Annie's Reviews > 1776

David McCullough is a wonderful storyteller, so I knew that I would be able to breeze through this book for the 4th of July season. Like in John Adams, which I read last year, McCullough blended historical documents into his narrative masterfully and quickly engaged me into the narrative of the Revolutionary War's first year.
Wartime stories have never exactly enthralled me but sticking with this book, I filled in several blanks that I retained in my knowledge of the era. I knew that the war started with the Battle of Bunker Hill, but wasn't sure on the details of when they were in Boston, how the British took New York City, or what complete underdogs the rebels were.
My goodness, George Washington, while he looked the part, was rather unprepared and several of his generals wouldn't have served as such in any other army. I'm so amazed that they even got up the courage to fight at all, and fight with Great Britain, no less! That they won in the end can be seen as nothing more than a miracle. In some cases, such as the British choice to basically ignore the strategic importance of Dorchester Heights, I thought the British must have been blind or mad!
The worst part of the book was that it had to end when the war was just starting. I wish that McCullough would write sequels for the succeeding years because I'd love to have his detailed treatment of every battle!