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The shot heard 'round the world traveled at slightly less than the speed of sound, as the news of its firing took four days to travel from Lexington Green to New York, five days to Philadelphia, and more than five weeks to distant London. William H. Hallahan follows the news--and the reactions it provoked--in The Day the American Revolution Began.

Reminiscent of the best historical fiction, Hallahan's narrative examines the events leading up to the fateful day and profiles many players on both sides of the conflict. Some are little known, such as Mrs. Moulton, an elderly resident of Concord who insisted that Colonel Smith put out a fire his Redcoats had set; or Samuel Jarvis, who, with his wife and four children, was stripped naked, then tarred and feathered by a rebel mob because he was a Loyalist. Hallahan also treats us to behind-the-scenes glimpses of the more famous: John Hancock, having fled Lexington, sends back for a salmon he had inadvertently left behind ("Excitement always made him ravenous"); General Gage, looking across the masses of wounded men in his army camp at his American-born wife, suspects she was the spy who had revealed his military plans against Concord to the rebels.

Throughout the book, Hallahan remains remarkably balanced. The British were not all bullheaded tyrants (indeed, many were reluctant to go to war against their colonists), nor were the Americans all noble patriots. The excesses of Samuel Adams's mob--and his questionable political tactics--are discussed at length. Hallahan's extensive use of diaries, letters, broadsheets, and memoirs, as well as official accounts, lends his prose an immediacy lacking in many studies. Readers looking for an in-depth study of the battles of the American Revolution may be disappointed; only the actions at Lexington and Concord receive Hallahan's attention. But careful attention it is, and The Day the American Revolution Began is an engaging, entertaining, informative read. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Aiming to do more than just describe Paul Revere's famous ride and the "shot heard round the world," military historian Hallahan argues that the Battle of Lexington and Concord wasn't merely the mythic event that has become part of our American heritage; it was a politically important occurrence, a catalyst for radicalizing the colonies behind the emerging idea of national independence. Before the battle, he contends, most Americans were unhappy with British rule, but they shared little consensus about how to react. The shocking news of battle, however, emboldened radical elements in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Williamsburg, effectively undermining advocates of a negotiated political settlement with Britain. Although there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about Hallahan's treatment of the battle, of such well-known revolutionary personalities as Washington and Hamilton or of the early days of the revolution (Bernard Bailyn, Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris do a far better job in their classic works), he does remind us of the peculiar genius of Samuel Adams, whose behind-the-scenes tactical brilliance provoked from the British a response of unthinking rage. Depicting him as a visionary propagandist and the leading force behind Boston's urban guerrilla war against British forces, Hallahan shows how Adams incited the British by leading mob actions such as the Boston Tea Party and the rushing of Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson's Boston home. Indeed, as the ill-fated British Army marched toward Lexington and Concord, it was searching for the elusive Adams. Hallahan rescues the reality of events long buried beneath layers of myth and folklore. B&w photos. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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First Sentence:
On the morning of Tuesday, April 18, 1775, under bright skies and in cool spring temperatures, twenty British officers and ser all mounted, all under the command of the mercurial Major Edward Mitchell of the 5th Foot, rode out of the British army stables in Boston. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nonimportation agreement, damned rebels, post rider, express rider Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sam Adams, New York, General Gage, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Stamp Act, John Hancock, Colonel Smith, Patrick Henry, Second Continental Congress, Lord North, Paul Revere, New England, House of Burgesses, American Revolution, Lord Percy, Committee of Safety, George Washington,