1776

Abridged
Author: David McCullough
Narrator: David McCullough
Genres: History
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: May 2005
Length: 5 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 3.5/5
Formats:
  • WMA

Suggested Titles

Overview

The story of 1776, the year of our nation's birth, has become so enmeshed in shadow play rituals that we no longer sense its immediacy or its significance. That changes with this full-bodied narrative history. With this book, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough does for George Washington (and surprisingly enough, George III) what he did for John Adams, Harry Truman, and Theodore Roosevelt. He sets the grassroots fervency of the outnumbered colonists against the mighty United Kingdom, the world's only superpower. Like all McCullough's books, 1776 captures history at its most human level. He takes the reader, for instance, on the arduous journey of Henry Knox, a Boston bookseller who dragged tons of heavy British artillery to turn the tide in the siege of Boston. America at its most heroic; history at its finest.

Selected Reviews

1776

by JW
  • Book Rating: 5/5

1776: Outstanding Audio Book!

by Jeff C of Barrie
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 48

Reviews (48)

1776

Written by JW on June 17th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

It was great to learn the background and details of our revolution.

1776: Outstanding Audio Book!

Written by Jeff C of Barrie from Barrie, ON on June 3rd, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I have listened to about 50 books this year and 5 stars out of 5 is rare for me. What makes a great audio book? Content obviously but also great oration. This Pulitzer award-winning author needs little introduction but he is an outstanding speaker. Easy on the ears and makes history as exciting as any subject I've had the pleasure of listening to so far. I can't recommend this particular book enough. It underscores for me how invaluable it is to forgive yourself for your own mistakes and how important it is to forgive those that might work for you. As much a book about leadership as there is out there. Washington made up for much of his blunders by learning from his errors and making bold moves. We could do worse.

A different view

Written by APDS4 on May 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Interesting take on Revolutionary war history in that it is written much from the English/Tory viewpoint. It allows the listener to learn about the other side of the story and on occasion is slightly bent towards the defense of England and her policies. It is critical in its analysis of the colonial army and it's leaders, almost leaving the fact that they won the war as an afterthought. It is tedious unless the listener is an avid history buff.

1776

Written by Barbara on March 21st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

You should be a history buff to listen and enjoy everything in this book. I did find out many things I wasn't aware of before.

Excellent work!

Written by Timothy Amey on February 26th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I truly enjoyed this work - it was extremely well done. I felt like I was there, and I learned many fascinating details that I was unaware of... I am eagerly looking forward to reading his other efforts.

OK, but John Adams' BIO better

Written by Eric Boyce on January 21st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I thought it was a really good book, but an even better read is McCulloch's John Adams, which ironically is coming out this spring as an HBO miniseries...

1776

Written by Anonymous on January 9th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed the book very much. The first hand perspective on events were fresh and enlightening. I did not think it as captivating as 'John Adams' but perhaps it was because of the content. Times were hard for our countrymen at that particular time and although the time frame for both books were the same, the cold, and lack of military training and equipment made it an almost impossible time to be in the military. My admiration of General Washington and the brave men of his army grew with every page. I hope I will never view my country with the same spirit again. It was a "good read".

An Incredible Story

Written by Anonymous from Sunnyvale, CA on January 3rd, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

A wonderfully written, brilliantly told story about the american struggle for independence in 1776. The author does a splendid job describing the strategies, successes and blunders on both sides. The detailed discussion of the battles, the people who gave their lives, and the suffering made me actually see in my mind and maybe even feel what these soldiers and leaders must've been going through. In history class my teachers taught me that the british were a bunch of blundering buffoons that the americans easily defeated - nothing could be further from the truth. The americans lost nearly every battle in 1776 and almost our independence. Someone once said that 'war is hell'; this book describes it to the last.

1776

Written by Anonymous on December 5th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

A nice overview of 1776. This is a brief snapshot of only one year of the American Revolution. Not highly detailed or exhaustive, but an easy read. Explores aspects of the history of that time I certainly wasn't familiar with, including the struggles and failures of George Washington's early career as a military leader. It's good that he learned from his mistakes and became better! The author does a nice job of reading his own work.

high praise for 1776

Written by ada on November 18th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I thought this was an amazing account of 1776. I learned so much. I drove around for hours so that I could listen. The author's reading was wonderful and I am so glad that he did that for his listeners. You really feel as though there should be a sequel, until the end of the revolution. I hope he considers this.

Selected Reviews

1776

by JW
  • Book Rating: 5/5

1776: Outstanding Audio Book!

by Jeff C of Barrie
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 48

Author Details

Author Details

McCullough, David

"David McCullough was born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and educated there and at Yale. Author of Truman, Brave Companions, Mornings on Horseback, The Path Between the Seas, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood, he has received the Pulitzer Prize (in 1993, for Truman), the Francis Parkman Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and is twice winner of the National Book Award, for history and for biography."