1776: America and Britain at War

The American rebels' victory over Britain seems so inevitable now, 200+ years in the future and after years of mildly patriotic schooling. This book makes it brutally clear that not only was the American victory NOT inevitable, it in fact was a goddamn miracle that the cause lasted beyond the first year.

Incredible the amount of detail author David McCullough is able to muster to flesh out this very compelling story of the struggle of 1776. I learned a lot, and developed a much deeper appreciation for some of the key battles and skirmishes of the American Revolution. From a literary perspective, the story wanes between pages of slightly too much detail to moments of sheer tension and enlightenment. McCullough tells a very human story, focusing on the known facts surrounding key characters, like Nathanael Greene, Charles Lee, Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis, William Howe, and George Washington. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in the period.

The information contained in this book interesting though only a snapshot of what I was thinking might come from it. About halfway through I realized this was just going to cover 1776 (with a brief play of some events of 1775 in the beginning). The last pages race through some key events and spoilers leading up to the British surrender, which leaves me with a feeling that the book had reached its intended word count and then the author tried to finish it quickly.

That said, it's obvious that the presented material had extensive research. There are many quoted letters to present opinions in (mostly) the words of first account witnesses. The author does take some liberties to add or comment on words or phrases, though it is in an aide to the modern reader unfamiliar with phrases or abbreviations of the time.

On the whole, it's a good book. But I do not think this is a great book.