[.ca] Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution (ISBN 034542753X)

worth your while to read:
This book is a definate must for anyone to read, whether you are a history buff, or, not. Set in the period before the start of the American Revolution, it brings to life many leading figures of the Revolution, Samual and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Washington, General Gage, et al. It's style, brings you into the action. So, it has the feel of a novel while still giving you a well researched history of the events leading to the Declaration of Independence. I wish more history would be presented this way. If I was teaching history now, I would use this book as one way to get students involved in knowing about our rise to become a nation.

slow going but entertaining:
RISE TO REBELLION is a version of events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence...GLORIOUS CAUSE, the second volume, finishes the Revolution. Shaara's closest relative as a writer is WEB Griffin, Shaara uses the same cinematic crosscutting style and gives his his characters about as much depth. All of the real life figures who populate this book (John & Sam Adams, Franklin, Washington, etc ), despite A LOT of ruminating, basically only exist in the context of aiding the revolution...John & Abigail Adams get a few scenes together, but the women don't have much to do other than that. Still, the narrative moves just fast enough to hold your attention, although this book could have been considerably shorter,

The Path to Freedom.:
I've entered in touch with Mr. Jeff Shaara works, reading his prequel and sequel to his father's "Killing Angels", situated in the Civil War times. So I was quite sure this book will be fine. And it is. Real good! Mr. Shaara continues with his tested recipe of following key historical characters thru an expanse of time. Here both confronting American and British are depicted with impartial judgment. There are neither "monsters" nor "bronze heroes", just human beings subjected to historical forces. Some are very conscious of the momentous times they are living; others just go thru them like in a dream. The key scene of "The Boston Massacre" is described in a very realistic way without entering in a pamphletary scheme. The battle of Bunker Hill and the signing of the Declaration of Independence (with all the backstage negotiation) are shown with sure hand. Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, General Thomas Gage and his American wife are portrayed with their doubts, fears and certainties. Mr. Shaara makes his point to show how human soul is more important to the facts, than the facts themselves. Independence fresco will be completed with "The Glorious Cause". A book to read more than once! Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Thank Goodness for our Forefathers:
I am not usually interested in reading documentaries, but this book is a documentary novel, and I have not been able to put it down since I got it. The descriptions of the people, the places and the battles make you feel as if you are actually there with them. The way Mr. Shaara brings his characters to life is amazing. You almost feel like you've known them your entire life. If you are interested in the Revolutionary War, I highly suggest this book. It's a wonderful look back on what the colonists were able to accomplish and it's a reminder of why we are so fortunate to have had these brave men lead us into a free nation. I believe it has inspired in me a different sense of patriotism. I hope it will do the same for you.

Excellent interpretation of the beginnings of our nation:
Jeff Shaara's Rise to Rebellion is a fantastic work that resonates with poignancy and masterful writing. The first of Shaara's novels were in a way the continuation of what his father had begun. Rise to Rebellion begins a two book set on the American Revolution and the events leading up to this momentous event in history. Following his previous style of writing, Shaara concentrates on just a few of the men involved in this event that changed the shape of the world. There is John Adams, a lawyer so honest that he defends the British accused of murder after the Boston Massacre, Ben Franklin, a man of science and great wit, spending time in England trying to help alleviate the situation and Thomas Gage, a British general who does not see the danger in the way he handles different situations in Boston. There are brief flashes of our other Founding Fathers: Sam Adams, Joseph Warren, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, and of course George Washington, a man whose role in history will be assured by events taking place in the second book. Shaara is masterful in this book, but it is nothing compared to the sequal.