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The American Revolution (Greenwood Guides to Historic Events 1500-1900)

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"The American Revolution"

Dr. Joseph C. Morton, Professor of History, Emeritus, at Northeastern Illinois University, has written a concise and thorough book entitled The American Revolution. This volume is one in a series of books in the "Greenwood Guides to Historic Events, 1500-1900" published by Greenwood Press.
Although this book is relatively small in volume at 218 pages, as opposed to texts such as The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff at 700 pages, its small statute will not deter the reader from delving into a meticulous and truthful account of events that ushered in an "age of democratic revolutions."1
Morton's book commences with a marvelously detailed historical narrative overview permitting the reader to comprehend the political upheaval and disparity that led to the colonies actions prior to the dramatic military events of the Revolutionary War that ultimately gave America freedom from its English motherland.
What the book lacks is the details of the battles and skirmishes of the war. However, this is not a negative assessment of the book. It is obvious that the intent of the author was not to construct an all-encompassing volume on military tactics and battle particulars on the Revolutionary War. Dr. Morton's focus was to create a "survey" volume on the subject, which he has accomplished successfully. If a reader is seeking a detailed version of a battle, volumes on the market such as Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill by Richard M. Ketchum or The World Turned Upside Down: George Washington and the Battle of Yorktown by Richard Ferrie should be their focus.
In many books on the American Revolution and its aftermath, each author presents accurate historical events in his or her own light. Dr. Morton bestows to the reader a detail of the Boston Massacre, "... the famous, but misnamed..."2 This volume is one in a few that depict the truth of the "massacre" accurately with a small number of fatalities. One only needs to look at the engraving by Paul Revere in 1770 entitled "The Bloody Massacre" to understand how the entire event was blown out of proportion. Even in the American Heritage History of the American Revolution the detail and reality of the "Massacre" is not depicted in its authenticity. It is acknowledged only as a brief mention that the event was locally isolated and "...might have been buried except for...Samuel Adams..."3
A unique feature to Morton's book is the inclusion of a biographies section offering to the reader "a snapshot biography" on some of the main individuals in the revolutionary period. The inclusion of these biographies encourages further reading and research into this pivotal period of American history.
At the end of the book, (which would be an appendix) is a section that includes copies of many of the significant documents from the revolutionary period, each containing a small introduction on the document and its significance in the rebellion. For example, the Proclamation of Rebellion of August 23, 1775 demonstrates the colonies loyalty to the British crown by closing the document "God save the King"4 even after the incidents at Lexington Concord and Breeds Hill.
Conclusion
There is really nothing to criticize in The American Revolution. It is, in nearly every respect, an outstanding work of history. It is comprehensive in its' scope; thorough in its approach, obviously well researched and imbued with careful, thoughtful, and incisive historical analysis as noted in Morton's concluding interpretive essay.
With a plethora of excellent books written on the Revolutionary period, as historians, each book produces the authors view and story telling technique in a unique and varied way. I feel the only way to experience history is to read, analyze each volume on its own merit, and determine authenticity and content to meet our needs.
The American Revolution is a book that will delight the "hobbyist historian," students of history, both in the undergraduate and graduate level, and professional historian alike.
I must say in closing that Professor Morton's volume on the "necessary war"5 is by far one of the best complete and concise volumes of the topic that I have read. He truly is an expert in his craft of allowing us to enter "his world" of colonial America in its struggle for independence without bias and superfluous information.
The retelling of history is the art of enlightening and engaging the reader with stories that continue past our lifetimes. As William H. Hallahan states, "History is written not by the historians but by the people who lived it."6