The American Revolution: 1763-1783

Drama of American History

De: James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier

Narrado por: Jim Manchester

The American Revolution examines the people and events involved in the significant war by which the 13 original colonies broke away from England. The authors explain the many sources of conflict between the Americans and the British government, how each side approached the problems, and the results of the escalating violence.

History is dramatic - and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in the compelling Drama of American History series aimed at young readers. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation.

©1997 Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier (P)2013 AudioGO

Reseñas de la Crítica

"From the initial social and political unrest until the signing of the peace treaty in Paris in 1783, this text gives very interesting accounts from both sides of the ocean. Any instructor can easily integrate this book into the curriculum at the intermediate level and above, thus making history come to life for these students." ( Children's Literature)

A very enjoyable presentation

For a fresh immigrant this presentation has been inspiring.good introduction to American history.

V.Krishnamurthy
Atlanta

Intro into the American Revolutionary War

This is a great book that gives general information about the American Revolutionary War. This book would be a great introductory into this subject matter for anyone interested in the American Revolutionary War, but doesn't know where to start.

Great summary

This is a great summary of the American Revolution. Great for people who want to begin learning more about American history.

War & Peace in the United Colonies of America

I liked the narrators skill in describing the events that shaped the development of the Revolutionary war and what battles made the difference in spite of the fact that General George Washington was out numbered. Were it not for the French to support the American colonies we would not enjoy the independence we have today.

A great introduction to American History

I loved this audio book simply because it was concise, informative, and not too lengthy.

Whoever wants to learn about the history of the US of A should start here and work their way up.

5 stars

I love these series! what brave mem and women ww had fighting for our freedom! let freedom ring! great book!

Not just what happened but how and why

“The American Revolution: 1763-1783” is another in the series by Christopher and James Collier geared to younger readers of American history. This series, instead of a chronological and dates/people focus, attempts to zero in on periods, movements, and locations that were important to the overall progress of American history. They are all relatively short, about 100 pages or 2 hours for the audio versions. This one is 96 pages, or 1 hour and 50 minutes for the audio version.
Though written for youth, it is an excellent review for adults as well, providing a balanced, neutral overview that doesn’t just tell what happened but brings it to life and makes it understandable. You’ll note that it doesn’t start with the Declaration of Independence, Lexington and Concord, the Boston massacre or the Team Party, but the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1763. And they start from the perspective of the British King and Parliament, not just the colonists, to show how the two sides so quickly moved in such opposite directions to create the enmity and conflict that resulted in the separation..
This is important because the taxes that the colonists resented so much were seen by Parliament and just a natural contribution to the high costs that had been spent on defending the colonies, while the colonists resented them, not so much because they were unreasonably burdensome but because they were imposed without any representation or voice. The book focuses on the various aspects of this central theme rather than getting bogged down in all the details of every event without context.
The period is covered in 6 chapters. Chapter 1, “A Revolution in the Hearts and Minds of Americans” shows why the revolution was inevitable. They note the great distance requiring months for messages to get back and forth which had meant that the colonists always had a certain amount of self-government, but also that this distance meant that more and more, Parliament didn’t see the Americans as true British citizens but as colonists under British authority. Colonists had seen themselves as British subjects expanding the empire but after several generations in America, and with more autonomy than they would have had in Britain, that original relationship could not be maintained.
Chapter 2, “The Stamp Act Crisis” examines the first major crisis in that relationship and shows the quandary that it put the Parliament in. If they bowed to the demands of what they would have considered to be a rebellious mob, they would weaken their authority further, and yet if they sent troops to enforce it, they risked instigating a full-blown rebellion. They also introduce us to the early rebels with the rhetorical skill to crystalize and promote the seed of independence–James Otis, Patrick Henry, and John Adams.
Chapter 3, “Taxes and Teas” shows how America’s attitude to Britain developed after the Boston Massacre, and how other colonies rose to support Massachusetts. They propose that by 1770, any hope of reconciliation was over and all trust was gone. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the final spark.
Chapter 4, “Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill” starts the real physical conflict with the early battles, but the key point is that it was these battles that showed that the British were not invincible.
Chapter 5, “The Declaration of Independence” doesn’t spend a lot of time on the document itself but notes it as more of a necessary practical next step. The rest deals with the lessons learned by George Washington in early battles including his defeat on Long Island.
Chapter 6, “The War for American Independence” is a brief summary of the events of the revolutionary war, the suffering, the victories and failures, that gradually ended with the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, especially focusing on the key events that kept up American morale, the strategies that foiled British plans, and the things that eventually brought the French in to support us at the crucial time.
What they show is that the support for the revolution was not unanimous in the beginning and the victory was not a natural assumption. The entire thing could have gone either way at various times and often the difference was a small victory here or there or a heroic risk taken by a small few at a key point as well as a tendency of the British to a bit of overconfidence, leading them to fail to follow through on some significant opportunities. It is important in showing the importance of individuals in history, sometimes in small acts, helping us understand not just what happened but why. Highly recommended, both this book and the series, for youth and for adults.

Brief but interesting

History professors take another run at telling stories we all think we know. They do a nice job of getting to the point and describing forces of the day that supported victory.

good summary

it's a good summary of a lot of early American history, but it also leaves a lot out or skipped over.

These are awesome!

I love these history audiobooks! The story and the narration are outstanding. I listen to everyone in this series and some of them multiple times. They are shorter in time length with the longer ones going about two hours, so they are easily digestible even on a long hike, you can squeeze a few in.