The Radicalism of the American Revolution

De: Gordon S. Wood

Narrado por: Paul Boehmer

Pulitzer Prize, History, 1993

Grand in scope, rigorous in its arguments, and elegantly synthesizing 30 years of scholarship, Gordon S. Wood's Pulitzer Prize–winning book analyzes the social, political, and economic consequences of 1776. In The Radicalism of the American Revolution, Wood depicts not just a break with England, but the rejection of an entire way of life: of a society with feudal dependencies, a politics of patronage, and a world view in which people were divided between the nobility and "the Herd." He shows how the theories of the country's founders became realities that sometimes baffled and disappointed them. Above all, Bancroft Prize–winning historian Wood rescues the revolution from abstraction, allowing readers to see it with a true sense of its drama---and not a little awe.

©1993 Gordon S. Wood (P)2011 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The most important study of the American Revolution to appear in over twenty years...a landmark book." (Pauline Maier, The New York Times Book Review)

Wonderful book, unlistenable narration.

Would love...to finish this, I can’t take it...anymore. Breathing is frequent...and arbitrary, obscuring meaning...and intent.

Great book, bad reader

emphasis and expression too often wrong. Only buy this book if the subject enthralls you

A unique and relevant look at the founding

It is easy to see how this book is relevant to understanding America today - society, politics and government.

Wood doesn't quite say it this way, but his basic argument is this: the founding generation were trying to create a new society, but they failed to create the one they envisioned. Instead, the society they created turned out better - from the perspective of modern Americans - because it is more democratic than they imagined any place ever could be.

Very Helpful

I was assigned this book to read for a college course, and a lot of the topics covered in here were so dense and lengthy I knew I wouldn’t be able to read it on my own and comprehend it. Using the audiobook made it easier to divide it up and understand. Paul Boehmer did a great job, and I found the book surprisingly interesting.

The matter of class

What did you love best about The Radicalism of the American Revolution?

This account of the revolution is fascinating for its focus on issues of class which were, on the one hand, much less distinct than those of England, and yet more distinct than we would recognize. It is a useful perspective for me as a history teacher.

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

I prefer readers who don't call attention to themselves in the reading. This fits the bill

How timely it is

I liked the last chapter, which is as insightful today as it was 30 years ago. Half our country is reviving the America of 200 years ago, while the rest of us are trying to make sure we have 200 more years.

Regurgitating Gordon Wood

If you could sum up The Radicalism of the American Revolution in three words, what would they be?

Seminal social history

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

I think my head would explode. Look, this is the kind of thing that qualifies as Very Legitimate History, and if you want a fairly deep understanding of what made the American Revolution revolutionary in the social sense, it's a great listen. It's probably not what the casual watcher of the History Channel wants to chew on, unless he's in training to go to a Harvard bar and have an argument with a math genius from Southie.

Very Interesting Book Despite Lack of Action

The most important thing for listeners to know is that this book is not a history of the American Revolution. As far as I can recall, not a single battle of the War for Independence is even mentioned in this book. The subject of this book is the society, culture, and thinking of the American people before, during, and after the Revolutionary War.

This is a theory book; there is very little action. However, the book is still fairly entertaining, as the author (Gordon Wood) makes ample use of anecdotes and journal entries. In addition, there are a number of very interesting statistics given, particularly in the second half of the book, which may surprise listeners. The book offers up a very enlightening view of the ways in which the structure and nature of American society changed drastically over the years, transforming from a culture not wholly unlike that of England, to a totally original and unique society. Wood at the very least is able to cast doubt on many of the common beliefs we have about early American life, the reasons for the Revolution, and the founding fathers.

Listeners may get off to a slow start with this book. The opening chapters are a bit wordy and repetitive. Eventually, I suspect listeners who were bored initially will get used to the style and begin to settle in to this work.

The narrator's slow, emphasis heavy style certainly doesn't help to get things rolling early on. However, that precise, deliberate style--which can make a somewhat dry book very difficult to get through--can actually be a positive boon if the listener is willing to speed up the rate of speech. Many listeners may want to "speed listen" due to the subject (fairly dry) and writing style (wordy and repetitive) of the audiobook, and in this case Paul Boehmer's style is actually perfect for that, as his words will remain clear even when sped up.

The book can at times get rather complex, so listeners may not want to listen at too fast of a rate, but certainly most will be able to comprehend and enjoy the book at an increased speed. I should warn the listener, however, that because the book has very little in the way of action, and due to Wood's repetition-heavy style, "tune outs" are inevitable. I would think this would be the case for all but the most hyper focused listeners. This can be exasperated when speed listening. So the listener just needs to be willing to accept that there may be times when they have to hit the "minus 30 seconds" button and go back a bit to re-listen to the section they "glazed over" in a listening sense.

In book 2 (chapter 6), the narrator undergoes a rather disparate voice change. It would appear that production entailed doing the introduction and book 1 in one sitting, and then taking a lengthy break before starting book 2. Boehmer's noticeably refreshed voice is distracting at first but eventually the listener's ear will get accustomed to it.

The early chapters concerning social rank are quite interesting, but the intricacies are complex and gray at times, to the point that things seem contradictory. Don't despair; this is totally natural, as American society is all of those things: complex, gray, and most certainly contradictory.

I would recommend to any listener that gets bored with this book to keep going. The second half of the book is much more interesting. The most interesting portion of this book, in my opinion, is the part that deals with the aftermath of the Revolution. In particular, the views of the founding fathers in their old age are fascinating.

Though the book isn't always a "page turner," it is non-the-less entertaining and interesting. I would think that just about every listener will gain some new knowledge. It is certainly worth it to push through any periods of boredom.

Not light reading

Wood is one of my favorite history authors. This one is very intellectual and lacks a lot of narrative story telling. In my mind he proves his argument.

Not quite the title suggests

The book was fascinating and well written, was far less about the radicalism of the American Revolution and much more centered on the radicalism of ‘early Americans’ on Colonial America. Do with that what you will.