March Book Share — 1776

I love fiction.  Really.  I can appreciate a good story line, and if it’s written well, then I’m hooked!  But if I can read a captivating story that is also fully true, that is all the better!  

History is filled with fascinating true stories.  Sadly, a lot of people spend their school years learning history in the most boring ways humanly possible — via dry textbooks, busywork worksheets, and meaningless lists of names, dates, and places.  It’s hard to overcome that to ever view a history book as a thrilling collection of stories.

But the right author can bring history to life and make those dull old tales the captivating adventure stories they really are!  David McCullough is the kind who can do exactly that.   

Last month I told you of a great book about the American Revolution for kids.  Now I want to share my favorite Revolution book for adults.

1776 by David McCullough

 

Yes, I am a bit of an American Revolution fanatic, but even I wasn’t so sure I would read 1776 all the way through.  Once I started, however, it was impossible to stop!  McCullough has a way of presenting facts, (and lots of them… his source notes are extensive, which I appreciate,) in a very rich and engaging way.  In addition to learning more about George Washington, who is doubtless one of my favorite characters of history, I also became better acquainted with many of the lesser known players in the Independence story, like Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, and Alexander Hamilton.  Some of their accomplishments, their character, and their undying loyalty to the fight for independence in general, and to George Washington in particular, were fascinating to me.  I knew how this story ends, (I live in the United States of America, after all,) and yet I was riveted by the accounts I read and could hardly wait to find out what would happen next.

McCullough unquestionably paints Washington as a hero and a man of impeccable character and integrity.  There’s little evidence of anything to the contrary, though there is no question the general made several blunders early on that very nearly cost him the war.  Fortunately he was a man humble enough to admit to his mistakes and change course, which is likely much of the reason he kept the respect and loyalty of his inner circle throughout the war and for years afterward.  The many accounts of his words and actions, along with scores of quotes from personal letters, helped me come to better know and understand a man I have admired since childhood.

Now be warned: 1776 is not exactly light reading!  It’s nearly 300 pages of thoroughly researched, heavily footnoted facts.  But these facts read so smoothly and engagingly that I forgot sometimes I was reading a history book, and I loved learning about so many aspects of the story I was never taught in school.  The story of America’s War for Independence is a gripping one, filled with fascinating figures, amazing stories of heroism, and almost miraculous circumstances.  The subject makes for some thrilling reading material, and McCullough has the ability to weave the stories in such an interesting way while never sacrificing a commitment to the facts of what truly happened and how.  

If you are a history nerd like I am, you need to read 1776.  If history is not usually your first choice, I still recommend it.  

You never know — 1776 might be just the book to make you fall in love with American history!

 

 

 

 

 

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