The American Revolution - First Person Accounts by the Men Who Shaped Our Nation

by T.J. Stiles

In the late 1700's, in a strip of colonies on the edge of Western civilization, a small group of individuals changed the world. Against overwhelming odds, they created a nation, defended an empire, and voiced ideals that inspire us to this day. In THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, historian T. J. Stiles tells that remarkable story through the words of those who lived it. Stiles, author of the award-winning JESSE LAST REBEL OF THE CIVIL WAR, brings together contemporary letters, diaries, and essays that capture both the impassioned arguments and dramatic events. These first-person accounts, woven together with Stiles's own fast-moving narrative, provide a beginning-to-end history of the Revolution, from the first murmuring of dissent, to the roar of the battlefield, to the final dipomacy that concluded the War of Independence. (taken from the dust jacket).

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American Revolution

359 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tony Laplume]

Starts out as fascinating but ends in complete incompetence. I don't know how that even happens, but then that's Americans for you, I guess...

Stiles, and perhaps even better the introduction by William Pencak, lay out the foundation of the Revolution in detail, going well beyond the standard narrative, touching on the wars fought on American soil well before even the French and Indian War.

But then...Stiles loses the ability to pick the right excerpts. Never mind that once the fighting begins he seems to forget that the civilians still exist. The fighting takes up most of the book, eventually, and he takes an endless series of excerpts from participants who themselves talk about the fighting, rather than their personal experiences.

Some of this may be my fault, wanting something other than what the writer actually did. But the title of the book is this: "The American Revolution: First-Person Accounts by the Men Who Shaped Our Nation." Those men all but disappear once the Declaration is crafted. We actually get a lot of excerpts from British officers. I don't understand that at all. In a different book, one that actually is supposed to be about the fighting, this makes sense.

The effect is that Stiles loses the air of objectivity he'd established and instead joins the long line of propagandists (he's a big fan of Thomas Paine, here nominally included as a soldier, though none of his excerpts are from the perspective of a soldier) that have long shaped and obscured America's origins as a country.

The biggest disappointment is too often the excerpts reflect the egos involved, and that eventually it becomes obvious Stiles himself can't separate myth from reality. The longer one reads his thoughts between excerpts, the less reliable they seem.

Three stars mostly for the strong start. I skimmed through the irrelevant material about the fighting, honestly.

[Mike Hattie]

Interesting is the premise that the colonists did not begin as radicals in search of a revolution. They began as conservative & loyal Brits who were trying to enforce their rights as British citizens. As the British government reacted disdainfully & heavy handedly to colonial complaints, the colonists’ sense of mistreatment was amplified & became a common cause among the various colonies that didn’t really have anything else in common. As the colonists organized to reassert their British rights, the British government became even more repressive & the whole thing escalated & polarized both sides. The first person accounts by leaders who were there, from both sides of the struggle, but didn’t know how things were going to turn out - that is gold.

[Brian Schwartz]

Stiles’ book relies too heavily on two few resources. Granted, John Adams was a prolific writer and chronicler of daily events. His journal provides invaluable insight into the political struggle to bring about independence. But others perceived events differently than Adams and John Adams was a man known to sometimes have a singular perception of events. Certainly other sources such as letters of participants in the first and second continental congresses could have been drawn upon to illustrate the debates within those legendary bodies.

The documenting of troop movements in the south was dry and boring. Letters from soldiers, both British and American, that described battles from the perspective of the grunt, or camp life, or some human aspect of the war would have better served Stiles.

[Terry]

"First Person Accounts by the Men Who Shaped Our Nation" The ideas and actions of the Revolution are shown in the diaries and letters of both military and political leaders with linking narrative commentary by the editor.

[P. R. Knuhob]

Woohoo! Finished the Preface and Introduction, which are not counted on here as part the 359 pages of this book. I don't know why those 38 pages don't count, but that's how it is.

[Cindy Rawlings]

Enjoyed this book very much! Especially that letters from both sides were highlighted. The author could have used more sources but overall it was a great read for a history buff.