Product Description

Jeff Shaara dazzled readers with his bestselling novels Gods and Generals, The Last Full Measure, and Gone for Soldiers. Now the acclaimed author who illuminated the Civil War and the Mexican-American War brilliantly brings to life the American Revolution, creating a superb saga of the men who helped to forge the destiny of a nation.

In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command??Fire!??as England?s peacekeeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred.

The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies. Outraged by the increasing loss of their liberties, an extraordinary gathering of America?s most inspiring characters confronts the British presence with the ideals that will change history.

John Adams, the idealistic attorney devoted to the law, who rises to greatness by the power of his words . . . Ben Franklin, one of the most celebrated men of his time, the elderly and audacious inventor and philosopher who endures firsthand the hostile prejudice of the British government . . . Thomas Gage, the British general given the impossible task of crushing a colonial rebellion without starting an all-out war . . . George Washington, the dashing Virginian whose battle experience in the French and Indian War brings him the recognition that elevates him to command of a colonial army . . . and many other immortal names from the Founding Family of the colonial struggle?Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee? captured as never before in their full flesh-and-blood humanity.

More than a powerful portrait of the people and purpose of the revolution, Rise to Rebellion is a vivid account of history?s most pivotal events. The Boston Tea Party, the battles of Concord and Bunker Hill?all are recreated with the kind of breathtaking detail only a master like Jeff Shaara can muster. His most impressive achievement, Rise to Rebellion reveals with new immediacy how philosophers became fighters, ideas their ammunition, and how a scattered group of colonies became the United States of America.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #186289 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-26
• Released on: 2002-03-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 576 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Once more breathing vigor and passion into the dusty annals of our nation's history, the author of the bestselling Civil War trilogy (Gods and Generals; The Last Full Measure; Gone for Soldiers) demonstrates an ever-growing level of literary competence in the first installment of his projected two-volume saga of the American Revolution. Spanning the crucible years beginning with the Boston Massacre in March 1770 and continuing through the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July, 4, 1776, the story is told from the perspective of a handful of characters well known from our history books. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty activist Samuel Adams and his younger, more intellectual and oratorical second cousin, John Adams, speak out against King George III. In London there's aging Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin, who has resided for a number of years abroad, an agent for home colony Pennsylvania (and others). In New York, Gen. Thomas Gage is the ranking British officer on American soil. And heroic colonial planter George Washington has risen to full colonel in the Virginia militia fighting for George III during the French and Indian War. This masterful dramatization of the fateful escalation of the rebellion following the Boston Massacre moves from the battles of 1775 at Lexington, Concord, Fort Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston, through the convening in 1776 of the Continental Congress and the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Richly embroidered with portraits of such heroes as Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson, the tapestry chronicles America's plunge toward liberty. (July; on-sale June 12)Forecast: Ballantine is bringing out the big guns for this one: major advertising, a Boston launch, a 13-city author tour and Fourth of July Gettysburg media appearances. Simultaneous BDD Audio. Expect patriotic sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Shaara re-creates the American Revolution, starting with the Boston Massacre.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Shaara is best known for two historical novels that relate to the Civil War and for a third novel that describes some of those same individuals during the time of the Mexican-American war. Here Shaara, in the first of two novels about the American Revolution, "novelizes" the actions of the leading individuals from the Boston Massacre to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Victor Garber offers an excellent reading of this work. His rich baritone voice is a pleasure to the ear. Garber certainly understands that this work is a favorable presentation of the founders, and his reading seems to communicate Shaara's tone. The description of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence is both historically accurate and compelling. M.L.C. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

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.