Much has been written about the American pursuit of Independence in the late 18th Century. But much of it is agenda driven to prove a contemporary point, and much of it is single person focused (such as an autobiography of Washington, Jefferson or Adams). John Ferling has written a great broad history in his work Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free.

What I enjoyed about this book is that it digs into the details without ever becoming boring. For instance, it describes the vote for independence itself, going Colony by Colony, describing the people who represented that region and why they voted the way they did. It does the same in the UK, describing how politics and (in some cases) pigheadedness created the breach with America. Ferling has a gift for writing so that mundane things (e.g. who showed up late for which meeting and why) become interesting. He weaves the story together so well that you don’t want to put the book down.

This is not a book about military tactics, the celebration of personality (e.g. Adams, Jefferson or Washington), or public sentiment. This is a great look into the nuts and bolts of how history was fashioned through the independence movement. It’s really a political history book as much as anything else. And it is done masterfully well.

All that said…this is another book about an extremely well known topic, and I can’t honestly say it offers anything new of serious consequence. What it does well is bring out the details of how our country meandered its way toward independence, starting (more or less) with the Boston Tea Party and ending shortly after July 4, 1776. So if you want to freshen up on your American history, this is a great read.