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Title: The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States (Paperback)) by Robert Middlekauff ISBN: 0-19-503575-5 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1985 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: America's long and winding road to liberty.
Comment: This second volume of "The Oxford History of the United States" provides an objective, sober look at the American Revolution without denying its role in world history as a truly "glorious cause". In demythologizing the war as we saw it through grade-school eyes, author Robert Middlekauff profiles our Revolutionary forebears as they really were: men of courage and vision who were not without their flaws. Likewise, the British redcoats we loved to hate may not have been entirely hostile or unsympathetic to the legitimate grievances of the Americans, yet their often condescending view of the colonists and an incompetent colonial policy gave America no option but to rebel in the end. The book's well-written accounts of the Revolution's major battles will increase the reader's understanding of political, logistical, and strategic problems on both sides which contributed to the conflict's drawn-out, six-year duration. Unlike other histories of the war which end with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Mr. Middlekauff offers an absorbing narrative of the drafting of the Constitution in 1787 and its subsequent ratification by the states. After reading "The Glorious Cause", I can better appreciate the sacrifices made over 200 years ago by a determined people who, in defending divinely-established rights and liberties for themselves and their posterity, defended virtue and morality as well.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Glorious History
Comment: Enthralling, but probably not the book for someone who's read extensively on the subject already. And since the title describes, without irony, Middlekauff's overall attitude toward the American Revolution, not for someone seeking a radical or revisionist history of the events.
Nor is it an exhaustive social, political, or military study. (The text runs under 700 pages.) Yet as it shifts between those disciplines, Middlekauff adapts his vocabulary to the task. Descriptions of military actions employ the terms of the battlefield and I doubt that Stephen Ambrose or Max Hastings could bring the actions more to life than Middlekauff. Larger-than life men are described in human terms that also inspire. I felt perfectly confident with his expertise, whether describing the demographics of the colonies, the debates in the Continental Congress or the bloodshed on the battlefields.
To get a flavor for Middlekauff's style, read the section on George Washington's early life, or von Steuben's role in training the army at Valley Forge. This is writing with red blood in its veins. Not the complete story, but what a great place to start!
Rating: 4
Summary: Out of Touch with Modern Historiography
Comment: Middlekauff's book aims to be an in-depth overview of the Revolutionary War period but falls short in many areas. The Oxford series seem to be written for the average reader who wants to get an introduction into the time period and events. Middlekauff's book, although not difficult to understand, will probably only be best understood by those who have studied the American Revolution before (besides in your eigth-grade history class). Some key figures are given fairly good descriptions, but others simply appear without any sort of introduction. The events are not presented in the chronological narrative structure that newcomers to the subject will be able to follow easily. In an attempt to surround events to understand them fully, Middlekauff jumps around a lot. This leads to not only gaps of information that other reviewers have detailed, but repetition of information. The book is uneven in its studies - some events are detailed with extreme clarity and others are muddled through or skipped over. The most well-written parts of the book involve the Stamp Act crisis and the details of the major conflicts. Middlekauff's attempts to explain what was happening in Britain during the time period are mixtures of insightful analysis and huge gaps. Because he does not consistently follow events in Britain, the passages concerning them usually begin with a short, confusing explanation that the political scene changed a lot since the last time it was discussed.
The thesis revolves around the spread, fight over, and the eventual embodiment of the revolutionary ideals in American government. Overall, Middlekauff succeeds in his descriptions of how a varied political landscape of separate colonies evolved into a confederation and then nation, without making the process seem the obvious and only path available. It was a difficult and uncertain adventure, which Middlekauff excels at capturing. The biggest problem with the book is that it is reminiscent of a time when history was the study of white men and their wars. Almost no time is spent discussing the role of women, blacks, or Native Americans in the Revolution. The homefront is generally only discussed in terms of how they supplied (or failed to) the American soldiers, and this is mostly about the men. Slaves are given only a few paragraphs and Native Americans are reduced to the shadowy evil-threat to civilization that was far too common in old history. Almost nothing is mentioned of Native American allies, but much is said about the threat they presented to Geogian settlers. This treatment is almost unheard of in modern historiography, and was out of date when Middlekauff published the book. You cannot get a complete overview of the time without addressing these people and the issues that effect them. How they are involved in the Revolution's ideals is never discussed, despite the fact that this is the thesis. This failure makes the astounding amount of research that went into the book look incomplete and should be taken into account by anyone interested in reading about the period.
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Title: Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 (OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES) by James T. Patterson ISBN: 0195117972 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.50 |
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Title: Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES) by David M. Kennedy ISBN: 0195144031 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn ISBN: 0674443020 Publisher: Belknap Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $19.50 |
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Title: Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES) by James M. McPherson ISBN: 019516895X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood ISBN: 0679736883 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 March, 1993 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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