Title: 1776

Author: David McCullough

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2006

Genre: Nonfiction - U.S. History

Pages: 386

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

America’s beloved and distinguished historian presents, in a book of breathtaking excitement, drama, and narrative force, the stirring story of the year of our nation’s birth, 1776, interweaving, on both sides of the Atlantic, the actions and decisions that led Great Britain to undertake a war against her rebellious colonial subjects and that placed America’s survival in the hands of George Washington.

In this masterful 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 amounted to little more than words on paper.

I have a pretty firm grasp on U.S. History seeing as I was a HS Social Studies teacher with an emphasis in U.S. History. As such, I am always a bit hesitant to dive into U.S. History books. I don’t want to spend 300 pages just reviewing everything I already know. Thankfully McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning book gave me so much new information that I enjoyed every page. The book follows General Washington and a whole host of characters as they move through 1776 and the colonies. McCullough gives the basics but adds much more with excerpts from primary sources (letters and diaries) and details about many of the players. I especially loved learning more about Henry Knox and Nathanael Greene. They have become known names from the time period, but I didn’t know much more than their most important accomplishments. I loved how McCullough dove into various people while providing a very factual account of movements throughout the year. Even though I knew Trenton and Princeton were coming right at the end of the year, I was compelled by the writing to find out what was going to happen next. Great history book!

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