1776 is a powerful drama taken from both the American and British archives. It is the year of the Declaration of Independence and the question is "Will the colonies be able to defeat the greatest military power of its time." The book centers around George Washington, Nathanael Greene, and Henry Knox, all of which would become household names in America. David McCullough brings George Washington to life, detailing how this man who had never led an army, fought not only the British but his own fellow Americans on how the war should be waged. 1776 tells the reader just how close we, as Americans, came to never having the country we all call home. "The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were dark as any Americans have known." 1776 shows how much Americans owe to these brave men and women who fought and continued to fight through the worst of times. I first read this book long ago but after taking a trip to Fort Ticonderoga a few months ago, I was inspired to read it again. Every history lover should read this book to gain a better understanding of the hardships the people and the army endured to make us the "United States of America."
The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian draws on personal correspondence and period diaries to present a landmark history of the American Revolution that ranges from the siege of Boston, to the American defeat at Brooklyn and retreat across New Jersey, to the stunning American victory at Trenton, capturing the people and events that transformed American history. 1,250,000 first printing.