Reason read: War Room (LT), American War of Independence
This was a work of fiction but I think it had a lot of facts, the non fiction parts would have included the "thoughts of the various characters"; Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, etc. (in fact - the perspectives of multiple characters, including Sentry Hugh White of the British army, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage, George Washington, Governor Thomas Hutchinson, Captain James Hall, Abigail Adams, Paul Revere, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Major John Pitcairn. Other characters in the book include King George the Third, George Greenville, Samuel Adams, Issac Barre, John Hancock, John Wilkes, William Pitt, Edmund Burke, Sir Charles Townshend, Sir Will Hills, Francis Bernard, Deborah Franklin, William Franklin, Martha Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, General Jeffrey Amherst, Margaret Kemble Gage, Captain Thomas Preston, Josiah Quincy, Samuel Johnson, Will Strahan, John Quincy Adams, Lord Wedderburn, Thomas Paine, Lord Admiral Richard Howe, John Montagu, Paul Revere, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, Captain John Parker, Walter Laurie, Admiral Graves, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, Henry Clinton, John Burgoyne, Artemas Ward, William Prescott, General Putnam, Major Gridley, Charles Lee, Horatio Gates, William Tryon, Daniel Morgan, Bonvouloir, Richard Montgomery, Hiram Jones, Lady Germain, Henry Knox, Nathaniel Green, and Robert Livingston. ) Written in 2001 and it mostly is about what led up to the war of independence. How many did not want to break from England. It spans the Boston Massacre to the Declaration of Independence. The second book, The Glorious Cause, covers the actual war. I think it was a good review of American History. ( )

Very good fictionalized story of years leading up to Declaration of Independence

Shaara weaves such an interesting tale of the years leading up to that fateful day in 1776 that you can't help but feel that you are there, in Boston, in Philadelphia, with our forefathers. Expertly written and extremely historically accurate, the first book of his two part set is a wonderful read. ( )

3/31/22

Excellent. For years now I've read a lot about the American Revolution and America's Founding Fathers and documents. Most nonfiction authors hope to bring the subjects of their biographies to life. But none have done this as well as Shaara.

I don't read historical fiction often, but I'm hard pressed to apply that term to this book. Obviously, the dialogue amongst the characters is "made up," but based on my studies, most of it is grounded in the words that these characters wrote. There is a real sense of these people's hopes, dreams, fears, and bravery within the book; far more than I've found in the biographies I've read on many of these people.

My one minor complaint is that a character's thoughts aren't italicized. The book is sectioned up by person (John and Sam Adams, Washington, Franklin, etc.) so you're getting info from that person's perspective. But every now and then I'd have to re-read a paragraph because the line between Shaara's storytelling and a subject's thoughts is pretty nonexistent. ( )