In this stirring 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 ... more »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.Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war.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.The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time. David McCullough's vivid rendering of the Battle of Brooklyn and the daring American escape that followed is a part of the book few readers will ever forget.As the crucial weeks pass, defeat follows defeat, and in the long retreat across New Jersey, all hope seems gone, until Washington launches the "brilliant stroke" that will change history.The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.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.

The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members! Retail Price: ~~$65.00~~ Buy New (Hardcover): $37.60 (save 42%) or Become a PBS member and pay $33.70+1 PBS book credit (save 48%)
ISBN-13: 9781416542100 ISBN-10: 1416542108 Publication Date: 10/2/2007 Pages: 256 Rating: Currently 4.6/5 Stars. 4 4.6 stars, based on 4 ratings	Publisher: Simon & Schuster Book Type: Hardcover Members Wishing: 62 Reviews: Amazon \| Write a Review

Similar books to this author and title:

Digital Photography: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks)

Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin

Genres:

History >> Americas >> United States >> General
History >> Americas >> United States >> Revolution & Founding >> General

My Account
Post Books
Wish List
Bookshelf
Member Tools
Under the Hood
Newsletter Archive

Search for a Book
Browse My Favorite Genres
Advanced Book Search
Book Browser
Club Tag Cloud
NYT Best Sellers
Newbery Medal Winners
Pulitzer Prize Winners
Books Posted Today
Award Winning Books
Mobile / PDAs

Help Center
How to Swap Books
Ask the Librarian
Live Help
Browser Test
Feature List
Amazon Search

Community
Spread the Word
Widgets & APIs
Feeds RSS/XML
Box-O-Books
Discussion Forums
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Company
Press & Media
Pulse of PBS
Contact Us
Careers
Privacy & Security

Sister Sites
SwapaDVD.com
SwapaCD.com

Back to the Top ↑

Tell a friend about this book...

Search - 1776: The Illustrated Edition