Julie's Reviews > 1776

Well I have heard nothing but rave reviews about this book and about this author so I expected to be blown away. Are all the 5 star reviews and glowing reports influenced by our sense of pride for the cause? Do people feel like they have to love this book to be true Patriots, or did I just miss something?

This was good-ish, but no better than that. The writing was quite dry and often times I felt like I was just reading a string of loosely connected quotes. The title isn't kidding, you only get the story of 1776. Silly me, I thought it would cover the entire war, and was just titled 1776 because that is when America declared Independence. I don't think very many authors do a good job cataloging a series of battles. I hear McCullough is brilliant at biographies and I will read him again but I don't know if this subject matter allowed him to shine. I prefer when an author invests more in the characters and cause of war before taking me in to battle, otherwise I just don't feel it. These battles felt too far away from me.

What I do like about this book is the exploration of how disadvantaged Washington's army was, how badly they struggled, and how faithfully they persevered. I would have liked an even more in depth look at the human side of George Washington but I did appreciate the glimpses of George Washington, the man. This book also deepened my appreciation of Independence Day. We celebrate that blessed day with picnics and fireworks, but there was still so much more work to do to win the war after July 4th, still so much loss that would lead to America's eventual success and I think we often forget how hard that year was as we commemorate it each July. We are deeply indebted to our forefathers.