Rating: 
Summary: Easy Summer History Reading
Review: This is a good refresher read for those who have forgotten their history of the American Revolution and a good introduction for those who never learned. It's easy reading covering the period between 1770 - 1776. But Shaara certainly isn't the first writer to cover this period in a historical novel. For those who want to read more, go the the library and read Kenneth Roberts' great American Revolution novels; Arundel, Rabble in Arms and Oliver Wiswell.
Rating: 
Summary: A very readable history of the revolutionary war
Review: There is not question that the revolutionary war, and the period and people around it, is a very complex and multi-faceted subject. Endless volumes can, and have, been written about each aspect of it. While most of these volumes examine the facts, few make them come alive.Jeff Shaara does!! He gets into the minds of his characters. In this wonderful book, they are no longer just historical and distant figures but ordinary human beings, with all the characteristics, thrown into extraordinary circumstances. The reader shares in their fears and triumphs and leaves the book parting company with old friends. This is my first experience with Shaara. However, I am going to read his other works while anxiously awaiting the volume of this story....
Rating:
Summary: A Revolutionary History Tale
Review: This book is truly a masterpiece of American history. It tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of those who saw it. It is a novel, not a text book. And you can feel this. You become attatched to the characters in the book (even the British general) and it gives you a new point of view on a story told so many times before. A++++ work and I look forward to the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Beginning the Revolution - Shaara style
Review: The Shaaras, father and son, have perfected a writing style for historical novels that is easy to read, and gives the reader excellent views of the human side of our history. In fact, their works "humanize" the great figrues of America's past, beginning with the three book series on the Civil War, the one book on the Mexican War, and now this first book, of two, on the Revolution. We get to peer inside the minds of some of our Founding Fathers, and their British adversaries, and all of these folks appear to be more like us rather than stiff figures read about in dusty history books. I like this type of writing, and as long as it stays as true as possible to the historical record, which it appears to be doing, I will continue to read these works. I hope Jeff Shaara does not run out of American history epochs about which to write, because he is doing all of us a favor in bringing these folks to life. We need lving, breathing people to admire, not icons who seem to be inaccessible.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: This work is very interesting. Although I prefer more romance (eg Defenders of the Holy Grail) mixed in with my history, and I like the way Agori blends his facts with themes, Shaara has done well with this subject. I also recommend "Defenderds"!
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, but could have been great.
Review: Shaara's novel about the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence is interesting, educational and entertaining. I found particularly insightful the description of Franklin recognizing the future of the colonies under British rule in the face of oppressed Ireland. Also, Shaara's description of the Battle of Bunker Hill is excellent. Immediately after the Bunker Hill section, Shaara gets bogged down in his description of the private thoughts of Franklin and Gage - and he loses the momentum that he so diligently built up to that point. While lost in Franklin and Gage, he misses a great opportunity to exploit the great story of Henry Knox and the movement of the captured cannons from Ticonderoga to Boston. Finally, Shaara provides a satisfactory depiction of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. I would like to have had the full text of the Declaration provided, not just excerpts. After all, the Declaration is not just one of the most powerful and elegant documents in history, it is the climax of this book. Historians will, no doubt, find some of Shaara's choices frustrating as I did, but on balance this is a very good, fun book. Definitely set some time aside for it.
Rating:
Summary: It's excellent. It's just not fair.
Review: The advantage Jeff Shaara brings to the history of American conflicts really isn't fair. First of all, he has that special "License of Interpretation" granted to all historians. The historian can take facts, pass them through his or her own prism, and produce a picture colored by individual perspective. No big deal there. It's just that Shaara gets to color outside the lines. He fills in enormous areas of blank space with conversations, thoughts and drama culled from ingenuity and divine conception. The result is brilliant artistry. Artemas Ward pops out of historical obscurity as a real pain ... You literally smell Charles Lee's body odor. Stand next to Dr. Joseph Warren on Breed's Hill and know the blood-draining numbness of real fear. Through it all, wonder fills your mind as you contemplate the stupidity of the English aristocracy. Weren't those guys supposed to have been smart? My bookshelves are crammed with nearly 110 books on the American Revolution. I own books written (or edited) by the likes of John Alden, John Shy, Thomas Fleming, George Scheer, Edward Countryman, John Fiske, Robert Middlekauff, Henry Steel Commager, and Christopher Ward, to name just a few. Great historians certainly; many are wonderful storytellers as well. Ward's excellent two-volume work, The War of the Revolution (1952 MacMillan), is difficult to top in that regard. With all that, Jeff Shaara's Rise to Rebellion is a really good book. Wondering about the revolution? Buy this book and live it! It's no fair, though. It's a just novel; it has no bibliography. I wish I could write like that.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful concept to lead to better understanding
Review: I was enamoured of The Killer Angels written by Jeff Shaara's father, Michael. He took the principals of the battle for Gettysburg and after extensive research wrote the story through their eyes, reliving their experiences. Jeff continues the saga through the Civil War with the subsequent books. Last year he came out with a history of the Mexican War, a topic sadly lacking in my education. Now we have Rise to Rebellion, a story of the AMerican Revolution as seen though the eyes of the likes of Adams and Franklin. Having just finished David McCollough's book on Adams, this novel reiterated the story I was familiar with but told it in a very engaging manner. I found that while I had knew most of the facts I understood what happened better. His style is wonderful. Shaara said that when researching the Civil War books the likes of Lee and Grant visited him, as in a dream. I expect that Franklin (my favorite character) did likewise. I truly envy him! This is volume one of an expected two volume set. I read this book quickly today (devoured it!) and am looking forward to volume two.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner from Jeff Shaara!
Review: If you liked Shaara's last book, you'll like this one. This is the first of 2 part series on the American Revolution. This book follows three main charachters: John Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Gage (British commander) through the period leading up to July 1776.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: Jeff Shaara's "Rise to Rebellion" is a worthy effort that pays dividends to its readers. He does indeed breath life into historical figures long ago relegated to the dusty confines of old American History books. His plot takes the reader from the opening days of discord between the colonies and England to the high tide of the Revolution, the summer of 1776, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As well as rounding off his cast of characters -- George Washington, John Adams, Ben Franklin, British Gen. Thomas Gage, and others, Shaara's plot unfolds nicely. At times, I was reliving the opening days of the Revolution via Shaara's pen, but only for an instant. Despite Shaara's qualities, he gets bogged down in long winded renditions of the inner workings of the minds of his characters. In doing this, he at times breaks away from some climax or point of action. The result -- a feeling of being let down. He is most guilty of this when writing of the fighitng at Bunker Hill. Instead of bringing that scene to a close, he tappers off into the mind of his characters. If not for this, I would have rated the book with five stars. Notwithstanding, "Rise to Rebellion," is still worth the investment of time and money.
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