Rise to Rebellion

A Novel of the Revolution

By: Jeff Shaara

Narrated by: Victor Garber

Jeff Shaara dazzled readers with his best-selling 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 re-created 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.

©2001 Jeffrey M. Shaara (P)2001 Random House, Inc., Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing Group, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Independence

Captures your attention from the very beginning. Great reminder of the birth of our nations independence!

Excellent, but hurt by the abridgement

Well-written and narrated. Writer / historian has intimate details of the events around the colonial era, particularly the Boston, Lexington and Concord events. There is awkwardness and confusion when events seem to abruptly move from one to another, as is frequently the case when a 25 hour book is cut down to 6-8 hours. It would be terrific to have this available in unabridged format in the Audible library.

A Great job of Abridging

Even though this is the abridged version , it does a good job of following the the book.

great historical fiction

loved this book. helped me better appreciate where the country has come from and what it needs to get back to.

Wish it was unabridged

The abridged version was pretty good so I can imagine that the unabridged version would be amazing.

A great overview!

I loved this, would love to hear the unabridged version even more after hearing this. This is a good sort of overview of what happened!

Evan's Review

Jeff brings the Era in American History to life with the conversation and interaction of the characters of our founding fathers

Not up to Jeffs standard

Have listened to five of Jeffs books so far and really enjoyed the WWII stuff. This one seemed shorter and the characters were not nearly as engaging. Struggled to keep my attention the entire time. I will have to do a second run through to get the history down. Kind of sad i spent a credit on a six hour book. That went fast.

Great storytelling

Read the book years ago but truly enjoyed listening to via Audible while exercising at the gym.

I wanted more

The story was well done and the performance was excellent. It did a great job of capturing the important characters and events that lead to the Declaration of Independence. Thirteen very different colonies joined together to declare their freedom from the most powerful nation and military on earth. Now I understand why and how it happened. Being a Jeff Shaara fan, however, I was left wanting more. This is the first abridged title I have purchased, and I have no idea what I missed from the original work. I think I'll stick with unabridged performances from now on.