[ebooktalk] 1776: AMERICA AND BRITAIN AT WAR
- From: "Steven Bingham" <steven.bingham1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2013 08:46:41 +0100
Hi all
I have just finished David McCollough's 1776: America and Britain at War. It
was probably the most accessible and enjoyable history that I have ever
read. It reads almost like a novel. The story of 1776 covers the American
War of Independence through its most fateful year from the siege of Boston,
through the loss of New York to the victory at Triton. The author has not
invented conversation although he has done the next best thing which is to
use letters and diaries written by people who were there. He gives the
official view and relates what the people involved thought and their initial
reactions to events. Of course, they are often completely wrong - for
example private soldiers were never told where they were going but it didn't
stop them thinking. Because the book covers only one year the author is able
to draw on the same sources throughout the period which gives a consistency
that you don't often get in history books. Unfortunately there is one voice
missing. It is the private voice of George Washington. We get glimpses of
what he really thought from some of his letters but the bulk of his personal
writing was in letters to Martha his wife and she destroyed his letters
because they were "too personal."
A really good history that I would recommend to anyone with any kind of an
interest in the early days of the United States.
Steve
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