1776

I finished my first David McCullough book over the weekend. He’s written so many history books and has been so popular with critics and non-historian readers alike that I went in expecting a great book, and McCullough doesn’t disappoint. 1776 covers just what you’d expect: the fight for independence in America in the tumultuous and unpredictable year 1776. Focusing on a few key players on the battlefield, both on the American and British sides of the fight, McCullough crafts a pointed narrative out of a sprawling story. He nods at the politics in London and Philadelphia but, given the scope of 1776’s excitement, wisely chooses to focus on the military engagement almost exclusively. This is not to say that the entire book is a recount of military strategy and battlefield wounds. There is plenty of that to be sure, but through diaries and letters McCullough also details the personal struggles felt by (mostly American) men throughout the ranks.

I already have McCullough’s The Great Bridge in my to-be-read pile, and I’d like to eventually add some of his biographies as well.