The American Revolution

By: Allen C. Guelzo, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Allen C. Guelzo

Why did 13 colonies believe they could defeat the most powerful nation on the planet? And how did they eventually manage such an impressive feat? Get the real story on the battle for American independence with Professor Guelzo's 24 gripping lectures.

With a focus on the war's strategy, military tactics, logistics, and most fascinating people, these lectures are a must own for anyone curious about the origins of the greatest nation in modern history. Told from the perspective of both sides in an intense, almost novelistic style that recreates the experience of the war's key battles and decisions, the lectures introduce you to an array of vivid personalities, including George Washington, Lord George Sackville-Germaine, Henry Knox, Sir William Howe, and Thomas Paine.

Professor Guelzo's approach gives the forces at work in the palace and in Parliament equal weight with those in play at the Continental Congress and among George Washington's inner circle. It's a perspective that reveals the very different ways in which the two nations saw both their economic relationship and the philosophical underpinnings of a government's relationship to its citizens. You'll learn what it was like to serve on either side of the conflict, how those sides were trained, and about the terrors of the battlefield.Rich in dramatic moments like this, these lectures offer a fresh appraisal of this seminal event in American history, offering the diverging views of two sides whose common heritage had yielded two very different outlooks.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

Wonderful

This is a delightful survey of the American Revolution. Professor Guelzo is compelling and interesting.

Outstanding!

As an indication of how much I enjoyed this presentation, I am beginning it a second time in an attempt to get events and persons in their proper perspective. Dr.. Guelzo’s work is rich, engaging and packed with interesting anecdotes and data. I have deeply appreciated all of Dr. Guelzo’s books and presentations, my personal favorite being “The American Mind.” This one holds second place for me as I lacked a comprehensive overview of how each of the constituent elements of the struggle for independence connected to one another. Being a Philadelphia native and having lived in various parts of New Jersey, I have had abundant opportunities to visit sites such as Independence Hall, Franklin’s home, Valley Forge, the Red Bank battlefield, Washington’s Crossing, Trenton, The Mullica River, Cape May, Sandy Hook, Morristown etc. Nevertheless, how these pieces fit together has greatly escaped me until this work. I give this the highest recommendation.

Great Narrative

This is the best lecturer I have found in the Great Courses series. He makes battles come alive, and I am not usually interested in military history!It is about the military movements of the Americans and the British, but there is a bit of political and personal history involved to give it some flavor. I found it to have good details, but it is like any freshmen course; it glosses over a great deal, and it ignores much of the sticky issues. But, if you don't know much about the war (other then what you got in high school which in itself was very wrong) this is a good start.

A great story of the American Revolution

The content was fabulous. The story flowed well and the professor was both engaging and very easy to listen to. I learned a lot.

Excellent

This course exemplifies why I like Great Courses. This professor does a fantastic job of telling the story of the military history of the Revolutionary War. This course basically skips the build-up to the war, and it completely skips any attempt at social history. The professor tells you upfront that his intent is to explain the major battles of the war and focus purely on military history. While the causes of the war are important, as are the social history aspects of the war, this course intentionally selected a narrow focus then nailed it with a great performance. This course is better than some because it has such a clear focus. If you want to know more about the build-up to the war, the Great Courses also offers Origins and Ideologies of the American Revolution, which covers the topic.