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F R I D A Y , J U L Y 0 1 , 2 0 0 5"1776" -- The Americablog reviewby Michael in New York on
7/01/2005 05:51:00 PM1776 By David McCullough($32; Simon & Schuster)*** (three stars out of four)What a glorious year! The brave rebellion against England, theDeclaration of Independence, the founding of our country --who couldn't love 1776?Actually, as historian David McCullough reminds us in hisentertaining new book, for those living through 1776, it was adark, dangerous and unhappy year that everyone was glad tosee end. He gives some brisk context and then dives into themonths just before that pivotal year, showing how desperatelyslim were the hopes of the colonists; how a simple olive branchmight have made our destiny more akin to Canada; and how afortunate fog, some well-placed barrels and a timely retreatcan prove just as important for victory as bravery on the field.It's easy to imagine McCullough's soothing narrative voice(which has brought so much artistry to the documentaries ofKen Burns) bringing out the drama in his writing. Take thispassage describing the British rout of Americans in Brooklynduring August of that year:"By ten o'clock [Washington's] army had been hopelesslyoutflanked. The British were within two miles of theBrooklyn lines. Defeated men by the hundreds werestreaming in from the battlefield, many blood-spattered andwounded, all exhausted. Officers were missing. Washingtonwas facing disaster and could do nothing but sit astride hishorse and watch.Like McCullough's blockbuster biographies of John Adams and HarryTruman (not to mention his less well-known but terrific books on thebuilding of the Panama Canal and the Johnstown Flood), he is alwaysadept at bringing men alive. Here he spends special attention onNathanael Greene, a Quaker, and self-taught military strategist HenryKnox, both of whom would serve General Washington so well.But above all he reanimates Washington. McCullough's depiction ofhim reminds me quite a bit of Reagan. Both were proufoundly awareof "acting" a role and knew that the demeanor and perceptions of aleader were just as important as what he actually did. Washingtonmade mistake after mistake in the early going, but he was outwardlyconfident and supremely inspiring...by design.At 294 pages (not counting footnotes), this isn't the sort of mammothenterprise people have come to expect from McCullough. Clearly hewas so enthralled with this moment in history while working on hismarvelous biography of John Adams that McCullough couldn't resist.So perhaps its central flaw is timing. This title comes hard on theheels of David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing," the PulitzerPrize-winning book that covers the same period in far more detail andinsight. (One small example -- McCullough touches briefly on how thevolunteers from different colonies were often at odds with oneanother; Hackett Fischer breaks them down in fascinating detail,showing what motivated the different groups and how theirbackground and culture even influenced their style of fighting andsuitability to serving in an army.)McCullough's "1776" certainly won't disappoint his fans or fail todelight and inform armchair historians. Judged on its own, it isadmirable. But this same territory has just been conquered far moredefinitively by another.
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Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T VImprove Democracy With ISVoters select one issue: lawmakersmust resolve it or be replacedIssueSelection.orgMilitary Records OnlineDiscover your family's ancestors inmillions of online military recordsAncestry.com/MilitaryBank of America ®We Salute You With Special MilitaryBanking Products - Open Online Nowwww.BankofAmerica.com/Military
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7/01/2005 05:51:00 PM1776 By David McCullough($32; Simon & Schuster)*** (three stars out of four)What a glorious year! The brave rebellion against England, theDeclaration of Independence, the founding of our country --who couldn't love 1776?Actually, as historian David McCullough reminds us in hisentertaining new book, for those living through 1776, it was adark, dangerous and unhappy year that everyone was glad tosee end. He gives some brisk context and then dives into themonths just before that pivotal year, showing how desperatelyslim were the hopes of the colonists; how a simple olive branchmight have made our destiny more akin to Canada; and how afortunate fog, some well-placed barrels and a timely retreatcan prove just as important for victory as bravery on the field.It's easy to imagine McCullough's soothing narrative voice(which has brought so much artistry to the documentaries ofKen Burns) bringing out the drama in his writing. Take thispassage describing the British rout of Americans in Brooklynduring August of that year:"By ten o'clock [Washington's] army had been hopelesslyoutflanked. The British were within two miles of theBrooklyn lines. Defeated men by the hundreds werestreaming in from the battlefield, many blood-spattered andwounded, all exhausted. Officers were missing. Washingtonwas facing disaster and could do nothing but sit astride hishorse and watch.Like McCullough's blockbuster biographies of John Adams and HarryTruman (not to mention his less well-known but terrific books on thebuilding of the Panama Canal and the Johnstown Flood), he is alwaysadept at bringing men alive. Here he spends special attention onNathanael Greene, a Quaker, and self-taught military strategist HenryKnox, both of whom would serve General Washington so well.But above all he reanimates Washington. McCullough's depiction ofhim reminds me quite a bit of Reagan. Both were proufoundly awareof "acting" a role and knew that the demeanor and perceptions of aleader were just as important as what he actually did. Washingtonmade mistake after mistake in the early going, but he was outwardlyconfident and supremely inspiring...by design.At 294 pages (not counting footnotes), this isn't the sort of mammothenterprise people have come to expect from McCullough. Clearly hewas so enthralled with this moment in history while working on hismarvelous biography of John Adams that McCullough couldn't resist.So perhaps its central flaw is timing. This title comes hard on theheels of David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing," the PulitzerPrize-winning book that covers the same period in far more detail andinsight. (One small example -- McCullough touches briefly on how thevolunteers from different colonies were often at odds with oneanother; Hackett Fischer breaks them down in fascinating detail,showing what motivated the different groups and how theirbackground and culture even influenced their style of fighting andsuitability to serving in an army.)McCullough's "1776" certainly won't disappoint his fans or fail todelight and inform armchair historians. Judged on its own, it isadmirable. But this same territory has just been conquered far moredefinitively by another.
HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....13 minutes ago
Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo17 minutes ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...54 minutes ago
EschatonOvernight - Folk On. Newish.1 hour ago
Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Open Thread below...1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T VImprove Democracy With ISVoters select one issue: lawmakersmust resolve it or be replacedIssueSelection.orgMilitary Records OnlineDiscover your family's ancestors inmillions of online military recordsAncestry.com/MilitaryBank of America ®We Salute You With Special MilitaryBanking Products - Open Online Nowwww.BankofAmerica.com/Military
Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "1776" ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/1776-americablog-review...
1 of 57/23/09 1:15 AM
Visit ourAMERICAblog TV site.see all 323 videos >I collect with
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In honor of SenatorDeMint
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They just
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, inAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "1776" ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/1776-americablog-review...
2 of 57/23/09 1:15 AM
The TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)1 hour agoEzra KleinTab Dump5 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’7 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .7 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S
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Subscribe me!Bank of America ®We Salute You WithSpecial Military BankingProducts - Open OnlineNowwww.BankofAmerica.com/MilitaryThe AmericanRevolutionBe an Eyewitness toHistory for only$5.95--plus a Free book!www.LOA.orgIntelligence Degree100% online militaryintelligence studiesprogram. Earn yourdegree!www.apus.eduBritish Officers WebleyComercial and MilitaryWebelys Online FFLDealerwww.DEACinc.netMilitary Records OnlineDiscover your family'sancestors in millions ofonline military recordsAncestry.com/Military
Top AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "1776" ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/1776-americablog-review...
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Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
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A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "1776" ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/1776-americablog-review...
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© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "1776" ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/1776-americablog-review...
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