1776.

1776 by David McCullough. Simon and Schuster (http://www.simonsays.com), 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020, 2005, 400 pages, $32.00 (hardcover); 2006, 400 pages, $18.00 (trade paperback).

David McCullough's 1776 is an absolute delight to read. Well researched and fully referenced for serious historians, the book will also appeal to members of the general public interested in details about the first year of the American Revolution. The winner of two Pulitzer prizes (for Truman and John Adams), McCullough again demonstrates his ability to create a narrative that provides historical accuracy while presenting personal insights with vivid detail.

The book has a relatively simple premise. It begins with the debate in October 1775 in the British Parliament over the "desperate conspiracy" and "open revolt" taking place in America (p. 10). At the end of the debate, the House of Lords and House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to support King George III's plan to deliver a decisive blow to the riotous rebels of America. Four months earlier on the other side of the Atlantic, the Continental Congress had unanimously appointed George Washington the new commander in chief of the army. John Adams, who had nominated Washington, remarked that the appointment "will have great effect in cementing and securing the union of these colonies" (p. 43). The remainder of the book describes the clashes between British forces and the Continental Army during 1776. These occurred in three different places: Boston, New York City, and New Jersey. McCullough describes the American successes in Boston that compelled the British forces to evacuate, the British successes in New York City that forced the American troops to evacuate, and the American triumph in NewJersey.

The strength of the book, however, does not lie in the historical description of these clashes although they are quite adequate, especially for non-historians. Rather, one finds the real strength--and most interesting part--of 1776 in the rich detail that McCullough provides about warfare and the people involved in it, including the effect of the weather, knowledge of terrain, morale, leadership, training, sickness, and chance. By utilizing multiple sources, especially diaries and personal letters, the author makes the stories come to life. As Thomas Paine wrote in The Crisis after the withdrawal from New York City, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman" (http://www.ushistory.org/Paine/ crisis/ singlehtml.htm).

McCullough's 1776 shows the tenuousness of the situation in the first full year of the American Revolution. It also demonstrates how good fortune, providence, and the exceptional leadership of George Washington preserved the cause for freedom. This book is a must-read for military professionals.

Dr. Jack D. Kem, Colonel, USA, Retired

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas