The Minutemen and Their World

Generally good writing, but it does bog down in details at times.

This books makes the Revolutionary Way come to life by focusing on one community—their concerns, their culture, their fears. Great entry book into the civil war.

A most absorbing and detailed examination of the social and economic conditions that led up to "the shot heard round the world," i.e., the skirmish between the colonial Minutemen and the British regulars in Concord, Massachusetts in 1775. Drawing on a wealth of diaries, government and historical documents, Mr. Gross uses his journalist's skills to give the reader a vivid picture of daily life in Concord. We meet the "movers and shakers" (some of whose descendants still live in Concord today), the younger children whose patrimony is decreasing generation by generation, the farmers, innkeepers, and freed and still-owned slaves. We learn about the major political and especially religious disputes that animate town meetings, how they welcomed outsiders -- or didn't! -- and how they reacted to taxation. it's a fascinating book!

This was a text book I had to read, but it was pretty good anyway. I got a glimpse into the normal lives of people that previously were just 2-dimensional cartoons. This made them real enough that I got interested in my own family tree and found some really cool Revolutionary ancestors of my own.

While originally published in the 1970's this piece is just as timely today. Whether a reader is new to studying this time period or an avid consumer of all things revolutionary, this book provides insight and facts that will benefit all.

There were six blank pages - including the last page in the book!

Very thorough study of the everyday people who brought about a revolution. Actually had the great good fortune to spend time learning directly from the author in Concord, MA, at the NEH seminar, Crossroads of the American Revolution: Lexington and Concord. If you never have that opportunity, this book will fill you in well.

Great social history with long view and people of Concord