A Revolutionary Book...

First and foremost I must say that this is not sort of book I would normally read, and so maybe that taints my opinion somewhat. I was required to read this book for a college History Assignment, and that seems fitting now. Because, for entertainment this book lacked quite a bit, but what it lacked in that area, it certainly made up for in historical value.

The story is that of the town of Concord, Massachusetts on the eve of, and during the American Revolution. But this book was revolutionary in itself. For the first time the story of the early Americans was told not from the perspective of only the rich and well-off. As Robert A. Gross puts it, "Theirs have been tales of great events and great men." However, this book takes a different approach to the history of the town. Gross became one of the first historians to look into such sources as vital records, wills, minutes of town meetings and genealogies and, using the information he found, weave together the story of the "every day" men and women of Concord.

These men and women led a certain kind of life before the revolution. A life where community was everything, and the "fathers" of the town, both paternal and political, held complete control. But it was a town whose basic values were beginning to tumble. Religious conflicts had torn apart the community feeling. Scarcity of land was driving sons out of town, and therefore causing both kinds of fathers to lose their power. Women were being forced to marry downward on the social scale, due to the mass exodus of young men. The economic stability of the town was in jeopardy due to restrictions against British goods. Life as the Concordians knew it was beginning to crumble.

And, in the midst of it all, the town was becoming a leader in a revolution that they initially wanted no part of. They joined the fight, not to separate from England, but rather to seek representation in Parliament. And, because of this, the Minutemen emerged. They were a group of men whose lives were becoming more and more unstable. But in the midst of their battle they began to find solutions to their problems. And they found that those solutions were in finding a new set of values. A set of values where individual freedom meant more than community. Where fathers helped find their children's place in the world, but did not hand it over to them. Values in which political leaders were not superior to their constituents, but rather servants of them. The American Revolution instilled values which are still held by almost all Americans today.

The story that Gross puts forth is interesting, although somewhat slow in places. He tends to jump around a bit, causing the reader to sometimes lose sight of what is happening at what point, however, he builds a story that you find yourself drawn into. It brings to life a battle that was fought long ago, through the eyes of the men and women who lived it. Not extraordinary men and women, but ones who hold their place in history nonetheless.