Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence

 

by Joseph J. Ellis (read by Stefan Rudnicki) c. 2013

 

 

 

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 06-04-13

Language: English

Publisher: Random House Audio

Publisher's Summary

A distinctive portrait of the crescendo moment in American history from the Pulitzer-winning American historian, Joseph Ellis.

 The summer months of 1776 witnessed the most consequential events in  the story of our country’s founding. While the thirteen colonies came  together and agreed to secede from the British Empire, the British were  dispatching the largest armada ever to cross the Atlantic to crush the  rebellion in the cradle. The Continental Congress and the Continental  Army were forced to make decisions on the run, improvising as history  congealed around them. In a brilliant and seamless narrative, Ellis  meticulously examines the most influential figures in this propitious  moment, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson,  Benjamin Franklin, and Britain’s Admiral Lord Richard and General  William Howe. He weaves together the political and military experiences  as two sides of a single story, and shows how events on one front  influenced outcomes on the other.

The Summer of 1776

How strange that I have read two different different books recently that cover the run up to the Revolutionary War.  But that is okay because it is a topic I like to read about. I grew up in Philadelphia and visited Independence Hall many times. In 1976, I worked for Philadelphia's Bicentennial Commission -- and I'm sorry that we aren't still living in Philly because I think I would like to part of the celebration again.

I am a fan of Ellis and have already read 4 other of his books -- and now have only 4 to go. I like his take on the founding of our nation (an experiment in government that even the founders ever expected to last as long as it has).  I like the way he picks his focus and sticks with it, not going off on tangents, not feeling that just because he knows something he has to include it in the current story he is telling.

Four stars.

Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America

 

by Jared Cohen (read by Arthur Morey)

 

 

 

 

August has been American History Month

 

In the almost 250 years of the Republic, eight men have been catapulted into the presidency of the United States upon the death of their predecessor:  John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson.

The book tells us a bit about the political situation at the time the VP succeed to the oval Office, the swearing in of the new president and the legal/constitutional issues in regard to the swearing in and then finally a bit about the successors time in office. When Tyler took over, officials weren't even sure if he could carry the POTUS title. The Constitution was not very clear on these matters and it took over a century to get the details straightened out.

Four and a quarter stars

Igniting the American Revolution:1773-1775

 

by Derek W. Beck  (read by Jonathan Davis)

 

 

 

 

 

Where a few zealots push the colonies into rebellion

So, here's a question for you. Had you been alive in the 1770s and living in the British colonies of North America would you have sided with the Sons of Liberty or remained loyal to the Crown? Not that the author was really asking that question, but it is something that has popped into my mind as I sit down to write this blurb.

I have never really given it much thought. I was raised on the "creation myth" (Independence good, Crown bad) and have never really looked at it or talked about in any other way.  I grew up in the Philadelphia area, visited Independence Hall many times, so the War of Independence was local history. I have read a number of books about the Founding Fathers but I have never really given much thought to the Loyalists or to their position. 

So, to answer my own question, where would my sympathies have lain, I don't really have an answer.  I suppose that a lot of it would have to do with my own position in the community and what my life was like. Was I a city dweller or farmer? Was I rich or poor? Which colony was I living in? Etc., etc.

But back to the book. This is the first of a couple of books that Beck has written about the American Revolution. It covers mostly events in and around Boston from the Boston Tea party to Lexington & Concord -- but does not fail to mention the Boston Massacre or spend some time  with the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. It covers the political issues of that period as well as a fairly detailed account of events in and around Lexington & Concord in April 19, 1775.

All in all, three and half stars

Books That Matter: The Federalist Papers

by Joseph L. Hoffman

The Great Courses series

 

 

 

 

Tying together our past and our present

It is one thing to read the Federalist Papers; it is another to understand them and their significance in the founding of the republic and its subsequent development. I need to have this kind of stuff explained to me and Great Courses has rounded up some really good teachers who are willing to do the explaining.

If nothing else, the lectures explain just how new and unique was the system of government  being created by our Founding Fathers. Interesting to note that they weren't sure it would last even fifty years, let alone two hundred and fifty.

Three and a three-quarters stars -- and a place on the re-read pile.

 

John Adams Under Fire

 

by Dan Abrams and David Fisher (read by Roger Wayne)

 

 

Dry but informative

In 1770 lawyer John Adams agreed to defend the soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre, in spite of the fact that he knew it would effect his business, because he believed that all defendants are entitled to counsel.

I found the book to be dry and fascinating at the same time. What fascinated me was  when the author pointed out the differences between criminal procedure in the late 18thC and what it has become today. For that alone, it was worth the read.

Three stars

The Presidents Club

 

By Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (read by Bob Walter) c.2012

 

 

Another book about the the U.S. Presidents

The Presidents Club is considered to be the most exclusive club in the world; there is only one way to become a member and that is to serve as President of the United States. In this Presidential history, the authors focus on the the relationships between the serving President and his various predecessors starting with President Truman and his relationship with his only living predecessor Herbert Hoover through to Barak Obama and his relationship with the former presidents.

Four stars -- informative, well-written, easy to listen to

Washington's End

 

by Jonathan Horn (read by Arthur Morey)

 

 

There are not a lot of books out there that focus just on George Washington former president. But I like reading about the presidents and when I saw this one as the Audible daily deal, I added it to my library. I actually learned something new about Washington and about the the state of our democracy.

I never gave much thought to military matters and I don't think I was cognizant of the fact that at this point in time, the United States had no standing army. We were just going to depend on the same system we had used to fight the War for Independence: state militias. President John Adams realized that we needed a standing army and asked GW to be its commander-in-chief. GW died before they were able to get it organized but I found it interesting that in this point in the time the titles 'president' and 'commander-in-chief' were to be held by two different people.

Sadly, George Washington's post presidency was all too short; he died some 21 months after he stepped down. Nonetheless, our nation was in its infancy and we had just experienced our first orderly transfer of power from one president to the next, from a beloved hero elected by unanimous acclamation to a not so beloved curmudgeon from Boston in a somewhat contested election. To a certain extent this book is not just about Washington but about rivalries among the founders of our nation and particular among Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

All in all, three and a half stars.

Okay! I Get It!: How to Hide and Empire

by Daniel Immerwahr (read by Luis Moreno)

Maybe I am just cranky but I don't think I can read this through to the end. I get the point, I just don't need the supporting evidence and the gory details. I agree that:

• there is more to US history than can fit into a couple of years of high school American History classes
• there is more in our history to be ashamed about than there is to be proud of
• we have to stop sweeping our mistakes under the rug and own up to the idea that we are not the goody-goody, holier than thou nation that we have been brought up to believe we are
• we have a long history of treating non-white peoples and cultures -- Black, Asian, Native American -- as not worthy of citizenship in our country
• we are imperialist, whether we accept the idea or not
• it is time to talk more openly about the mistakes of our past and start understanding how they have shaped the nation that we are today
• we aren't any better than any other imperialistic national on this planet --and in some ways we are even worse
   

I am not saying that this is a bad book; I am just saying that I am not up to the read. Based on what I have read, 3 stars. I give the guy credit for talking in no uncertain terms about the very dark side of history.

DNF after about 4 hours.