July 24, 2008: Page Turners 7 p.m.

Book: 1776 by David McCullough

Attendance: 11

Discussion:

Almost everyone liked the book this month; nine people voted thumbs up, one thumbs down, and one abstained from voting. The main complaints about the book were that it had a kind of “required reading” feel and that there were too many characters to keep straight. On the other hand, with so many people involved in the narrative, it seemed obvious to us that McCullough conducted a great amount of research while writing.

We discussed other McCullough books, John Adams, having been recently made into a miniseries by HBO, and Mornings on Horseback, a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. Both interested the group.

The talk then turned to the Revolutionary War in general, including battles not recounted in 1776. Several of us mentioned being surprised that the book didn’t take us to the end of the war, before realizing it was just going to describe the events of the title year, eventually leading up to a year-end victory which changed the course of the war.

We also commented on how George Washington was portrayed in the book. I was surprised that his mistakes were pointed out so directly, since most discussion of the General usually consists solely of praise. Another Page Turner reminded me that even the most brilliant military strategists make mistakes in the beginning. We also talked about the letters George Washington sent home. These often included detailed descriptions of what he wanted done to his house, which was being constructed at the time. One group member wondered if this was integrated into the book in order to make Washington seem frivolous or if this was his way of escaping from the war. Other members believed it was his method of escape.

We then began speaking of letter writing, a lost art these days. Some members recalled receiving letters from loved ones in World War II, including V-Mail letters. This led to several anecdotes concerning American wars and military ventures over the past century. One Page Turner told the rest of us about the Battle of Toledo, in which the territories of Ohio and Michigan were poised to fight over that city. The fight ended, the only causality being a pig, with Ohio keeping the city and Michigan securing the northern peninsula.

The meeting thus ended on a humorous note, ballots and suggestion lists for next year’s reading list having been distributed along with flyers for upcoming programs.