The American Revolution: A History (Modern Library Chronicles)

Rating:
Summary: Deftly Captures An Extraordinary Turn In Human Events
Review: With less than 200 pages of text, you may well think that Wood's THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is no more than historical Cliffs Notes. It rises above that level as a decent read and a refresher for general readers who have not revisited this part of history since school.

As Wood notes in his preface, there is a tendency among some contemporary revisionists to downplay the significance of the American Revolution, to challenge its revolutionary stature because it did not fully achieve the full equality of humankind at the one time. In clean, practical fact-driven prose, he ably responds with a picture of an extraordinary coalescence of intellectual, social and political change that forged not only a new nation and way of governance, but one that quickly emerged as a world leader. Wood deftly sorts out the origins and spurs that produced the tensions in the colonies and in Britain, reviews the highlights of the war, and then visits the newly formed United States of America as its people try on their new identity and begin to build a new way of being. It ends with the production of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The central engine of the book is based in the ideas, particularly of the Enlightenment, that drove the Revolution. Only the most significant players make appearances, such as Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and King George III. This is not the book to go looking for Betsy Ross or Nathan Hale. What struck this reader most of all were the issues that America faced as it took on the mantle of freedom. Many of the original tensions are still with us, and probably always will be given how democracy embraces diverse people and agenda. Wood's calm rendering of this period inspires wonder at what was in fact achieved.

Rating:
Summary: Deftly Captures An Extraordinary Turn In Human Events
Review: With less than 200 pages of text, you may well think that Wood's THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION is no more than historical Cliffs Notes. It rises above that level as a decent read and a refresher for general readers who have not revisited this part of history since school.

As Wood notes in his preface, there is a tendency among some contemporary revisionists to downplay the significance of the American Revolution, to challenge its revolutionary stature because it did not fully achieve the full equality of humankind at the one time. In clean, practical fact-driven prose, he ably responds with a picture of an extraordinary coalescence of intellectual, social and political change that forged not only a new nation and way of governance, but one that quickly emerged as a world leader. Wood deftly sorts out the origins and spurs that produced the tensions in the colonies and in Britain, reviews the highlights of the war, and then visits the newly formed United States of America as its people try on their new identity and begin to build a new way of being. It ends with the production of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The central engine of the book is based in the ideas, particularly of the Enlightenment, that drove the Revolution. Only the most significant players make appearances, such as Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and King George III. This is not the book to go looking for Betsy Ross or Nathan Hale. What struck this reader most of all were the issues that America faced as it took on the mantle of freedom. Many of the original tensions are still with us, and probably always will be given how democracy embraces diverse people and agenda. Wood's calm rendering of this period inspires wonder at what was in fact achieved.

Rating:
Summary: pretty darn good for its size
Review: Wood has managed to capture the key events and personalities surrounding the causes, conduct and after-effects of the American Revolution in a succinct manner.

What I found most interesting was the specific details one does not frequent across except in upper-division history classes or scholarly articles. For example the settlement patterns and growing populations on the "frontier" (Appalachia and the Ohio river valley in the 1760's) and the role this played in the growing scism between the Americas and Britain. The importance and legacy of the Northwest Ordinances in the settlement and"opening" of the continent. The British conduct of the war and the specific challenges they faced in fighting Washington (and Arnold and Gates).

For its berevity, it is a remarkably dense and readable book.