Gretchen's Reviews > 1776

Finally finished this one!

I've always been interested in the Revolutionary War period, so 1776 has been on my to-read list for awhile. I guess I never realized that it was more about the actual battles between the British and American armies than it was about what was happening in Congress, etc. So I wasn't expecting that. While this probably wouldn't have been my primary interest, I'm glad to have read this book because it shows just how incredible the Americans' eventual defeat of the British army was. The Revolutionary War didn't end until several years later, in 1783 (which I also did not realize), but this year, 1776, is considered to have been the turning point for the revolution.

McCullough goes into great detail about each of the confrontations that took place during 1776 and takes time to describe the war from both the British and American points of view. Obviously George Washington is a central figure in the book, but I also learned a lot about people we don't usually hear much about, like Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox, two young patriots who turned out to be brilliant military men, despite having no previous military experience. I also learned a lot about the primary actors on the British side as well.

So even though it took me a long time to read and was not as easy to read as, say, a YA novel, I am glad to have read this book. I might wait awhile before picking up John Adams, though.