Rating: 
Summary: Almost 2 for 1
Review: This is easily Jeff Shaara's best novel. It doesn't slow down like "Rise to Rebellion" . He is slowly getting away from the temptation to tell instead of show, but it still happens at times. This book easily could have been two novels, which would have given more space to describe more of the Revolution in detail. A few small chapters seem inserted just to name drop historical figures like John Paul Jones soley to say it covers all the important figures There are so few novels about this important war, that Shaara should get some credit for raising attention and interest in it. However, I still am skeptical that he will ever reach the level of his father's "The Killer Angel". I would recommend "The Glorious Cause" to any history buff or anyone curious about American History.
Rating: 
Summary: silly raptor review
Review: The Glorious Cause is a great novel on the American Revloution by Jeff Shaara. The book has great character develoment, a lot of action, and a great, historical plot. Another thing that makes the book great is that Shaara uses all of the literary elements. I like the book because the tone of Jeff Shaara was serious, and descriptive. That was nice because Shaara is not biast when presenting the information. The book was a lot better than the first book because Shaara strong writing action, not polotics.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Jeffrey Shaara writes as well as his father. I absolutely loved this book. MY only problem with it was that he did not write much about the Saratoga Campaign. Hopefully this will be another book. Charley Clapp
Rating:
Summary: HISTORY WORTH READING
Review: Probably one of Jeff Shaara's best books to date, useing the same style of his father's excellent book on Gettysburg, "Killer Angels". While I consider myself more of a Civil War student, I read this book to learn a little more about the Revolution, a period I had very scanty detailed knowledge of. This book really delves into the day to day activities of the officers and men and brings you into this period very effectively. The novel sustains the actual history throughout, and in the style of his other books and his father's, the end brings out the later history of the key players - in this case, a sad ending for several dominant figures in the success of the Revolutionary War, who became broke and/or broken by the peace that followed. Even sadder, is that I never heard of several of these men, and their efforts should have made them American heroes in our history books. A worthwhile and interesting way to learn about the foundation of our country!
Rating:
Summary: Fine one-volume overview of Revolution's people and places
Review: I doubt if anyone could describe the 1776-83 War for Independence in one volume and do it justice, whether the work be fiction or non-fiction. Too many years, too many fascinating personalities, too much need to bounce from the colonies to England to France and back again. Jeff Shaara's book is a worthy try, however, and anyone whose knowledge of the founding fights of our county is sketchy would be rewarded for reading this novel. I grew up halfway between the battlefields of Trenton and Princeton, and halfway between New York and Philadelphia. I have visited the battlefield at Monmouth and the Continental camp at Morristown and the home at Kingston, NJ where the original "George Dubya" bid farewell to his troops. I have stood at the edge of the Delaware River which saw the famous Crossing. I have seen the grave of the U.S. spy John Honeyman, and the site of his home. These are places touched upon in this book. Now I have not lived in that countryside for 32 years, but this book brought all those spots back to life for me. Yes, it has gaps, and one could debate Jeff's choices as to which characters to spend time with and which to mention only in passing. On the whole, however, he did a great job and many readers will be motivated to read other works, and to study other parts of the Revolution in more depth. I enjoyed it and recommend it to all. If you think you can create a better version of the battle to establish America, go right (or write) ahead!
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping Saga of the American Revolution
Review: This is a splendid book. I thought that Jeff Shaara did a great job in Rise to Rebellion, the first book in this series, that began with the Boston Massacre and ended with the Declaration of Independence. In The Glorious Cause, we see the infant United States facing the might of a furious King George and an aroused British people. The Americans are ill-trained and ill-equipped, but they have two things going for them - their determination and their military leader, George Washington. He is the dominant figure in Shaara's picture of the revolution. I think we sometimes forget how great this man was, but he was every bit as great as most Americans regard him. Shaara protrays Washington's courage, his moral standards, his kindness, his sometime doubts in himself, and above all, his brilliance on the battlefield, where he successively outmaneuvered British Generals Howe, Clinton, and Cornwallis. We also see how the Americans used guerilla tactics to kill British soldiers at every opportunity all over the nation in bitter, little fights. Finally, the French make America's independence possible by supplying powerful aid to bring Cornwallis, and really the British Army, to defeat at Yorktown. In 638 pages, Jeff Shaara tells a fascinating and inspiring story.
Rating:
Summary: Made for a good listen, but..
Review: sounded way too much like a summary of the events (good history lesson) rather than historical fiction! There was barely any dialogue! Maybe the actual book is better.
Rating:
Summary: A better sense of history than psychology this time around
Review: I wonder if I would have liked "The Glorious Cause" more if I had never read "The Killer Angels." Of course, the great irony is that Jeff Shaara has been writing his historical novels because of the critical success of his father's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. However, having read Jeff Shaara's prequel and sequel on the Civil War, his volume about the Mexican War, and these two novels about the American Revolution, I keep coming back to the conclusion that the wrong lesson has been learned from "The Killer Angels." What the books all share in common is the shifting of narrative perspective amongst key participants in the events under consideration. For the Battle of Gettysburg in the original that meant Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Lewis Armistead on the Confederate side, and John Buford and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain on the Union side. Jeff Shaara has followed Michael Shaara's example in using the same technique, albiet by including many more characters who are often reduced to a single chapter to tell their story from their perspective. But an important consideration in the success of "The Killer Angels" was that it focused on a four day period. Consequently, we followed Longstreet and Chamberlain throughout the entire battle. There were not gaps of weeks and months like you will often find in "The Glorious Cause."This becomes a concern for me because "The Killer Angels" was more about psychology than history, per se, detailing what these men were thinking during the pivotal battle of the Civil War. Most people who read the book knew the basic particulars of what the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac did from June 30 to July 3, 1863. At the very least they know about Pickett's Charge. When it comes to the American Revolution my historical knowledge is probably average, which means that "The Glorious Cause" really did teach me more about that war than I knew previously. But it lacks the impact of "The Killer Angels" because the story is full of giantic gaps. It would not have bothered me if Shaara had done more volumes in this series than just the two. Single books devoted to the Second Continental Congress writing the Declaration of Independence, the embassy of Benjamin Franklin and others to the French court, the failed defense of New York City, the winter of Valley Forge, or the siege of Yorktown all could have worked in a similar manner. This would be why "Gone For Soliders" is probably my favorite of Jeff Shaara's books, for the simple reason that it offers up the smallest time frame. I would think that most readers will get a better understanding of how the American Revolution was fought and the changing strategies on both sides. But there will be a few chapters, such as Chapter 49 Morgan, which makes the battle at Hannah's Cowpens a memorable experience, clearly reminds us of what this approach to historical fiction can do at its best. We get glimpses of similar insights to George Washington and Nathaniel Greene, but the gaps in the chronological narrative get in the way of providing a complete portrait. Ironically, by the end of the book, I think we have a better idea of the mind of British General Charles Cornwallis more than any other figure. Certainly "The Glorious Cause" is worth a read, even if you have not read "Rise to Rebellion" first, but the expanded breadth of the scope of this novel necessarily sacrifices depth. However, I am optimstic because whether Shaara continues to go back in history, to the French & Indian Wars or goes back to following up the Civil War by looking at either the Plains Indian War or the Spanish-American War, there is the opportunity to deal with a much more limited historical frame of reference than he has done to date. Furthermore, I think this could only be a good thing.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: The Glorious Cause was a pure pleasure to read. I found myself ingrossed in every action, battle and sequence. I was given the book by a relative whom recommended it highly and very quickly I found out why. If you are into American history then this book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Epic sequal to "Rise to Rebellion"...
Review: Jeff Shaara has really come into his own with this impressive follow-up to "Rise to Rebellion". Powerful in it's character depiction while maintaining an amazing historical accuracy, Shaara sheds new light on many "entrenched" myths of the Revolution and comes away with what I feel is a masterpiece. We follow Washington, Cornwallis, Nathaniel Greene and Franklin from the invasion of Brookyln Heights through Yorktown with a first-person perspective that adds depth and immediacy not seen in other accounts of the Revolution. Battle tactics and surprisingly plentiful maps further reinforce Shaara's story and ultimately gives a vivid and heroic picture to our "founding fathers". Shaara comes across as a damn fine storyteller and his descriptions of the Battle of New York, Trenton, Brandywine, Valley Forge and Monmouth using this first-person perspective gives a masterful picture of these battles and lets the reader see what it may have been like to be on these distinguished battlfields. The Southern theatre (the real turning point of the War) gets detailed treatment as well with the accounts of Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse and of course Yorktown. But the overwhelming thread throughout this entire work are the character developments and the human drama that these conveyed. We see Howe as an early version of the Civil War's George McClellan, Clinton as the arrogant successor, Tarelton as the "butcher" and Cornwallis as possibly the most capable of all the British Senior commanders. On the American side, Greene is plausibly portrayed as Washington's "right-hand-man", Laffayette as the young phenom, Charles Lee and Horatio Gates as the conniving and undermining subordinates, Arnold as the persecuted traitor and, finally, Washington as the true leader and savior of the revolutionary cause. His thoughts, feelings and frustrations (fictional though they are) from Harlem Heights to Yorktown come alive and Shaara is to be applauded for bringing these out in a realistic and entertaining manner. Minor character development (Von Stueben, Rochambeau, Daniel Morgan and Knox) abounds and adds needed depth to the narrative while also giving accurate historical perspective. From the initial chapter where the young colonial fisherman is stabbed as a suspected spy to the emotional departure of Washington at Fraunces Tavern in New York, Sharra brings to light all the drama of the Revolution while maintaining the history in an epic account thats sure to classified as essential Revolutionary War reading. Very highly recommended.
|
