David's Reviews > 1776

1776 by David McCullough
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I loved McCullough's Truman because it was in-depth and fascinating. McCullough mixes factual with anecdotal in a way that makes the people he's writing about seem real in a way that is rare in history. They are interesting in a wonderful way, and in a biography that works very well. Truman, and those who come into and out of his life, become familiar and understandable.

1776, while written the same way, just doesn't work as well in my opinion. It's a shorter span of time, and has more cameo appearances. Because of this, readers like myself who remember basically nothing of the Revolutionary War won't get as much out of it. I was counting on McCullough to tell me everything I needed to know about the time and war, which was perhaps an unrealistic expectation. As it is, it was interesting, and I do feel like I learned a lot about the time, but I'd recommend a refresher on the war and time itself before reading this.

Definitely worth reading if you're interested in American history, but not necessarily for everyone.
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Reading Progress

March 13, 2011 – Started Reading
March 13, 2011 – Shelved
April 9, 2011 – Shelved as: non-fiction
April 9, 2011 – Finished Reading

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