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Amercian War of Independence

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  • 03-01-2012 7:07am
    #1
    BossArky
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,521 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Can someone recommend a good read on the American War of Independence?

    Thanks.


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    #2
    MarchDub
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,731 ✭✭✭MarchDub


    BossArky wrote: »
    Can someone recommend a good read on the American War of Independence?

    Thanks.

    Not sure what you are asking for when you say a 'good read' - do you want a history book or a novel type work?

    If history I would suggest Ron Chernow's recent biography on George Washington called Washington: A Life. As Washington was a landowner who was directly affected by the colonial economic laws and a delegate to the First Continental Congress which convened in response to the Boston Tea Party, his life is central to the era and the Declaration of Independence. Washington was then made the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army so his life is integral to all the events of the period. I read it recently and like it – it also deals [only slightly] with the divisive issue of slavery that the drafters of the Constitution had to compromise on – or lose the South.


    It is virtually impossible to get a single one off publication that spans everything of The Revolutionary War [as the Americans refer to it - the British call it The American War of Independence]. It would only be High School texts that would do overviews - and they would not be good reads. American Historians usually deal with certain aspects of the war and most often, studying the individual personalities involved in the revolution is common.

    Another book I recently bought but have only flicked through so far is Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America by Jack Rakove. This deals with the individuals who took part in the revolution and how each contributed to that and the development of the American Constitution.


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    #3
    BossArky
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,521 Mod ✭✭✭✭BossArky


    Thanks for your response MarchDub. I'm looking for a history book, which is readable without getting too bogged down in the finer details.

    Ron Chernow's bio on George Washington sounds like the one I'm after.

    Just finished reading Bill Bryson "A short history of private life" and he touched on the Industrial Revolution and American War of Independence a number of times. I realized that I just know the gist of the later and should probably study up on it.


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