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.

Fascinating and thoroughly researched

The details behind the story of what caused the American Revolution - extensively researched with great insight as to how and why.

Glorious telling of the Revolutionary story

The most indepth telling of the Revolutionary era I have read. Especially the prewar British political. happenings.

5 stars

One of the best books w read. Pace is excellent and keeps you constantly entertained. Good job!

overall good, not one of the truly best

Any additional comments?

Good addition to the oxford series, but one of the lesser components in my opinion. Parts were slow, and hard to follow many of the battles or descriptions.

Excellent overview, but can leave a the listener wanting more detail.

Overall, this is an excellent book, it really does a good job at showing the Revolution from its beginnings in the 1760’s till its obvious conclusion in the constitutional convention.
If you are someone who just wants to know the basics of what happened during this time then it is definitely worth a listen. If you are someone who already knows a fair amount of what’s going on in that time, You may feel like I do that It is light on the details you want.
Its order and pacing is strange, it can seem clunky at times.
I also did not like how the epilogue was overly orthodox. I would’ve rather have heard a conclusion from the researcher/author of what their overall point of view of the time period was since they’ve done extensive research on it that always helps me frame the book and seek out alternative points of view to give myself a more rounded understanding.

Authoritative, well written emphasis on battles

I have read a lot of histories of the Revolutionary War, events leading up to it as well as separate histories of the constitutional convention. This is an extremely thorough presentation with a lot of emphasis placed on detailed presentation of battles. If you are especially interested in the military aspects of the war, you will particularly enjoy this ... and if that is true, you also may want to read this in print because there are maps and other support material that will make this aspect of the war more comprehensible.

It is well written and much more neutral in tone than most history I've read. When the author does make his opinion known, it is striking because it is very restrained most of the time.

I did enjoy it. It's dry, but it's also well written and read at a brisk pace. I have to admit to not liking the narrator. He's good, he's professional ... it's his voice I don't like. It just grated on my ears after a while ... and this is a very long book, so a little annoyance lasts a long time.

If this is an area of history that is of particular interest to you, this is a good book to add to your reading list. However, it is a very focused book and if you aren't really serious about this era of history ... well ... it's 50-50 whether or not you'll have the patience to listen to such a very long and detailed history of this period. Yotu have to bring your own interest to the book or it is likely to be dull.

A fine audiobook for those with a serious interest in this part of history. Maybe not so interesting if your interest in the material is more tangential.

Verbose and uninteresting

The author writes about every little minute detail, but fails to cover some of the most important events of the period, including the defection of Benedict Arnold (which is stated in passing). In addition, the writing style is dull and uninteresting. He fails to make a connection to the present world and the events he is describing.

Dense

Written more as a historical dissertation than a popular history. the first 6-7 hours are virtually unbearable but it gets MUCH better once you're through.

Evcellent Historical Perspective

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If the friend is interested in an in-depth study of American History-Yes

What did you like best about this story?

It is the story of my country.

Which character – as performed by Robert Fass – was your favorite?

not applicable

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

This is a part of the Oxford history of the Unites States series.

Great History

Loved it. Written with exhaustive detail but in a narrative fluid style. I found myself following along the entire way, as if I was being told a story. If only out schools did as good of a job.