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    1776
    1776
    1776
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    1776

    Written by David McCullough

    Narrated by David McCullough

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 24, 2005
    ISBN9780743551526
    Author

    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.

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    Reviews for 1776

    4/5

    2,924 ratings163 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a well-written, entertaining, and informative book about the founding of the USA. The author's ability to condense research material into readable and entertaining paragraphs is praised. The book highlights the slim odds the Americans had against the British, the sacrifices of the common American soldier, and the universal belief in freedom. It is a short and easy read, providing a good reminder of a forgotten part of history. Some readers found it a little hard to follow at times, but overall, it is considered a classic in American history.

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    • 5/5

      Jul 12, 2024

      True Patriots ??
      GOD Bless the USA
      Would highly recommend this Book
    • 5/5

      May 15, 2024

      An enjoyable listen, with easy narration and a well structured telling of events.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      David As usual did a superb job! I learned things I never knew. Thanks David !!!
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Very well written! I Enjoyed it immensely! Moving on to john Adams next.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Well written indeed. Great book and the humanization of Washington was enjoyable.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      I love the level of detail, almost free of the mythology. Existence of USA constantly hanging by a thread.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Very entertaining and informative!!!....it makes me want to learn more about that amazing time in the history of the founding of the USA!!
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      A little hard to follow at times because of references to personnel and locations, but overall it was very fun to listen to
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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)
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      What can I say? This is a classic in American history by one of the great authors of American history.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      A nice, overall summary, of the events during the year "1776" of The American Revolution.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      Wow! God's providential hand on America's founding has been incredible. Wonderful recounting of familiar tales with lots of new information.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      “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.
    • 3/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      "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.
    • 4/5

      Nov 8, 2023

      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.
    • 3/5

      Oct 11, 2024

      David McCullough's 1776 takes a very detailed look at the year as Washington’s inexperienced Continental Army faces some of the first major battles of the war.
      If you like:
      US History — especially colonial
      A lot of primary source documents and details
      If you don’t mind:
      Your books a little bit boring
      War
    • 3/5

      Oct 31, 2022

      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.
    • 4/5

      Oct 8, 2023

      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think it's a miracle that America came into being so long ago. Everything was against us. Our army was so pitiful, but they had enormous heart and determination. I feel blessed to live here.
    • 3/5

      Sep 25, 2023

      Veey interesting and well written, though nor nearly as good as his John Adams biograpjy, which was fantastic.
    • 4/5

      Apr 20, 2022

      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.
    • 4/5

      Oct 7, 2021

      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.