The American Revolution (American Century) [Paperback]

Edward Countryman (Author), Eric Foner (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0809001624 | ISBN-13: 978-0809001620 | Publication Date: July 1985

Written by the distinguished scholar and author of Americans, this pathbreaking study describes the process by which American society was changed in the tumultuous years between 1760 and 1790, and how the Revolution set the United States on the path toward its dynamic development in the nineteenth century. Bibliography, index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A balanced view of how the Revolution was made by a variety of social groups-ordinary farmers and artisans as well as merchants and lawyers, women as well as men, blacks as well as whites-and how, in turn, these groups were transformed by the Revolutionary experience." -- Gary B. Nash, University of California at Los Angeles

About the Author

Edward Countryman, professor of history at Southern Methodist University, is the author of Americans (Hill and Wang, 1996) and A People in Revolution: Political Society in New York, 1760-1790, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize in 1982. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Hill & Wang (July 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809001624
• ISBN-13: 978-0809001620
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous summation of the Revolution, October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Revolution (American Century) (Paperback)

Countryman's central thesis in this book is that there was no one universal aspect about the people, the politics, or the process of the American Revolution. Whereas earlier historians had tried to reduce the Revolution to, variously, its leaders, its framers, its people, its rich, or its poor using universal sentiments or examples to define all, Countryman sets out by embracing the diversity and difference of motives and experiences during the Revolution. Whereas previous historians had single issues in mind when writing their books, Countryman encompasses the entire "grand transformation" without slighting, or skipping the interests of a particular group of people. He can do this because he does not attempt to speak for any one group, or define the entire set of changes from the point of view of one group. His simplicity and brevity make his eloquence and it is this beauty which embraces the past of many different groups while acknowledging the inadequacy-in human terms-of its reach. His attitude towards the past is one we should have towards our present and our future as Americans: an attitude of acceptance of the diversity around us and recognition of our inability to embrace it all.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad actually, February 9, 2003

By 

Yang Shao-yun - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Revolution: Revised Edition (Paperback)

Contrary to Mr Randolph's and Marina's opinions, I found this book to be well-written and very readable - and I'm in fact reading it for my first course in the history of the Revolution, although it wasn't recommended by the lecturer!

Certainly the book doesn't contain as much new research as some scholars would expect, and is instead a synthesis of previous work on different aspects of the period (as Countryman's Acknowledgements and Bibliographical Essay suggest). That includes his own research on New York that won the Bancroft Prize in 1982.

If you're uncomfortable with the lack of footnotes, Countryman isn't the only one to do this. John Fairbank did the same with some of his books on China (but of course you'll reply that Fairbank was a giant in his field). In any case, most of Countryman's facts can be verified by referring to earlier works in this field. His assertion about pre-marital pregnancies was borrowed from Robert Gross' "The Minutemen and their world", where the proper statistics are included in detail.

If you find jumps in chronology and unconventional details distracting, that would rule out much of the fine historical writing of the last 40 years, wouldn't it? Countryman was aiming for a thematic, rather than purely narrative, history of the Revolution, and military history was secondary to his argument - hence the sparse attention paid to it. Personally, I'm glad I got this book as it's a lively and stimulating read for anyone new to the subject - unless you love reading footnotes, that is.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting abstract on the American Revolution, July 21, 2006

By 

Daniel Calandro (Fairfield, New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The American Revolution: Revised Edition (Paperback)

The American Revolution as a large mob. I've never thought of it that way before. Though, as Countryman argues, very convincingly, that mob was highly organized and had the cause and will to fight their British cousins. Countryman provides a very good argument that the founding fathers were simply using the mobs of urban and rural areas to create a new nation. Now while this is not his entire thesis it proves to be interesting.

The author also makes sure to point out the current political, economic and social climate during the period after the French and Indian/Seven Years' War. I found the social elements to be the most intriguing as Countryman tells the story Americans came to despise any form of British culture or entertainment, especially the theater. Which makes a great deal of sense since the greatest playwright of all time was English.

In general, Countryman provides a great overview as to the causes, military campaigns and aftermath of the American Revolution. There are indeed no footnotes; however this should not trouble the reader as this is a short abstract overview of the entire American Revolution. If one is looking for footnotes and citations be prepared to tackle the much larger work (I recommend Middlekauff's excellent "The Glorious Cause").

Ultimately, the American Revolution is nicely summed up by John Adams when he stated that: One-third was for it, one-third was against and one-third didn't care either way.