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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I...I really wanted to like this book. I had all of Philbrick's books on hold. Hell, I was going to buy them at one point. But man, this one was a tough one. Maybe this is just not meant to me an audiobook listen, but I had a really hard time keeping track of the names and events that Philbrick was describing. He goes on tangents, and his descriptions are very verbose and it's just very dense to get through. I'm bummed!
I learned a few things. I think a biography of Joseph Warren, who would fight with Alexander Hamilton for not getting enough credit in history for the role he played in the revolution. Also lol at the American political leaders for trying to prosecute Benjamin Church, a spy, for treason when they in fact, were the ones committing treason to the crown. Sigh. Welcome to America.
I learned a few things. I think a biography of Joseph Warren, who would fight with Alexander Hamilton for not getting enough credit in history for the role he played in the revolution. Also lol at the American political leaders for trying to prosecute Benjamin Church, a spy, for treason when they in fact, were the ones committing treason to the crown. Sigh. Welcome to America.
informative
slow-paced
If you ever left a history class in high school with more questions than when you entered class, this is the book for you. This book offers a deep dive into the beginning of the American Revolution and a far more comprehensive understanding then any school course.
It does have a tendency to read as a textbook occasionally (I mean, it is an info-dense nonfiction book), but it also incorporates many interesting stories and events that it has you flipping pages and not falling asleep (like some textbooks I know).
As a new Massachusetts resident, I enjoyed reading about places and towns that I can recognize.
It does have a tendency to read as a textbook occasionally (I mean, it is an info-dense nonfiction book), but it also incorporates many interesting stories and events that it has you flipping pages and not falling asleep (like some textbooks I know).
As a new Massachusetts resident, I enjoyed reading about places and towns that I can recognize.
I have to preface this with a few statements:
1 - I do no like US history that much, in particular the war for independence isn't really my thing
2 - I am not a particular fan of military history either
So I listened to this book and often it was amazingly soporific that I fell asleep very shortly after starting it, which is probably more indicative of my state of fatigue than the book itself.
Possibly the narrator's voice was sufficiently soothing that it allowed my brain to turn off and that let me go to sleep.
So take the amount of time that it took me to read this with a big grain of salt, other things would come up and I would find them to be of more interest than this book and I would simply switch.
1 - I do no like US history that much, in particular the war for independence isn't really my thing
2 - I am not a particular fan of military history either
So I listened to this book and often it was amazingly soporific that I fell asleep very shortly after starting it, which is probably more indicative of my state of fatigue than the book itself.
Possibly the narrator's voice was sufficiently soothing that it allowed my brain to turn off and that let me go to sleep.
So take the amount of time that it took me to read this with a big grain of salt, other things would come up and I would find them to be of more interest than this book and I would simply switch.
informative
medium-paced
I listened to Bunker Hill and found it really interesting. Although in school the Revolutionary War is covered, I don't recall much of the details. Or that we learned details. I knew as most do that it started in New England, but this was a lot of interesting information about the war. It covers the whole start up to he battle itself. I liked the reader, which is always important.
informative
slow-paced
This book outlines the events leading up to the Battle of Bunker Hill and the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Saturday June 17, 1775. The hill was actually not the sight of most of the fighting, that was actually Breed's Hill, which I had never heard about previously. Colonial troops under the command of William Prescott occupied both Bunker and Breed's Hill when they discovered that British troops were on the move. The resulting battle wound up being fairly brutal, with the British losing over 1,000 and the Colonials losing over 400. The British wound up winning the ground, but the implications of this event for the Revolution were massive.
I really enjoyed the quotes in this book from some of these notable names, and the author did a great job including those and doing the research for this book. I really enjoy the work of Nathaniel Philbrick, and I have never been disappointed in any of his work. This book was no exception. I learned a lot from it, and even had a few laughs from some of the quotations included. This book is certainly necessary reading for people interested in the American Revolution, especially if you are just starting out.
I really enjoyed the quotes in this book from some of these notable names, and the author did a great job including those and doing the research for this book. I really enjoy the work of Nathaniel Philbrick, and I have never been disappointed in any of his work. This book was no exception. I learned a lot from it, and even had a few laughs from some of the quotations included. This book is certainly necessary reading for people interested in the American Revolution, especially if you are just starting out.
Philbrick brings the beginning of the revolution to new life. There are familiar characters and many more that play their part in the opening scenes of our country's transition from subjects of a king to independent free men. The author makes it apparent that this is only the beginning of a revolution that began 150 years earlier and continues to our day.
Another one I didn't really finish - but almost. See prior update, if possible, for ~reasons~
I am not a history person but I'm trying. And reading this book I did learn things about the revolution and I was able to finish the book so I call that a win. But star ranking is due to my own dislike of a lot of history books. I am trying to broaden my horizons.
A vivid recreation of the events surrounding the revolution in Boston--from the Boston Massacre through Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and the final siege of Boston--and withdrawal of the British. No special new insights but well written, thorough without being boring, strong on geography/military history, and a sympathetic portrayal of what in some respects was a civil war as it depicts the two sides nearly on top of each other.