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Jeruba's avatar

Revolutionary War buffs: recommend a readable one-volume history?

Asked by Jeruba (55830points) June 8th, 2010

Despite growing up among landmarks of the American Revolution and absorbing the lore as part of local history, I haven’t studied the war in any formal way since I was a schoolgirl. And I don’t want to study it now. But I would like recommendations for a good, readable, analytic-but-not-too-deep account of the events leading up to the Battle of Lexington and Concord and how they ended in the Declaration of Independence.

Can you recommend a narrative that
– is factual and fairly balanced
– does not have some political axe to grind, yet does interpret and explain
– does not dwell in popular myth but doesn’t spurn it either (it’s okay for us to have some heroes)
– is not too scholarly, dense, or argumentative, but also not shallow, superficial, and popularized
and
– is well written?

Something on a par with Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror, about France in the fourteenth century, would be just what I’m looking for. I know she did write a book about the Revolution, but I’m not sure it’s my best option on this subject.

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2 Answers

PandoraBoxx's avatar

I’ll be interested in seeing the answers to this one. I have a lot of recommendations for the post-Revolutionary period.

ipso's avatar

I trolled around a bunch of sites and reconciled a Top-5 list:

- Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence – by John Ferling
George Washington’s War – by Robert Leckie (“punchy colorful writing style” “biased thought”)

Specific battles – Not an overview
Washington’s Crossing – by David Hackett Fischer (Apparently this is one of the best history books ever written on any subject.)
Paul Revere’s Ride – by David Hackett Fischer (About the events leading up to April 19, 1775 and the battle of Lexington and Concord.)

Other
The Glorious Cause – by Jeff Shaara (A character driven fiction, which is great for some, but controversial for the facts & figures types who want “truth” vs. fiction. The 1st part of the 2 part series is Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution)

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