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.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King's men, the British commander, William Howe, an his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books - Nathaniel Green, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of Winter.

But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost - Washington, who had never before led an army in battle. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough's 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

Reader Reviews

Marialyce (absltmom, yaya)

(5/5)

Apr 28, 2024

Look to our past...could anything make you more aware of the way in which our country's very beginning came to be than a book by the esteemed author David McCullough? He writes with such a clear vision of what had transpired and makes history become not only alive but one in which the blinders are removed and the true story is told.Such is the case with his book 1776. This is the year that started everything, the year we discovered the grit, the courage, and the valor needed to cast off the coun...

Kellie

(2/5)

I decided to read this book because it is on the best seller list and there are about 350 people who have reserved the book on line at the library. I am STILL baffled as to how many people have read and want to read this book. The book is about the Revolutionary war in the year 1776. It is well written. I feel like I missed a lot of school. I don’t remember anything about the Revolutionary war. I didn’t realize how much was fought in New York City and Long Island. I didn’t realize how long it la...

Chrissie

(3/5)

This is the first book of the nine I have read by David McCullough that I have not given either a four or five star rating. Three stars is a book I like but I do not think it compares well to his other books. It isn't comprehensive enough. Why does he cover only the first year of the Revolutionary War? There is no explanation given. It actually starts with the Siege of Boston in the fall of 1775, yet it does not cover Bunker Hill or the Battle of Lexington which occurred earlier in the same year...

Lori Keeton

I never thought I would ever finish this one. I'm not sure what caused me to delay picking it up each day or what kept me from being more interested. It is one of the parts of American history that I sadly admit to not being very well versed. I really would like to change that as the Revolutionary war ought to be at the forefront of what we, Americans, know about our heritage. It's definitely going to take more than a class in elementary school to spur on the younger generations to learn about t...

Diane

(4/5)

408

There are several reasons why I think this book is important, and it has a lot to do with the state of our schools. You've probably heard that public education in America is becoming more of a shambles each decade. I work at a college and often feel like I'm on the front lines of this battle. While we have a number of good students, we also have a fair number 18- and 19-year-olds who simply aren't prepared for higher education and who, if the economy weren't so degree-oriented, probably wouldn't...

Debra (semi-hiatus)

How did a group of farmers beat the English Empire? Through blood, sweat and tears. Noted American Historian, David McCullough, beautifully tells the story of the birth of the United States of America. He takes just one year in the American Revolution to tell how both sides of the war felt and thought. He shows how King George III thought of the Colonists as petulant children who did not have any legitimate complaints. He showed how George Washington was worried about the chance of Victory for t...

Sarah

Technically I didn't actually read this for school, but it's so clearly written and informative that I'm putting it there. David McCullough employs a lucid style in this book, detailed without being ornate, that conveys a lot of information in a short amount of pages. He's even-handed in his portrayals of the notable persons on both sides of the war, mostly focusing on them as soldiers and statesmen rather than as people. It's a refreshing approach, neither hagiography nor demonization. Both sid...

Karla

A wonderful & amazing chronicle of the make-or-break year in the American Revolution. David McCullough's like a cozy Grandpa Historian: you just wanna sit in a circle and listen to all his stories, which is exactly the experience I had listening to the audiobook.

Will Byrnes

149

David McCullough - image from Ohio Magazine This is an interesting book that describes in personal detail the battles of the early revolution. We see George and company in Boston, New York City, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. McCullough paints portraits of the military leaders of those campaigns, Howe primarily, and Clinton for the Brits, Greene, Knox, GW and a handful of others for the Yanks. He shows us some of GW’s correspondence and we learn of his disaffection for New Englanders. The troops

Jason Koivu

In 1776 David McCullough captures the importance of that year's quintessential struggle for our country.By focusing on this single year, as opposed to the entire war, McCullough is able to dissect more minutely the individual battles, turning points, specific leaders, and the result is one of the most humanistic depictions of George Washington I've ever read. Here he becomes more than mythic god of the American past, but rather a living, breathing, flawed man. Telescoping in on actions like The

Nate Cooley

David McCullough has again exceeded all expectations in his latest book, "1776." Like most historical narratives, the reader often knows the ending well in advance. In "1776", every reader had to have expected that McCullough would close his book describing Washington's daring yet gallant crossing of the Delaware and the Continental Army's subsequent triumph at Trenton. Nevertheless, as I approached the end of the book I found myself anxiously awaiting that moment ... I literally read-on with ba...

Maureen

This is a well written and researched account of 1776, the early days of the American Revolution.I was partially interested in learning about the parts that took place on Long Island, where I have lived my whole life. The maps were amazing to see the places and names that still remain today.I learned so much that was missed in history class.October 1775, King GeorgeIII declared America in rebellion to the crown. There were Americans followers who were loyal to the King. The British army was powe...

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