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Book Review: 1776

Posted on July 4, 2007

I just finished David McCullough’s latest novel “1776″ yesterday and as I put the book down for the last time I found it very appropriate that I was finishing the book just before Independence Day. Being a history junkie (especially American History) this book was a no brainer for me but I would suggest that everyone pick it up if they have the chance. Yes, even those folks out there who don’t like history should read it. Why you ask? Because McClullough just has a way of bringing history alive.

McCullough’s “way” isn’t just sheer writing talent though although he is a good storyteller. A lot of the brilliance of 1776 came through McCullough’s meticulous research. He read journals of all involved in the campaign of 1776 and included many excerpts from those journals in order to put a more personal touch on the history itself.

For example, McCullough will include excerpts from Washington’s journal at certain points so the reader can get a good idea of what was going through Washington’s head.

The inclusion of the personal thoughts of Washington all the way down to the typical infantrymen and all the way back up through the British ranks makes 1776 special. The reader learns through these excerpts that there were many times when our founding fathers thought things weren’t going to work out. There were also times when Washington and his officers made big mistakes that could have cost them the war. On top of all that the reader learns how pivotal luck and mother nature were in the whole process. Some storms giving the British the edge and others, like those that bookended the battle of Trenton at the end of 1776, ultimately giving the American’s the upper hand and the victory.

To tie things into this blog, the whole revolutionary war (minus the guns and such) is very similar to a start-up and I don’t think I need to spell out exactly why I say that. The parallels should be easy to draw based on the paragraph above (here’s another post on America being the ultimate start-up that I put together just in case you want more).

If you get a chance please check out 1776. It will give you a renewed appreciation of the USA and what our founding fathers went through to make this country happen.