1776

Written by David McCullough

Narrated by David McCullough

America’s beloved and distinguished historian presents, in a book of breathtaking excitement, drama, and narrative force, the stirring story of the year of our nation’s birth, 1776, interweaving, on both sides of the Atlantic, the actions and decisions that led Great Britain to undertake a war against her rebellious colonial subjects and that placed America’s survival in the hands of George Washington.

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence—when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 24, 2005
• ISBN: 9780743551526

David McCullough

David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The American Spirit, The Wright Brothers, and The Pioneers. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.

Reviews for 1776

[Ken Allen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

David As usual did a superb job! I learned things I never knew. Thanks David !!!

[paul phillips · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written! I Enjoyed it immensely! Moving on to john Adams next.

[Damon Frazee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written indeed. Great book and the humanization of Washington was enjoyable.

[Wayne Brown · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the level of detail, almost free of the mythology. Existence of USA constantly hanging by a thread.

[Siegfried herrmann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very entertaining and informative!!!....it makes me want to learn more about that amazing time in the history of the founding of the USA!!

[Kris · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little hard to follow at times because of references to personnel and locations, but overall it was very fun to listen to

[berthacummins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very in-depth look at the Revolutionary War, the reasons behind it and how the American troops, small and unskilled as they were, were able to overcome the British and form their own 13 colonies united together as the United States of America. I loved learning about General George Washington and his great leadership skills. (Book on CD from the library)

[ellsbethb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm surprised I haven't read anything by McCullough until now. 1776 was full of detailed stories about the figures involved in the Continental Army, and demonstrates the importance of all the little things you don't typically hear about in general stories of military conflict. I listened to this on audio, and it was great to hear this read by the author himself. It was like carrying around a Ken Burns documentary I could slip into any time I wanted.

[Theron R Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author has the rare ability to take a hundred pages of research material and transform it into one paragraph of essential data. Yet the style is so readable and entertaining that you are scarcely aware of how many facts you are absorbing. In an time that feeds on cynicism and character assassination, this book places before us literally thousands of facts, quotations from letters and from official correspondence to convincingly reiterate a few simple points: what slim odds the Americans had against the British, how great the sacrifices of the common American soldier were, and how dearly and universally the principal of freedom was held by Americans of the time. An excellent read.

[Ron Tenney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say? This is a classic in American history by one of the great authors of American history.

[mrdickie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice, overall summary, of the events during the year "1776" of The American Revolution.

[gshuk_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. You know the Americans win independence but at the time they didn’t. This book describes one piece of the journey in detail. Amazing what soldiers went through. They almost sound like prisoners of war with some marching for miles in snow without shoes and at other times standing in trenches with water to their waists for long periods of time.

[orfishome · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! God's providential hand on America's founding has been incredible. Wonderful recounting of familiar tales with lots of new information.

[jarratt_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tremendous read! I think when we think about 1776, George Washington, and the Revolutionary War in general (when we think about it at all), we don't consider the hardships endured, the fact that most of the Continental Army was made up of farmers, shop keepers, and even young boys who knew nothing of soldiering. We also probably tend to forget the overwhelming odds against us. The British has the world's best military force. In "1776" David McCullough makes all the abundantly clear in this excellently written book.The only reason I dinged the book 1/2 a point is because of geographical issues. I'm pretty bad at geography in general, but because so much happens in the Boston, and especially New York/New Jersey area, I found it difficult to space locations out in my head. There were maps of the New York and New Jersey areas, but they were from the era, which made it a bit difficult to follow. Also, what appears to be important locations seemed to be right in the crease of the book, making it near impossible to read. I wish it included more simple maps to provide those who don't know the New York area a better understanding of troop movements and locations. But this is a relatively minor problem. The text of the book is of course far more important and excellently written.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Since McCullough is one of my favorite authors, it is no surprise that his second work on the time of the American Revolution is another one of truly enjoyed. This book takes us through the entire year of 1776 during the Revolutionary War but focuses on the war aspects rather than the political. The author's ability to look at people involved in these conflicts is second to none. I loved reading about such important players that are glossed over in traditional histories such as Henry Knox and Nathaniel Greene. Without these men history would be very different. I would recomment this book to anyone interested in teh time period as the narrative is exceptional.

[Camille Stratton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very short easy read for a history book. For an American this is a good reminder of a part of history many of us forget about.
If your looking for a basic overview of what led up to the war this is not the book. But if you want an overview of the year 1776 in the the War of Independence this is your book.

[benbulben_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“As the season is now fast approaching when every man must expect to be drawn into the field of action, it is highly necessary that he should prepare his mind, as well as everything necessary for it. It is a noble cause we are engaged in, it is the cause of virtue and mankind, every temporal advantage and comfort to us, and our posterity depends upon the vigor of our exertions.” – General George WashingtonHistory as an art form. History as literature. David McCullough writes the books we love to read. He paints with words the lives of our history and we see with new refracted focus what it means to be an American. I am so glad I stumbled across Tru•Man from Independence, Missouri one day browsing through my favorite book store. And so started my voyage of discovery, my journey into the narrative of America as seen through the eyes of great Americans.One can consider all of history to be a narrative. The trick for the historian is to capture the zeitgeist of the time without predisposing the judgements of the current era upon the earlier era. Mr. McCullough captures the universal essence of humanity in his narratives. He writes of people we knew little of and brings them out of the shadows into their deserving place in history so we can get to know them better.It can also be said that if we do not know from whence we came, we can not know where we are going, as we have no point of reference. It is only by understanding this vast continuum of events that we can understand our own place in time.

[bfertig_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

McCullough does best when he's got a lot of room to rove. He's a masterful storyteller, but trying to confine this epic to the framework of one year just made me feel like a giant in a small room - getting all sorts of cramped muscles.

[read4to4live · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book would be about everything that happened in 1776; instead it focuses on the activities of the Continental Army in 1776. 1776 is still a fine title, when you consider that everything Americans hold dear about that year would never have come to fruition without the efforts of George Washington, his generals, and his soldiers. I would have appreciated either a subtitle or preface, however, to set my expectations.I found this book to be impossible to follow, on first reading, because I did not have a deep enough understanding of the Revolutionary War to understand the context. Then, when I came back to it after reading Chernow's Washington biography, I was able to follow it, but found it didn't add much information to what was in Chernow. However, Chernow's book came out five years after McCullough's, and when I went back to the relevant chapter in Chernow I found that 1776 was heavily cited in the footnotes. So a lot of 1776 might have been original when it first came out.Overall, I would say the Chernow biography is a must-read, and that 1776 adds some color. McCullough does have more of a flair for the dramatic. I would have given 1776 5 stars except I found that the lack of maps was a huge drawback to following the battles.

[Harry Cook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

David McCollough makes history come alive. I believe he always get it right. When he died the Nation lost a giant in the art and science of history.

H Cook

[jrissman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"1776" by David McCullough is essentially a military history of the first part of the American Revolutionary War: namely, the events that took place in the year 1776. The book heavily emphasizes troop movements, battles, strategy, and the actions of top generals- especially George Washington. In this way, it bears some resemblance to Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August."I was a little disappointed in the book's incompleteness. The Revolutionary War lasted about seven years, and this book covers a span of less than one year. Furthermore, the book's sole focus on military matters makes it hard to get a sense of what life was like for anyone who wasn't a soldier or general. One example of an author who did a better job providing comprehensive political and military coverage of an important conflict was William Shirer with his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."Nonetheless, "1776" does a great job covering its specific niche. The book is interesting, readable, and frequently quotes the correspondence of real people involved in the events, giving a sense of immediacy and credibility to the work. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone interested in the military history of the early Revolutionary War.

[empress8411 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this as part of my regular July reading - which is always about the Revolutionary War. Yes, it took me a while to finish. But that's because this is a dense book, packed with details. The research that went into this work is staggering. With all the minutia, it could have easily been a dull, dry book. But McCullough wove the details into a riveting narrative about the first year of the War of Independence. It was as if I was there with them, Washington and Knox and Howe and Greene and Cornwallis. McCullough tells the story of fierce, flawed, amazing men, doing incredible things. A well-written work, worthy of all its accolades.

[castlelass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Non-fiction history of the year 1776, a pivotal year in the American Revolution. McCullough focuses on the prominent leaders, both British and American, and we get a good idea of their strengths and weaknesses. It contains descriptions of each military target, the strategic objectives, how the engagement ensued, and its outcome. After reading this book, I am astounded that the Americans won, as they severely lacked weapons, powder, money, troops, experience, discipline, and leadership. One of the strengths of the book is showing how the leaders of the Continental Army, particularly George Washington and his top staff, learned hard lessons early, and applied them in later battles. The author provides balance by going into depth on the personal traits of the British leaders and why they made certain decisions. He also shows how the actions of the many loyalists assisted them. The main detractor, for me, was the abrupt ending. I realize he was focusing on just one year, but the ending summarizes seven years into a few paragraphs. The author has done an incredible amount of research, as documented in the footnotes, bibliography, and acknowledgements. The images at the end were helpful. Recommended to readers of history-related non-fiction or anyone that wants to learn more about the American Revolution.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The history of an important moment in the war for independence. Highlighting George Washington and the men who made this year so important as the colonies began their battle for freedom.

[usuallee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well done history by the master, David McCullough. I say master because of his reputation - this is the first book of his I've read. Will read more. My only complaint was that the book covers the Revolutionary War events of late 1775 through early 1777, then ends abruptly. I know enough about the war to predict that McCullough would end on the high notes of Trenton and Camden, and that's what he did. I wish McCullough would have turned this into a history of the entire war. Then again, I just read a masterful one of those, Almost a Miracle by John Firling. This book contains much lengthier quotes from primary sources and goes into more detail about certain events than Firling's book, so it was good to have read them both essentially back to back, to feed my current fascination with the American revolution.

[library_lin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read David McCullough's John Adams last year and really liked it. But I must confess, I enjoyed this one more. Since 1776 focuses on one seminal year in American history, it was a shorter book. The action was so thick that it read like a novel. I had thought I was familiar with our nation's beginnings. I knew George Washington was revered as a great general, but I didn't really understand why. This book demonstrates why Washington was a great general, in spite of his flaws.

The people of America were really no more united then than they are now. What they did have was a vision of what could be, and enough of them were willing to suffer hardship and deprivation that it became reality. McCullough doesn't gloss over the uncomfortable bits. He doesn't turn the British and Hessians into monsters and he doesn't make the Americans look like noble saints. What he does do is present a balanced, researched portrait of an extraordinary time and place that changed the course of world history. And that's no small feat.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

nonfiction; history--the first year of the revolutionary war, in which George Washington leads a bunch of retreats before eventually turning the war around in its favor (thanks to a lot of luck, and the winter dormancy of the British troops) so that the American cause doesn't get abandoned completely. McCullough is renowned for his accessible narratives (though not quite as accessible than, say, Erik Larson), though if you are hoping to read about notable females, you'd better look elsewhere (there are a couple given short mention, but for the most part women are either classed as dutiful wives or written off as immoral prostitutes). Otherwise, would definitely recommend for history buffs.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I honesty don't think I was n the right mindset to take on this historical nonfiction narrative. It took me longer to finish then I would have liked. I didn't actually read what this was about and I just assumed it was all about the Revolutionary War. Which in essence it is, but like the title suggests (stupid me), this book is about the year 1776 only and about all the trials, tribulations, and setbacks that the Continental army dealt with in the first year of the war. By all accounts, the rag tag, undisciplined, untrained, and under-equipped army should have lost from the onset, but with a vivacious leader like General George Washington and the grit of some, they were able to get the American public on their side (slowly) after suffering many retreats and defeats in the beginning. Told in a narrative way, this story is engaging; but very overwhelming with names, places, and other "mundane" aspects of war. I learned a lot of neat tid-bits that never came up in class; but overall this is an exhaustive read and one I was not much in the mood for even though it was well-researched and written.

[joerocklin-870393 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The information contained in this book interesting though only a snapshot of what I was thinking might come from it. About halfway through I realized this was _just_ going to cover 1776 (with a brief play of some events of 1775 in the beginning). The last pages race through some key events and spoilers leading up to the British surrender, which leaves me with a feeling that the book had reached its intended word count and then the author tried to finish it quickly.

That said, it’s obvious that the presented material had extensive research. There are many quoted letters to present opinions in (mostly) the words of first account witnesses. The author does take some liberties to add or comment on words or phrases, though it is in an aide to the modern reader unfamiliar with phrases or abbreviations of the time.

On the whole, it’s a good book. But I do not think this is a great book.

[kurtwombat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

History parades before us in many forms—quite often corrupted. Was Dolly Madison the wife of the fourth President of the United States or a baking company known for its ZINGERS? Gradually time calcifies the perception of history until the shape of it is all we see. And we get used to it—even rely on it as a short hand. Partly because of this I had assumed I had a decent general knowledge of the Revolutionary War. I have wanted to read something by David McCullough for some time. Having both 1776 and his John Adams bio on the shelf I pondered. I chose 1776 thinking the briefer time frame under consideration might allow me to walk before I learned to run with a new (to me) author. I assumed as I read that I’d be checking off familiar moments in history paying closer attention whenever John Adams was mentioned as a kind of prep for the more substantial book to come. I was surprised as I read 1776 that it all felt completely new to me. Events don’t unfold in domino fashion and even when they appear to, the fascination is derived from just how easily everything could have been different. McCullough does a marvelous job of breathing life into history we think we know. 1776 is certainly not the whole war but it is that part of the war that defined how the war would play out. The author unfolds the participants on both sides of the Atlantic revealing how they would rise or fail to rise to the coming war. Attention is given equally to weather of a given day, the perceptions of a soldier or baker or general, and the decisions of those wielding the most power. The thoroughly rendered details inform the world from which springs history broken from its calcification and allowed to breath. The pivotal character amidst all this is of course Washington who was clearly not the same man at the end of the year as he was at the beginning. America was not the same place by the end of that year. And thankfully I do not have the same view of the Revolutionary War that I did when the book began.