Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Successor to Rise to Rebellion
Review: Shaara has taken up in his father's footsteps and began writing historical fiction after being involved with Gettysburg, the film version of Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels. He's quite the gifted storyteller. What a great way to enjoy learning history! Would love to be able to expose more people to Shaara's work.
Rating: 
Summary: Another outstanding book by Jeff Shaara
Review: Mr. Shaara has once again given us an outstanding book. This second volume on the Revoutionary War is as good as any he has written. He is a master at retelling history through the eyes of the participants. For those who have read "Rise to Rebellion," I strongly urge you to purchase this one as well...If you have any interest in the history of our nation, in the thoughts and feelings of the men who founded our country and guided it through its most critical periods, you will want to read these books.This book gives you the rare opportunity to experience history through the eyes of those who lived it. Instead of being just another boring treatise on the Revolution, where our success is a foregone conclusion, Mr. Shaara places us in the shoes of the prominent British and Colonial figures of the time. He allows us to experience their successes and their failures. He allows us to experience what it was like to not know how this was going to all turn out, to share the feelings of fear and despair that the British might be victorious...Through their incredible gift for bringing history to life, Jeff Shaara and his father have left us all with a much better understanding of the men and the times that shaped this nation. I highly recommend this book, as well as the others that Mr. Shaara and his father have written.
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Summary: America, may we never forget!
Review: Mr Schaara has written an outstanding book about America's struggle for freedom that should be required reading for all schoolchildren in the United States of America. We forget how much was paid for in blood, sweat, and tears for the nation to be born and how close we were to losing the War of Independance for six, long, hard years. Mr Schaara does an excellent job of describing the hardships, disappointments, and the determination of George Washington and those other great men who really did pledge "the lives and their sacred honor" for defeat of the British (and Hessians) for the birth of a nation. I strongly recommend this book for every American and everyone that wants to understand the courage and sacrifice that was necessary for this "punk" nation to come about against the most powerful world power at the time an win. God was truly on our side during those dark days and we can understand why our dollar bill says "In God We Trust" and why the Continental Congress prayed for three hours when they first met. Too bad no one wants to pray anymore.
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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.
Rating:
Summary: A Glorious History
Review: After reading Rise to Rebellion I couldn't wait to read The Glorious Cause, and I was not disappointed. Shaara brings the American Revolution to life and fills in the gaps of the sketchy history we all learn in high school. It is worth reading this book for no other reason than to realize why George Washington is the "father of his country." Every American owes Washington a debt of gratitude. This country wouldn't be here without him.
Rating:
Summary: The Glorious Read
Review: The Glorious Cause is a window in time to our war for independence. Jeff Shaara is maturing as a writer, and his descriptions of emotional tension and battlefields are top-notch. You do have to read Rise to Rebellion for this book to be in context, but I have enjoyed reading the Glorious Cause more than the first book. Shaara will quickly become one of the favorite fiction book writers in America, and this work of his is a testament to assured future success. I can't wait to read his World War I novel, even though I have studied the American Revolution more. His works belong on the "favorites" shelf of every history buff or prolific reader!
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Summary: Novel of an unknown war
Review: I never realized how little I knew about the Revolutionary War until I read this novel. The battles, the strategy, the leaders were all a blur to me. The story in this volume begins after the first clashes of the war near Boston and continues on until the end with the surrender of General Corwallis at Yorktown.
Shaara makes George Washington into a real person -- and the results are impressive. Washington's patience and perseverance, his management of his army, his steadfast ability to avoid disastrous military defeats and take advantage of small opportunities for victories reconfirm him in my heart as the greatest of Americans. Other characters are the aged Benjamin Franklin practicing diplomacy in France, Generals Greene, Wayne, Lee, Cornwallis, and foreign volunteers such as Lafayette and Baron von Steuben. I particularly enjoyed a brief scene in which von Steuben, a Prussian, confronts the job of turning an unruly mob of American soldiers into an army. This is a miitary history. Short shrift and unkind words are given to the political efforts of the Continental Congress and its members.
Shaara writes fiction about as close to fact as it can be. The book includes all-essential maps of major battles and the descriptions of battles can be taken as authentic -- although Shaara gets inside the head of major characters to sketch motivation and character. This is one of few books I have read on the American Revolution -- and certainly is the best I have read.
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Summary: Second in the 2-part series and just as excellent.
Review: So you're looking for a good book about the American Revolution - something factual but not boring? Seeking a book full of those famous people and places you've learned about in school but never really got to know? Guys like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, or George Washington? Or lesser knowns like Nathanial Greene and Lafayette? If you answered yes to any of the above, then stop looking, you've found the right set of books. Get this one and its predecessor "Rise to Rebellion" and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing historically accurate page turner
Review: I have read four Shaara books and they just keep getting better. This book is even better than the great first novel Shaara wrote. I am 14 years old and think that these historic fiction books help me learn more than many history books because they are so interesting. It is cool to read what General Washington or Lafayette might have been thinking. You also learn about the personal side of the many heroes of the Revolution. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys American history and how it's foundations were established.
Rating:
Summary: Shaara provides a, powerful story of the Revolution A+A+A+
Review: The Glorious Cause is the continuation of Jeff Shaara's Revolutionary War douology. The Revolution had just begun at the end of his previous work Rise to Rebellion and now the fighting becomes fierce. Shaara again follows the perspectives of some of histories greatest people: Benjamin Franklin, working hard for the cause in France, Nathaniel Green, a Quaker turned general fighting the British, Lord Cornwallis, a brilliant British strategist who escapes the war only to turn back to it after tragedy strikes & George Washington the rock of the Revolution a man who must lead a rabble of bickering colonies through defeat to become one nation. It's a powerful story filled with great characterizations and just excellent story telling. Washington's struggles are heart-wrenching, while Franklin's battles in the diplomatic field are just as fierce as any fought with cannon. Also impressive is Shaara's take on Cornwallis. In America, there is a tendency to look on Cornwallis as a bit of a fool for losing to the combined American-French Armies, but he was the best British general in the war. His strenghth of character clearly comes through here. I also liked the fact that Shaara disproves the popular battle of Cowpens scene from Mel Gibson's movie The Patriot. Cornwallis never took part in Cowpens and he probably wouldn't have been beaten in the same way. Also interesting was his age which was under 45. Most portray him as at least 50+. I think the The Glorious Cause is Shaara's best novel to date. His writing skills have truly evolved and he is fast becoming a master of historical fiction.
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