"1776" The Year a Nation Was Born

A solider camped out in the mud and muck late in the year, as bullets sling passed his head and cannons blow in his years, he wonders to himself what on earth is he doing fighting in this hell of a war. Probably at ripe old age of 15, idealistic and eager to contribute to something the young boy marches off into battle against the redcoats. With more than bullets to kill a man, disease, hunger and intense weather could easily have warded off any volunteers. What would have been like at that age to be fighting a battle, that in turn, would change an entire dynamic of a country; ultimately cause a shift in a status quo foreign nations had become comfortable with? Could that young man realize the impact of what his sacrifice meant to generations after him? I know at 15 years old my biggest problem was acne and learning to drive.
Finishing David McCullough’s “1776” was at times a bit of a process for me and took a little longer than desired, granted I tend to read three or four at one time, I decided to make my last effort of the race. Detailed with facts, but written in a way it almost sucked the reader in as fiction novel would this book fascinated me. At first glance the book was alarming in the sense it seemed as if this would be a British sympathy book, due to the generous words used for King Henry’s demeanor and life style. This was not the case in any sense. The author, if anything, is a fan of our most popular founding father General/President and Virginian to the core George Washington.
The book Gives us a great background into the nation’s first president. I learned a great deal about the general. He was a fascinating human being, and I use the word human being it’s because that is what he was, a man with a wide spectrum of emotions and complexities you can’t find anymore. Being mostly a military book, I believe this is why David focused on Washington with his rag tag scoundrel army. The year was filled with utter failed attacks on the British; not to mention the numerous of successful attacks made on us. We are given an insight into both camps with amazing journal entries from soldiers and ranking officers. The pain and sorrow the Americans went through almost is unthinkable, due to the lack of provisions they often fought without shoes. Disease, infectious wounds and the living conditions were so numerous and awful, it would seem to me, a quick death was all but rare in this war. Being this is a military book loaded with numerous facts and dates and a little bit of data, it is hard to say weather I recommend reading it. History buffs should be drooling over this enjoyable read. I do believe anyone who does not know our history well and/or does not like it very much should seriously consider the book. A new found respect will be found in a never say die General Washington. You will feel the pain of soldiers as they face defeat each day, and begin to loath the Hessian mercenaries of Germany, which the British hired. In all this book was rich in American culture, it kept my fingers turning pages and my hunger for the words in David’s book.