Cover via Open Library
Matt's pick · not sponsored
1776
- American Revolution
- George Washington
- founding fathers
- Continental Army
- US history
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Why I'd hand it to you
McCullough picks one year, 1776, and shows how close the American cause came to falling apart. Washington wins at Boston, then loses badly in New York and spends months retreating before the surprise at Trenton. He gives the British side a fair hearing too, which makes the story feel less like a pageant and more like real people making real mistakes. It is short for a McCullough book and easy to follow. Keep in mind it is mostly a military story, and it ends early in the war, so you won't get the Declaration debates or Yorktown here. As a first book on the Revolution, it is hard to beat.
— Matt Jordan
Quick summary
- Book
- 1776 by David McCullough
- Who it's for
- Readers new to the American Revolution who want one compact, readable year of it, told mostly through the fighting. If you want the Declaration debates or the end of the war, you will need a second book.
- Key topics
- George Washington and the Continental Army
- The 1776 campaigns from Boston to New York to Trenton
- The British side of the war
- US history
- Shelves
- History, Biography
