1776

Additional 1776 Information

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 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 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. But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost -- Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

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.

What Customers Say About 1776:

I knew the overall American Revolution story, but enjoyed reading about the battles and just how close we were to losing this war. David McCullough always does great research for his books and "1776" is no exception. The detail of the battles was very informative.

This book makes the reader want to find out more about each of the characters discussed. He is fair to all. The American Revolutionary period is my favorite historical period to read about and study. One point of history to mention is the fact that the author does not treat the Americans as the heroes and the British/Hessians as the bad guys. A great read, and one I would recommend to high school teachers to assign as summer work for honors or advanced placement students. 1776 by McCullouch does not necessarily break new ground, but he is such a master storyteller that this is a must read for all fans of history. His narrative style of combining great history with the backgrounds and actual words of the historical characters truly reads like a novel.

Amazing the sacrifices many people went through to give us our independance. Nice perspective of Washington and the trials he went through as a leader.

A must read for anyone who loves this wonderful country. Absolutely fabulous account of America's birthyear. David McCullough is masterful in captivating the reader with his uncommon research.

However, this book does a wonderful job of bringing us back to that point in history and telling that story. The author should be commended not only for an outstanding history of the first year of the Revolutionary War, but for having done so in a way that is concise (less than 400 pages) and easily readable. Highly recommended. This book is exciting, interesting, real, and will give you a much better appreciation for the sacrifices made during the American Revolution. Most people forget how improbable an American victory in the Revolutionary War was in the beginning. We also forget the early failures of George Washington and the difficult task he had taken on as commander of the Continental Army.