Sunday, February 27, 2005

Sunday Review

From now on, I will post up my reviews on Sundays. These will be about historical movies, novels, non-fiction, etc. The judging will be on how enjoyable or entertaining something is, and how historically accurate or close to the original source it is.

Today's will be about the novel, Rise to Rebellion, by Jeff Shaara. Both him and his father are two of my favorite authors. This book will be interesting for someone who appreciates colonial politics and the major events leading up to the American Revolution. Also, unlike your average history textbooks or non-fictions, you actually get to view figures such as Washington, Franklin and John Adams on a closer, more personal level. You read about their thoughts and their feelings. There personal lives become very real. If you are looking for some violent, bloody, action and suspense packed thriller, this might not be so much for you. Most of the book deals with politics and Colonial lives. Still, all those events that you only read about in a distant, analytical way, suddenly become very real. Thanks to the superb writing style.
Accuracy-wise, the book is very close to real history. It is also more balanced than you would expect, large sections of the novel are from the British perspective. It is obviously backed up with research as many fine details. You study the Revolution as if you were actually seeing the real events occurring.
On a scale of 1 through 5, I give it a 4.5.

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