Gen. Howe, 7 Oct 1775 for Governor Mountford Brown of Florida and the Bahamas). On page 189, (Gen.) "Mifflin then ordered General Edward Hand to form up the regiment...". Colonel Edward Hand of the Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment was not promoted to the rank of Brigadier General until 1 April 1777. On page 253, McCullough writes that British General Cornwallis pursues the Continentals from Newark to (New) Brunswick, a distance of "fifty" miles. Hey, in New Jersey, we know our turnpike exits and the colonial village of New Ark to colonial (New) Brunswick is thirty two miles. Not a big deal, but such a simple fact to be inaccurate.

Finally, on page 272 (don't worry, I won't spoil the ending) McCullough writes of Washington in his Buckingham (PA) headquarters reviewing the plan of attack on Trenton that, by even British accounts, saved the cause for liberty, avoided the destruction of the beaten and ragtag Continental army; "With Greene and a few others...." On the eve of this most critical battle and we don't get to know who's in the room talking about the plans for engagement?

I don't fault McCullough for these shortcuts. Along with JOHN ADAMS, McCullough has written a string of fine histories on the Jonestown Flood, the Panama Canal, and the Brooklyn Bridge, to name a few. But he has never written a military history that will be read by so many. In 1776, he has written a fine book, with a few small errors. My recommendation is to listen to the audio of David McCullough's 1776. Then read David Hackett Fischer's WASHINGTON'S CROSSING, winner of last year's Pulitzer Prize now out in paperback. I would also recommend WINTER SOLDIERS by Richard Ketchum and THIS DAY IS OURS! by Bill Dwyer (this book is out of print). All three of these books cover the same subject. They have more detail and are also well written.

PS. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former employee of the publisher of 1776. The last thing I would want to do is to harm the business fortunes of my many friends who still work there. But I am first a reader, first a book buyer, and first respect the minds and wallets of my countrymen.

For McCullough standards this is a surprisingly short book but nonetheless an important one and very inspiring. Rather than it focusing on battles it exposes us to some of the cross currents of the day and the true heroes of the American Revolution: the common citizen.
This book does include some actual armed combat but its main focus is in no way the battles of the war. It does some give insight on the politics of the day. As American and British diplomats tried to reach a compromise, things in the Americas continued to decline until war was practically unavoidable. King George is shown in a less harsh light than how he is usually portrayed in modern times and McCullough brings up such neglected facts as that a third of the members of the British Parliament were against the war.
Spotlighted are Green, Knox, and of course George Washington, as well as the British commander, General William Howe.
Washington here makes for an interesting study. Washington himself is shown as courageous, a true leader, initially an inept tactician and very much of an aristocrat. The New England Yankees the Virginian Washington comes to commmand are portrayed as a group of undisciplined rabble and Washington is found having to deal with a clash of cultures. However if initially a failure at strategy and tactics Washington is shown as a quick learner and made use of such techniques as night time assaults. However the main focus of this book is the American infantry man. The Americans were plagued by poor sanitation Small Pox and various other miseries and depravations.
Countering this though is the tenaciousness of the citizen solider and the inventiveness of the average American.
Quite revealing and a testament to the American character.
Highly recommended.