The glorious cause : a novel of the American Revolution /
Material type: TextPublication details: NY : Ballantine, c2002.Description: 638 pISBN:- 0345427564
- 0375432450 (lg print)
- 0345427580
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Fiction | Coeur d'Alene Library | Book | SHAARA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 2 | Available | 50610017512653 | |||
Standard Loan | Mullan Library Adult Fiction | Mullan Library | Book | SHAARA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610015797629 | |||
Standard Loan | Plummer Library Adult Fiction | Plummer Library | Book | SHAARA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 30573 | |||
Standard Loan | Wallace Library Adult Fiction | Wallace Library | Book | SHAARA/Am. Rev. #02 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610012758194 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
In Rise to Rebellion , bestselling author Jeff Shaara captured the origins of the American Revolution as brilliantly as he depicted the Civil War in Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure . Now he continues the amazing saga of how thirteen colonies became a nation, taking the conflict from kingdom and courtroom to the bold and bloody battlefields of war.
It was never a war in which the outcome was obvious. Despite their spirit and stamina, the colonists were outmanned and outfought by the brazen British army. General George Washington found his troops trounced in the battles of Brooklyn and Manhattan and retreated toward Pennsylvania. With the future of the colonies at its lowest ebb, Washington made his most fateful decision- to cross the Delaware River and attack the enemy. The stunning victory at Trenton began a saga of victory and defeat that concluded with the British surrender at Yorktown, a moment that changed the history of the world.
The despair and triumph of America's first great army is conveyed in scenes as powerful as any Shaara has written, a story told from the points of view of some of the most memorable characters in American history. There is George Washington, the charismatic leader who held his army together to achieve an unlikely victory; Charles Cornwallis, the no-nonsense British general, more than a match for his colonial counterpart; Nathaniel Greene, who rose from obscurity to become the finest battlefield commander in Washington's army; The Marquis de Lafayette, the young Frenchman who brought a soldier's passion to America; and Benjamin Franklin, a brilliant man of science and philosophy who became the finest statesman of his day.
From Nathan Hale to Benedict Arnold, William Howe to "Light Horse" Harry Lee, from Trenton and Valley Forge, Brandywine and Yorktown, the American Revolution's most immortal characters and poignant moments are brought to life in remarkable Shaara style. Yet, The Glorious Cause is more than just a story of the legendary six-year struggle. It is a tribute to an amazing people who turned ideas into action and fought to declare themselves free. Above all, it is a riveting novel that both expands and surpasses its beloved author's best work.
Accelerated Reader AR UG 8.1 44.0 68639.
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Shaara abandons the Civil War to bring us the American Revolution. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Publishers Weekly Review
Shaara's hefty fifth novel, the second in a two-volume series about the American Revolution, is an epic saga of what Shaara calls our first civil war and the first truly world war, told with emotion, energy and historical precision. Using the formula of character-driven fiction employed by his father, Michael Shaara (The Killer Angels), Jeff Shaara presents the dramatic history of the revolution as seen through the eyes of the major players. In describing the battles, skirmishes, victories, defeats, blunders, intrigues, treason and bickering, Shaara illuminates the circumstances whereby a rebel collection of motley amateurs dared to confront a mighty empire and its vaunted army. The narrative establishes immediacy in its colorful profiles of the participants. Shaara depicts George Washington as a general whose force of will and strong character earn the loyalty of soldiers who are defeated by the British again and again. Washington's relationships with other principals are profound and surprising. Having regarded Gen. Charles Lee as a friend, he is stunned by the behavior of his second-in-command on the battlefield and behind his back. He thinks highly of Gen. Nathaniel Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette, and neither will disappoint him. Having enjoyed the "pleasantly sociable" company of Benedict Arnold, Washington discovers too late that there are two traitors at West Point. He also learns firsthand how "Mad Anthony" Wayne earned his nickname. Shaara takes equal pains to characterize the British, men like dawdling Gen. William Howe, arrogant Henry Clinton and the capable but hapless Charles Cornwallis. This is vivid and compelling historical fiction, but also a primer on leadership and the arts of war and diplomacy. Shaara reaches new heights here, with a narrative that's impossible to put down. (Nov.) Forecast: The timing of this novel, recalling our country's turbulent birth, is sure to have resonance in this period of national crisis. The simultaneous release of the Warner Bros. movie of Gods and Generals should boost reader recognition and make the book a standout for Christmas gift giving. Eight-city author tour. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reservedBooklist Review
Shaara's Rise to Rebellion (2001) took readers back to the time just prior to the outbreak of actual hostilities that led to the independence of Britain's American colonies. Now, in a sequel to that best-selling novel, Shaara brings the rebellion itself onto center stage. His copiously researched narrative follows the course of the American Revolution from immediately after independence was declared to the point, some seven years later, when independence was secured by the defeat of the British army. Shaara focuses primarily on the lives of four vital (and historically real) figures involved in this world-altering event: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lord Cornwallis (a leading British general), and Nathaniel Greene (an important American one). Into the story he also weaves numerous secondary characters, including Nathan Hale and the marquis de Lafayette. But this is not a story overly crowded with characters; the truth is, the accessible narrative moves with great fluidity. The battle scenes are graphically--even excitingly--written, but Shaara does not neglect the equally important diplomatic side of events as the new nation sought crucial European allies in its struggle for independence. (In fact, his representation of the personality and work of diplomat Ben Franklin is probably the most fascinating characterization of all his actual historical personages.) Shaara understands the history of the time, and he's clearly a good writer. --Brad HooperKirkus Book Review
Not so much glorious as tedious, even with all the shooting going on. Shaara (Gods and Generals, 1996, etc.) continues the saga of the American Revolution begun with Rise to Rebellion (2001). This one opens in New York during the summer of 1776. Washington's ragged army prepares to defend itself against a large British force commanded by the rather useless General Howe. Highly trained, well armed, and reinforced by a sizable contingent of vicious Hessian mercenaries, the British drive the Americans out of forested Brooklyn Heights into Manhattan and thence through the small towns of New Jersey. As Washington scrabbles to keep his army fed, clothed and paid, the action occasionally jumps across the ocean to Paris, where Ben Franklin is trying to convince the French to support said glorious cause. The French would of course love to stick it to the British but are waiting for more concrete signs of the Americans' ability to hold their own before whole-heartedly joining their side. Meanwhile, back in America, the war moves ahead in fits and starts as the two armies (tiny by 19th- and 20th-century standards) spend their time between skirmishes and the occasional pitched battle just trying to locate one another in the vastness of the New World. The end is, of course, inevitable, as American pluck beats British arrogance. Though the events depicted here should be extraordinarily rousing (the war was nearly lost on a number of nailbiting occasions), Shaara manages to render almost all of them mundane. He has an excellent grasp of the military and political significance of what's going on, but his flat tone and missing gift for characterization make the story drag when it ought to soar. What could have been a good, readable history fails through poor fictionalization.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Jeff Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 21, 1952. He received a degree in criminology from Florida State University in 1974. He was a professional dealer in rare coins for many years and operated his own business in Tampa until the death of his father, Michael Shaara, in 1988, when he became actively involved in the elder Shaara's literary estate.He continued his father's work by researching the history of the characters his father had brought to life in The Killer Angels, and in 1996 his prequel, Gods and Generals, was published. The book was awarded the American Library Association's Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction and was adapted into a motion picture in 2003. His other works include The Last Full Measure, Rise to Rebellion, The Glorious Cause, The Steel Wave, No Less Than Victory, The Final Storm, A Blaze of Glory, A Chain of Thunder, The Smoke at Dawn, and The Fateful Lightning. He received another Boyd Award for To the Last Man.
(Bowker Author Biography)
There are no comments on this title.