Book Review: 1776

December 30, 2006 ·

I just finished reading the book “1776” by David McCullough. It was an excellent book.

As you may have guessed, the book is about the year 1776 which is when the Declaration of Independance was signed and when the American revolution started in full swing. Unexpectedly, this book focuses very little on the signing of the Declaration. If anything, it portrays it as a big boost to the American army to know for what they aim.

The book is written in the perfect way. Rather than just giving you the facts, the author presents the story of the Revolution as…well…a story. You feel as if you stand with the soldiers in awe of the majestic George Washington. Yet, you also feel the pain and fear that Washington feels. His incredible plan for the re-taking of Boston literally gave me chills for the whole time I read it.

I also appreciated the way the author portrayed the English and their King. They weren’t complete bumbling idiots as they are often portrayed. (Though, their feelings for the Americans and their “revolution” are accurately presented.)

I think that every American should read this book. It’s amazing that just 230 years later, we are very unfamiliar with all that happened.

Comments

3 Responses to “Book Review: 1776”

Donald Perreault on December 31st, 2006 8:27 am

I am a huge fan of David McCullough, having last night just finished Path Between The Seas. I was a little disappointed with 1776 because it just wasn’t detailed enough for my liking. However, McCullough is still one of my favorite authors. I think his best book was Mornings on Horseback. You would being doing yourself a great disservice if you didn’t read this book. Teddy Roosevelt was IMHO the most fascinating person to become President of the US.

Thanks for the great pictures and enjoyable blog.
Connor on January 8th, 2007 9:22 pm

This book has been sitting in my “to read” list for some time now. I’m working my way on getting to it. Glad to see you enjoyed it.

McCullough gave a great forum at BYU in September of ’05 titled “The Great Cause of America” – it’s definitely worth a listen.
RKM on February 1st, 2007 2:00 pm

I second Connor’s recommendation of David McCullough’s talk at BYU. I attended that one in person and it was really good.