It’s not a fault of McCullough the American army really was the heavy underdog when compared to the British army, who was the greatest military force (Army and Navy) during that time.

The only time I felt biased while reading the book was when McCullough painted the American army as the rough, ragged, grass roots underdog army in comparison to the more refined and well-trained British army. both sides ransacked towns that they inhabited). McCullough showed where the American forces were brilliant, where they were lucky, and where they were terrible examples of human beings, and he did the same for the British/Hessian army (i.e. He didn’t cast Washington as a better and more competent field general than Howe in fact, he recalled a number of times when Washington’s indecisiveness cost the Continental Army. I always think of the quote, “History is written by the winners,” but I think McCullough fairly portrayed both sides of the war. McCullough provides the reader with a history for each man, allowing the reader to see where each came from and how he arrived at his station, so that we may better understand their motivations and rationale as they moved through the war.Īnother positive aspect of the book is that I didn’t think it was biased towards either side. The reader is given a significant dose of the other commanders who were heavily involved including General Howe, Nathanael Green, Henry Knox, and others. McCullough does place emphasis on Washington, but the entire book does not revolve around Washington. People familiar with the American Revolution (or just America in general) know about George Washington, and some may even be familiar with General Cornwallis of the British.

Another reason I thought the book moved well was because of the inclusion of the personal histories of the men in charge of each military. I didn’t find the “story telling” dry at all as I have experienced with other historical books he was able to keep the book moving through each event and battle without dragging it down with uninteresting facts. Most Americans know about the history and the situations of the American Revolution (hopefully), and therefore, it could have been very easy to bore someone who doesn’t have a vast interest in history with the material, but McCullough doesn’t fall into that trap. The best thing about the book is that McCullough delivers the history as a story.

Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence).

McCullough does delve a little bit into politics of the American Revolution, but those areas are mostly left in the background (i.e. The book focuses on the military aspects of the revolution during that year, the battles at Dorchester Heights, Long Island, and Trenton, as well as the military chain of command for both the Continental and British Army. 1776 by David McCullough is a historical book written about the year 1776 during the American Revolution.

1776 by david mccullough