 | |
 View Larger |
Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution By Jeff Shaara ( Ballantine Books )
Release Date: 2004-06-29
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $15.95
Price: $10.85
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|  Add to Cart |
|
|
Product Description
Jeff Shaara dazzled readers with his bestselling novels Gods and Generals, The Last Full Measure, and Gone for Soldiers. Now the acclaimed author who illuminated the Civil War and the Mexican-American War brilliantly brings to life the American Revolution, creating a superb saga of the men who helped to forge the destiny of a nation.
In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command—“Fire!”—as England’s peacekeeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred.
The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies. Outraged by the increasing loss of their liberties, an extraordinary gathering of America’s most inspiring characters confronts the British presence with the ideals that will change history.
John Adams, the idealistic attorney devoted to the law, who rises to greatness by the power of his words . . . Ben Franklin, one of the most celebrated men of his time, the elderly and audacious inventor and philosopher who endures firsthand the hostile prejudice of the British government . . . Thomas Gage, the British general given the impossible task of crushing a colonial rebellion without starting an all-out war . . . George Washington, the dashing Virginian whose battle experience in the French and Indian War brings him the recognition that elevates him to command of a colonial army . . . and many other immortal names from the Founding Family of the colonial struggle—Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee— captured as never before in their full flesh-and-blood humanity.
More than a powerful portrait of the people and purpose of the revolution, Rise to Rebellion is a vivid account of history’s most pivotal events. The Boston Tea Party, the battles of Concord and Bunker Hill—all are recreated with the kind of breathtaking detail only a master like Jeff Shaara can muster. His most impressive achievement, Rise to Rebellion reveals with new immediacy how philosophers became fighters, ideas their ammunition, and how a scattered group of colonies became the United States of America.
|
|
 Excellent Recreation of the Founding of the USA ( patriotman )
Jeff Shaara has written a book that would make his famous father proud. Rise to Rebellion is a wonderfully written tale of the torturous founding of the United States. Shaara makes characters such as John Adams, John Hancock, Dickenson, British General Thomas Gage, and of course, General George Washington, come alive. The tale begins with the "Boston Massacre" and John Adams defense of the leader of the British troops who is charged with murder. It's clear Shaara has done his homework on these events and the reader will learn much about how Adams came to become a rebel. Shaara's retelling of battle scenes is also very good. I am not well read enough in the history of the Revolutionary period to know if all of Shaara's details are completely correct but a book like this, that's not necessarily the point. Shaara has done such a good job in making the characters come alive, hopefully a reader will now go pick up biographies of Adams, Washington and others to read more and learn about the history of their country.
The Kindle transfer is also quite good. I only found a couple of minor errors in spelling, and one where a paragraph indentation had an unnecessary > sign. The transfer is definitely good enough that it won't distract the reader into always realizing they're reading an electronic book.
|
 rise to greatness...
The characters are true, the events are historical facts and the writing style is so vivid and true to characters that you imagine this is the way it truly happened. You have to remind yourself that this is a historical novel but you get so wrapped up in the narrative that you get a sense that this is the way it really went down. That's what's called good writing and Jeff Shaara has risen his game to a whole new level. This is his finest work to date that I've read. The emotion, the detail to character, wow! If you love history you will absolutely love this novel! I can't wait to get the next one in this 2-volume set. This is not some dry, historical fact by fact history book but a vivid realization of this is the way it probaly went down. I've read a few autobiographies of some of the main characters that Mr Shaara uses to tell his story and his depiction of them is dead-on. His Ben Franklin is one for the ages. I learned so much about the birth of our independance. Never knew that the Congressional Congress tried to sign-up Canada as a 14th colony.
|
Bringing the revolution back to life ( resqgeek )
The events of the 1770's are roughly known by most Americans from their early school days, where we learn about the Boston Tea Party, the opening shots of the Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. But how much do we really know about these events? Do we really understand how the crisis evolved, or how it ultimately lead to war and independence for the United States?
While this book is fiction, in that it takes us inside the heads of the important historical figures of the period, it is clearly based upon a great deal of historical research. It is a gripping retelling of a familiar story, one that lays a great deal of detail onto the broad brush strokes of our understanding of the period. We come to understand the frustrations of the colonists and the arrogance of the British parliment and aristocracy. The events of this period come vividly to life, along with the well-known figures that helped to shape the course of history. This was perhaps the best overall story of the early Revolution I've ever read.
|
Rise to Rebellion Review ( julie_ahlander2 )
Love this book! Fun to read. Loved reading the story from different people's perspectives. Enjoyed learning so much about American History that I didn't know before. And, since I saw it in gift shops all over Boston, I decided that was a pretty good endorsement for accuracy.
|
Rise to Rebellion
Very well done. It provides a background for the Revolution which most history classes don't discuss in the detail found in this book.
|
|
|
