1776

Listening to McCullough's glorious account of the first years of the American Revolution reminds us how riveting good history can be, and also how much detail is overlooked in academic history classes. This abridgment to six hours will make listeners seek out the full-length version, also read by McCullough, for while this program is relatively seamless, the listener is compelled to want more detail. An odd and uncredited addition is a second reader, Anne Twomey, who is introduced only in the recorded introduction and reads passages at random intervals. Though clear and appealing (and often good in other audiobooks), Twomey is no match for McCullough's compelling gravitas. McCullough reads his work wonderfully with perfected pauses and emphasis. A delight, whether listeners stop here or seek the longer edition. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 21, 2005
Bestselling historian and two-time Pulitzer winner McCullough follows up John Adams
by staying with America's founding, focusing on a year rather than an individual: a momentous 12 months in the fight for independence. How did a group of ragtag farmers defeat the world's greatest empire? As McCullough vividly shows, they did it with a great deal of suffering, determination, ingenuity—and, the author notes, luck.
Although brief by McCullough's standards, this is a narrative tour de force, exhibiting all the hallmarks the author is known for: fascinating subject matter, expert research and detailed, graceful prose. Throughout, McCullough deftly captures both sides of the conflict. The British commander, Lord General Howe, perhaps not fully accepting that the rebellion could succeed, underestimated the Americans' ingenuity. In turn, the outclassed Americans used the cover of night, surprise and an abiding hunger for victory to astonishing effect. Henry Knox, for example, trekked 300 miles each way over harsh winter terrain to bring 120,000 pounds of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, enabling the Americans, in a stealthy nighttime advance, to seize Dorchester Heights, thus winning the whole city.
Luck, McCullough writes, also played into the American cause—a vicious winter storm, for example, stalled a British counterattack at Boston, and twice Washington staged improbable, daring escapes when the war could have been lost. Similarly, McCullough says, the cruel northeaster in which Washington's troops famously crossed the Delaware was both "a blessing and a curse." McCullough keenly renders the harshness of the elements, the rampant disease and the constant supply shortfalls, from gunpowder to food, that affected morale on both sides—and it certainly didn't help the British that it took six weeks to relay news to and from London. Simply put, this is history writing at its best from one of its top practitioners. Agent, Morton Janklow. 1,250,000 first printing; BOMC and History Book Club main selections; Literary Guild and QPB featured alternates; 18-city author tour.