Revolution song : a story of American freedom

From the author of the acclaimed history The Island at the Center of the World, an intimate new epic of the American Revolution that reinforces its meaning for today. With America's founding principles being debated today as never before, Russell Shorto looks back to the era in which those principles were forged. Drawing on new sources, he weaves the lives of six people into a seamless narrative that casts fresh light on the range of experience in colonial America on the cusp of revolution. While some of the protagonists—a Native American warrior, a British aristocrat, George Washington—play major roles on the field of battle, others—a woman, a slave, and a laborer—struggle no less valiantly to realize freedom for themselves. Through these lives we understand that the Revolution was, indeed, fought over the meaning of individual freedom, a philosophical idea that became a force for violent change. A powerful narrative and a brilliant... In His Epic New Book, Russell Shorto Takes Us Back To The Founding Of The American Nation, Drawing On Diaries, Letters And Autobiographies To Flesh Out Six Lives That Cast The Era In A Fresh New Light. They Include An African Man Who Freed Himself And His Family From Slavery, A Rebellious Young Woman Who Abandoned Her Abusive Husband To Chart Her Own Course, And A Certain Mr. Washington, Who Was Admired For His Social Graces But Harshly Criticized For His Often-disastrous Military Strategy. Through These Lives We Understand That The Revolution Was Fought Over The Meaning Of Individual Freedom, A Philosophical Idea That Became A Force For Violent Change. A Powerful Narrative And A Brilliant Defense Of American Values, Revolution Song Makes The Compelling Case That The American Revolution Is Still Being Fought Today And That Its Ideals Are Worth Defending.--jacket Flap. Sons Of Fathers -- A Tide In The Affairs Of Men -- The Turtle's Back -- The Charming Sound Of Bullets -- World On Fire -- This Land I Have Made For You And Not For Others -- The Spirit That Rages -- Thirteen Toasts -- Assuming Command -- A Natural Inclination To Liberty -- The City Of New York Will, In All Human Probability, Very Soon Be The Scene Of A Bloody Conflict -- So Celestial An Article -- Cannons Muskets Drums -- White Freedom -- I Am Your Son! I Am A Warrior! -- Numberless Meteors Gleaming Through The Atmosphere -- The Cause Of Humanity -- Rough Hewer -- Glowing With Zeal For The General Happiness And Improvement Of Mankind -- Which Nothing Else Can Equal. Russell Shorto. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 557-578) And Index. “An engaging piece of historical detective work and narrative craft.” —Chicago Tribune At a time when America’s founding principles are being debated as never before, Russell Shorto looks back to the era in which those principles were forged. In Revolution Song, Shorto weaves the lives of six people into a seamless narrative that casts fresh light on the range of experience in colonial America on the cusp of revolution. The result is a brilliant defense of American values with a compelling message: the American Revolution is still being fought today, and its ideals are worth defending. Draws on diaries, letters, and other sources to flesh out six disparate lives affected by the Revolutionary War, including an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a woman who abandoned her abusive husband, and an often-criticized George Washington