1776 by David McCullough: Book Review

I wanted to like this book, really I did, but honestly, I was severely disappointed. The one I was actually looking for was his earlier book, John Adams. (Having seen the excellent HBO miniseries with Paul Giamatti, and having heard several positive reviews, I thought it would be a good read.) Instead, I found this one at the local library book sale and snatched it up.

I’ll try not to throw out any spoilers, but unless you’re unsure of who won the Revolutionary War, I should be okay. And of course, I’ll just assume you’ve heard of a guy named George Washington. (The General and later President, not the kid with the ax and the cherry tree.)

So, about the book. To begin with, nothing really happens for the first hundred pages or so. Instead you get a long (boring) description of all the major (and minor) players. I’m not kidding when I say it was like reading an encyclopedia or a research paper. (Accurate, considering that there are 70+ pages of source notes and bibliography at the end of the book.)

Once the actual battles begin, it does pick up a bit, but honestly, even then, it drags. When descriptions of the army’s retreats are longer and more detailed than the actual fighting, you know you’re in for a dry read!

This may be just a pet peeve of mine, but another big problem was the poor quality of the very few maps provided. (I’m a big fan of Jeff Shaara, a great writer of historical fiction, and his maps are always clear, concise, and helpful.) In this book, there are 3 beautifully hand-drawn maps from the period, all of which were decidedly unhelpful. Maybe it’s just me, but try as I might, I had very little luck finding the locations described in the text when I studied the maps. Consequently, all the battles (and retreats) eventually sounded the same. These guys went over here, and across this river, and this hill, and then back to this other place. Over and over. (To quote that famous politician, Ilhan Omar, “Some people did something.” LOL)

Anyway, my biggest issue, I suppose, is just the story itself. I understand the concept – one very important year in our history - 1776. The problem is that the “concept” leaves you with no real ending to the story. It was winter, and it got cold, so everybody went home, and we’ll start the war back up again in the Spring. The End. Seriously?

Okay, that’s not really the ending, but it’s close. And tacking on a couple of pages of summary about how important this year was to the overall war and its impact on General Washington, etc. didn’t really make for much of a conclusion. If this were a movie, I’d swear they were doing nothing more than setting us all up for a sequel, but apparently McCullough’s plans for a follow-up book were scrapped when he changed publishers.

So, overall, I would call this book, boring, confusing, and ultimately unfinished. Still, if I come across a copy of John Adams, I will probably give this author a second chance. Until then, I have a copy of Jeff Shaara’s book To the Last Man, a historical novel about the first World War which I may begin next. Leave a comment and let me know what you’re reading these days!