112 of 113 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An improvement on an already good book., October 13, 2007
This review is from: 1776: The Illustrated Edition (Hardcover)
Originally published in 2005, 1776 by David McCullough was an enjoyable read. This new illustrated version is sure to add new life to an already successful book. Since there are two issues here, the original text and then the illustrated revision, I'm going to review the two issues separately.
Let me begin by saying, quite simply, I enjoyed the book. This book serves as somewhat of an overview of what is perhaps the most critical year of the last millenium. Some may dissagree with that and may make legitimate cases for other years of historical significance, but that is for another discussion.
McCullough recounts the major events of the year and gives good narrative of each event. However, just as the Revolutionary War was somewhat slow to get starting, so too is this book. The accounts are all meticulously accurate in the historical sense and McCullough has certainly succeeded in amassing the information critical to a basic knowledge of what events transpired in bringing forth American independence.
The deeper the reader gets into the book, as with the war itself, the more complex it becomes and I found myself soon rivited to every detail and this one becomes, what many might refer to as a real "page turner". By the time the reader reaches the final pages, the year 1776 is drawing to a close, and sadly, so does the book. Perhaps in this way, McCullough has served to stimulate the interest of readers first learning of the events and will cause them to take their research of America's founding to the next level.
I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to say in reviewing a book, but this one has left me a bit perplexed. It is a good book, which I did enjoy reading, but perhaps it is due to what I have read of McCullough's work before that left me somewhat dissappointed. I expected more from this book, but I suppose asking a two time Pulitzer winner to replicate prior efforts may be asking too much.
Now, for the illustrated portion of 1776. I first discovered this extraordinary new concept in a book I found for my grandkids called Piratology, where the book contained insert pages with folders which contained maps and other pirate related treasures. The book was a huge hit with the pirate infatuated boys. Here, the folders contain a variety of facsimiles such as documents, letters, maps, etc. This version also contains some beautiful photographs and is a gorgeous binding that looks extraordinary on the book shelf.
I only gave McCullough's original 1776 four stars, but this illustrated version is a definite upgrade and pushes this volume to top honors.
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66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Actually Better Than 1776 Was, October 3, 2007
This review is from: 1776: The Illustrated Edition (Hardcover)
At first I thought it was a gimmicky idea (a gimmicky idea that worked easily enough on little ol' me) to release something like this, but the plain fact is this is an interesting book that makes me feel like I used to as a kid when I'd read those neat pop-up books that were filled with compartments and extras to be found, taken out and read. This is both an augmentation of the author's bestseller 1776 (which I wasn't overly impressed with, truth be told) and an excellent, even superior, stand alone work. I loved reading through the facsimiles of letters, seeing the maps, sketches, houses, portraits and scenes of places significant to the tale of the great year of our country's true start. I enjoyed this book a lot and think it was a novel idea that worked well. It's fun to get through, fact-filled, and rewardingly educational. What a neat idea!
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66 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far from "biased" or "defective", October 8, 2007
This review is from: 1776: The Illustrated Edition (Hardcover)
It's wildly off the mark to call this book "defective," or David McCullough a "biased historian." The focus here is just far more on the military aspects of The Revolutionary War. This focus lent itself to far more coverage of Washington than Jefferson or Franklin. Other books have covered the political climate and events of that time in spades.
Seeing as "1776: The Illustrated Edition" is not about the political side of America's founding, it seems reasonable (and, I thought, beneficial to the book) to keep the focus narrower, and the depth greater. David McCullough's account of 1776 is no more biased than the writer of a Civil War book who chose to focus on the South, and thus did not give in-depth insights into the role of Ulysses S. Grant in the war.
I would imagine the fact that the previous reviewer has written a book on Benjamin Franklin might be a reason for the preference on seeing Franklin covered in all books about the war. It might also point to the reason for such undue scorn directed at the gorgeous illustrated version of an insightful, enjoyable (and successful) book like "1776."
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