1776 - read it

If you're like me and don't want the Independence Day festivities to end, take a gander at 1776, a fantastic book by my favorite mainstream historian, David McCullough. McCullough's historical writing is accessible to anyone; it is not too academic.

From Truman to John Adams, McCullough continues to crank out vivid, lively accounts of historical figures and how they influenced their times. 1776 is special not because it brings to life perhaps the most important year in our nation's history (which it does amazingly well), but because it is relatively short (400 hardcover pages) and because it delivers a sobering message to Americans that the independence and freedom we enjoy after our victory over the British was not preordained and was, in fact, in dire jeopardy many times during that year alone.

While doing publicity for the book when it was published, McCullough said more than once that if cable news and embedded journalists had existed at the time, the American Revolution would have failed miserably. It was only because a committed band of revolutionaries stuck to their cause that independence was ultimately achieved. Public sentiment would surely have turned against them if information flowed as freely as it does today.

McCullough's account of the battle for New York City is especially stirring, as I would guess most Americans only vaguely associate that city with the Revolutionary War. He also describes how the hot war was well underway before the Declaration was signed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, and how many citizen-soldiers abandoned the Continental Army to tend to their farms and families. The soldiers were often cold, hungry and dispirited.

So, if you're looking for some summer reading with a little heft (but not too much), give 1776 a try. McCullough is a master.