The Glorious Cause - Review

I knew that Americans declared independence from Britain in 1776 and that it had something to do with a tea party, Paul Revere, and fireworks. I had never read a history of my own countries birth. My only recollection of the story  could be drawn from movies and my primary education. I decided to read The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff to get a better picture of the United States of America and how it came to be. Middlekauff describes the decades of mistrust and resistance leading up the the revolutionary cause. He pulls from diaries, news publications, and letters of American and British alike to paint a picture of misunderstanding and irresolvable differences. The war itself is described in episodic installments with commentary, background, and overall significance brought to light. It concludes with a description of the creation of the constitution of the United States and leaves the reader hanging on the year of 1789.

Great detail, little personality.

Middlekauff has assembled a great deal of material describing the American Revolution but it does not read well as a story. The individuals responsible for the rebellion seem like commodities more than characters. Their personalities are hidden behind dates and places. And so the book reads like a well organized description of the revolution without knowing the revolters. What this book avoided in personality it made up for in detail. Middlekauff does a great job describing the political, philosophical, and practical realities facing those historic figures.

I would recommend reading a book on the American Revolution. I don't know if I should recommend reading this book: I don't have any other to compare it to. I realize that this is short praise but it is all I can offer. I learned a great deal and have a greater appreciation for the men and women who fought for certain inalienable rights. The book was good, it was also boring.