The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789

By: Robert Middlekauff

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.

This panoramic view of the conflict between England and America combines the political and the personal, giving the listener a vivid sense of how the colonists perceived the events of their struggle for independence, from the French and Indian War to “the shot heard round the world”, and the importance the colonists assigned to them.

Praised as “state of the art” and “the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship”, the four new volumes of the Oxford History of the United States – including The Glorious Cause – are narrated with engagingly casual warmth by Robert Fass, who previously read an earlier volume in the series, Empire of Liberty, by Gordon S. Wood.

Please note: The individual volumes of the series have not been published in historical order. The Glorious Cause is number III in The Oxford History of the United States.

Listen to more of the definitive Oxford History of the United States.

©2005 Robert Middlekauff (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

If you like American History, try this audio book.

Recently I've been more and more interested in American history. TV documentaries on everything from the American Revolution, the wild west, Civil War, Great Depression, etc..., have been fascinating me. When I went in search of an audio book for the Civil War, this title caught my eye. I started reading up on the book and wisely decided to start at the "beginning". Beginning in quotes because the American history started long before 1763. But this point in time can probably be considered the beginning of the United States. And I'm glad I did.

The book title states it covers the time period of 1763 - 1789, and for the most part it does. There are times when pre 1763 details are given to support an idea the author is explaining, but the majority of the book falls between these years. The events leading up to Lexington / Concord were explored in more detail than I've ever heard. The points of view are not only told from the American side, but from the British as well. From what I can tell, the author tried to do a fair job in telling both sides of the story. In the end of course, the Revolution is justified, as history has seen. Many of the battles are told in great detail, which took me be surprise. The only thing I found lacking were some details of events towards the end of the war and leading to the ratification of the Constitution. Washington being elected to the Presidency is briefly mentioned, but how this came to be wasn't clearly defined is just one example.

Since the ride to and from work is how I listen to my audio books, there are times when certain items are missed unfortunately. This can be quite detrimental to an audio book of this kind due to the sheer number of names, places, dates, documents, etc... that are mentioned within. I believe to fully absorb the content of this book, it would have to be read. Well, by myself anyway, since reading a page helps me retain details; and this book is all about the details.

All in all though, a great book.

Political Junkies' Guide to the American Revolution

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get beyond the headlines into what really happened to start and sustain the American revolution and how the colonies that became independent became a nation. It's highly detailed so at times, it can feel long, but all the details weave together to support the story.

Really put you in the Revolutionary scenes

Comprehensive history of the birth of the United States. Includes all of the unrest, events and skirmishes leading to the Revolutionary War; details of the progression of the war including congressional activities, civilian attitudes, and the movements of both the British and American armies; and the aftermath including the forging of the Constitution and a new national government. It had a good progression, and included looks at the lives of colonists in several circumstances, the soldiers, and their leaders.

Rather more detail in battle tactics and movements than I have ever read before or care to; even some of the descriptions of terrain were beyond me to visualize, not to mention the troop arrangements. Require pictures. But other than that, good.

Was typical of nonfiction history books in many ways, but I liked the storytelling voice used to carry the narration throughout. The narrator was very good and had an appropriate voice - not monotone or sleep inducing. In fact, his intonation and manner of speaking made me think of Neil Patrick Harris quite often (does he have an audiobook pseudonym for history books? Heh)!

Overall good, would be worth revisiting if in need of a refresher, but otherwise satisfied with once.

Excellent

The entire Oxford series is outstanding. As a history buff I can’t praise is book and all of them together enough. I look forward to the upcoming additions.

Well researched with great context and depth

Excellent book about the Revolution with incredible context of the people involved, they did what they did, and how things changed over time. It also does an excellent job of setting norms of the day so we can understand why decisions were made.

Lots of Content

There’s a lot of content in this book. The explanation of individual parts is brief. However, it does a very good job of packing a lot of contents into one book.

Excellent book on the American struggle for Independence

This book is an excellent overview of American history with a background of colonial America up until the ratification of the US constitution. Middlekauf does an excellent job laying out the facts with little insights into each event. It is a throughly researched book that gives enough context to each improper and event during this period of American history. The reader also does an excellent job reading out this book.

exhaustive but not exhausting

At first i wondered if it would be long and dry but the narrators voice was good and I found myself pulled into the story. I was able to listen all the way through via my driving commute. I learned a lot that was never taught in high school history. I feel better informed on the sequence and timing of the American revolution. Thanks.

Fantastic

If you could sum up The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789 in three words, what would they be?

The Perfect Title

What did you like best about this story?

It gave a clear vision as to the why of each political decision, and the odds against them.

What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emotion Attitude Conviction

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

yes

Excellent One Volume History of the Revolutionary

The Glorious Cause is a part of the Oxford History of the United States. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is one of the best one volume books on the period from 1754-1789. The complexity of events during this period are nothing less than daunting. The colonists fought a nine year war on behalf of the British Empire. Their loyalty to the crown was unquestioned. In a series of laws after the 1763, changed all of that. As the British Parliament began to assert itself the freedom loving American began to push back. Accustomed to representational government and a certain amount of autonomy, many colonists began to resist. By 1775, only a dozen years after the end of the French and Indian War, the resistance erupted into full rebellion.

Over the next eight years the new American Nation would fight for her independence against the greatest army and navy in the world. The Peace of Paris ended the war, but not the trouble in America. The weak nature of the Articles of Confederation meant that there was no way to maintain a strong national government. The solution for some was to create a new government. To this end the Constitution was written.

This book gives an excellent overview of this period. All of the major events are touched on. The size of the book means that not every topic can be dealt with in depth, but it gives readers a starting point. Middlekauff’s prose is not academic in nature and is very accessible to the average reader. Read this along with Gordon Woods’ Empire of Liberty and Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought and you will have a very strong foundation in American History.