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1776 (Paperback)
by David McCullough
| Category:
Fiction, American history |
| Market price: ¥ 208.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Another product of David McCullough's genius in making history come to life, this landmark book in the literature of American history is history in fiction form. |
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Author: David McCullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition
Pub. in: June, 2006
ISBN: 0743226720
Pages: 400
Measurements: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00226
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0743226721
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- Awards & Credential -
The #1 National Bestseller in North America and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. The author has received twice Pulitzer Prize (for Truman and 1776) and is the twice winner of the National Book Award. |
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- MSL Picks -
In 1776 David McCullough chooses an interesting scope for his book - he limits it to the events of just one year of the Revolutionary War. At first glance this may give the impression that the book would leave something to be desired in terms of completeness, but this is hardly the case. In fact McCullough's account of the battles of Trenton and Princeton provide the perfect finale to a very tumultous year.
The year that began with difficulties in Boston, progressed through troubles in New York, and ultimately ended with triumph in New Jersey is related with McCullough's customary master storytelling ability. One of the reasons this book is so compelling, one of the things that makes it so worthwhile, is the fact that 1776 was such a crucial year in American History coupled with the wide range of fortune in the Continental Army. In just 12 short months the army experiences, at various times, hope, despondency and near hopelessness, and exhiliration in the face of victory.
Washington, of course, plays the most prominent role in the book. Somehow McCullough accomplishes what few can - he manages to portray Washington as the great man he was without deifying him. Washington's genius is readily apparent, but so are his faults - the same man who takes the heights at Boston without a fight also makes very poor decisions at Brooklyn. McCullough's Washington is a man but also more than a man.
That is not to say that other important Revolutionary War figures are ignored. The greatness of such men as Knox, Greene, and Lord Stirling is also well documented, along with the respective weaknesses of each man. Greene, in particular, is shown as a great general who makes an awful decision. Throughout it all McCullough paints the picture of a struggling army that only survived by some miracle (or a series of them) and barely made it into 1777. By limiting himself to one year he is not burdened with narrating the entire war, and thus is able to provide great detail and more insight into the year 1776 than is typically found.
Despite it's narrow scope, this book is an absolutely essential reading to anyone wanting to get a better feel for the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the United States.
(From quoting an American reviewer)
Target readers:
All American history readers, fictional history fans, English majors, and advanced English learners.
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- Better with -
Better with
John Adams
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David McCullough was born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and educated there and at Yale. Author of Truman, Brave Companions, Mornings on Horseback, The Path Between the Seas, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood, he has received two Pulitzer Prize (for Truman and 1776), the Francis Parkman Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and is twice winner of the National Book Award.
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From Publisher
In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.
Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King's men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.
At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books - Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of winter.
But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost - Washington, who had never before led an army in battle. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough's 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.
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| View all 15 comments |
Newsweek (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Brilliant... powerful... 1776 is vintage McCullough: colorful, eloquent and illuminating. |
Dorman T. Shindler (The Denver Post) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Should be required reading in living rooms from coast to coast. |
Publishers Weekly (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
In the Pulitzer Prize-winning John Adams, McCullough provided an in-depth look at the life of America's second president; here, the author shifts his focus to the other major players of the American Revolution, providing a detailed account of the life and times of the generals and soldiers who fought for and won America's independence. In this top-notch audio production, McCullough proves that he is as equally adept at reading prose as he is at writing it. At no time does it feel like listening to a lecturing professor; instead, McCullough narrates in a sonorous, grandfatherly voice, keeping his speech vibrant and engaging, as if he were simply telling a story. Unabridged sections of prose are read by the author, while portions of the book not fully explored in this abridgment are summarized by auxiliary narrator Twomey, whose performance is serviceable and pleasant. Though the abridgement is effective, the subject matter will leave discerning listeners hungry for more. While casual fans will be satisfied, serious history aficionados will want to listen to McCullough's unabridged recording (12 hours, 10 CDs). |
Steven Peterson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
By now, many readers are familiar with David McCullough's 1776. This book takes a detailed look at once critical year in the Revolutionary War - a year that started off well - with victory in Boston, a year that bottomed out with disaster after disaster in New York, and a year that ended with triumph in Trenton under the worst possible circumstances.
The book starts with the siege of Boston, with George Washington assuming control of the rabble of militia surrounding the British forces. Washington had ideas as to how to defeat the British forces, but wanted the means. However, Henry Knox proposed the visionary prospect of bringing cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, recently captured from the British, to overlook Boston from the heights and, consequently, to drive the British forces from Boston. After desperate hardships, Knox' cannon arrived. And, indeed, the British forces were compelled to vacate Boston in a triumph for the colonial forces.
The drama then shifts to the New York City area. Washington fortified as best he could. When the mighty British Armada arrived, however, they found a weakness in Washington's lines in Long Island and threw the Continental Army into disarray. The Marblehead troops in the colonial army were able to find boats and transport the army across the East River to Manhattan, preventing a possible disaster at the hands of the British army.
Again, on Manhattan, the British forces won out, through their sheer numbers and the professionalism of some of their key officers. Fort Washington was lost with many colonial troops captured, with Nathanael Greene convincing Washington, wrongly as it turns out, to defend the fortification. Thereafter, Fort Lee was lost and a ragtag retreat toward the Delaware River ensued.
With unmitigated disaster looming, George Washington, as we all know, took a desperate gamble to defeat the Hessian troops in Trenton. Again, readers know of the outcome of that long odds battle.
This, in the end, 1776 was a year that lurched from triumph to disaster to triumph again. And with that final triumph, there was hope for the future of the revolution.
Those familiar with McCullough's other works realize his skills as a writer and his sensitivity to historical events. This is a book well worth reading... And it reminds us that George Washington well earned the respect that his country accorded him.
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