Often understood as a high-minded, orderly event, the American Revolution grows in this masterful history like a ground fire overspreading Britain's mainland colonies, fuelled by local conditions and resistant to control. Emerging from the rivalries of European empires and their allies, the revolution pivoted on western expansion as well as resistance to new British taxes. In the seaboard cities, leading Patriots mobilised popular support by summoning crowds to harass opponents. Along the frontier, the war often featured guerrilla violence that persisted long after the peace treaty. The smouldering discord called forth a movement to consolidate power in a Federal Constitution but it was Jefferson's "empire of liberty" that carried the Revolution forward. This magisterial history reveals the American Revolution in its time, free of wishful hindsight.

About the Author
Alan Taylor, twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History, is the author of American Revolutions and American Republics, prior volumes in his acclaimed continental history of the United States. He is Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at University of Virginia, and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Reviews
"Excellent . . . deserves high praise. Mr. Taylor conveys this sprawling continental history with economy, clarity, and vividness." -- The Wall Street Journal
"Alan Taylor's remarkable and magnificent 'continental history'... is indeed the history of the American Revolution for our times... In short, it is a towering achievement." -- Family and Community History Journal


Awards
Short-listed for George Washington Book Prize 2017.



Book Information
ISBN 9780393354768
Author Alan Taylor
Format Paperback
Page Count 704
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 520g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 140mm * 30mm