Reviews for Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers

The average rating for Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-08-27 00:00:00 Mal Hip I have read a lot of books on English monarchy and this is a first that really showed how intricately moving within the monarchy and British public the movements that brought the importance of William and Mary and James II and Charles II to the future of the United States and around the world. This was during the time period of 1680- 1689. Barone makes his characters interesting, his subject matter understandable, and I got so hooked I want to go back and read the rest of his books.....

Review # 2 was written on 2009-12-16 00:00:00 Walter Harris A 243-page book that would have worked better if it had been under 200 pages long; Barone is very repetitive and makes the same point several times over, often using the same words. Disappointed that the book did not make a better attempt at linking the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 with the American Revolution nearly a century later. The premise that the political changes that preceded and followed William III's rise to power in England were a direct precedent to the American Revolution nearly a century later (hence the title) is a central thesis of the book, but he only really tries to make the case in the final (short) chapter. Almost all of the material covers events in England, Holland, France and the rest of Europe, with very little attention to attitudes and events in the Colonies. How did the political debate impact New England and the other colonies? How much attention did the colonies pay to event leading up to William's invasion of England? Was public opinion divided into Tory and Whig factions in the Colonies. HOw did these debates impact the subsequent debate leading up to the American Revolution? All interesting issues that the author fails to address. At least on glaring mistake; on page 20 Barone incorrectly states that John Winthrop is governor of Connecticut, not Massachusetts. I would expect better, especially from a book that purports to discuss thel ink between the Glorious Revolution and the English colonies in North America.