West of the Revolution

An Uncommon History of 1776

By: Claudio Saunt

Narrated by: Phil Holland

This panoramic account of 1776 chronicles the other revolutions unfolding that year across North America, far beyond the British colonies.

In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the Continental Congress declared independence, and Washington crossed the Delaware. We are familiar with these famous moments in American history, but we know little about the extraordinary events occurring that same year far beyond the British colonies. In this distinctive history, Claudio Saunt tells an intriguing, largely untold story of an immense and restless continent connected in surprising ways.

In that pivotal year, the Spanish established the first European colony in San Francisco and set off a cataclysm for the region’s native residents. The Russians pushed into Alaska in search of valuable sea otters, devastating local Aleut communities. And the British extended their fur trade from Hudson Bay deep into the continent, sparking an environmental revolution that transformed America’s boreal forests.

While imperial officials in distant Europe maneuvered to control lands they knew almost nothing about, America's indigenous peoples sought their own advantage. Creek Indians navigated the Caribbean to explore trade with Cuba. The Osages expanded their dominion west of the Mississippi River, overwhelming the small Spanish outposts in the area. And the Sioux advanced across the Dakotas. One traditional Sioux history states that they first seized the Black Hills, the territory they now consider their sacred homeland, in 1776. "Two nations were born that year," Saunt writes. The native one would win its final military victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn 100 years later.

From the Aleutian Islands to the Gulf Coast and across the oceans to Europe’s imperial capitals, Saunt’s masterfully researched narrative reveals an interconnected web of history that spans not just the forgotten parts of North America but the entire globe.

West of the Revolution explores a turbulent continent in a year of many revolutions.

©2014 Claudio Saunt (P)2014 Audible Inc.

A look at a period of time most of us were unaware

What made the experience of listening to West of the Revolution the most enjoyable?

The fact that yes, most Americans feel that the center of the was only on Our revolution unaware of events out of our sight

What other book might you compare West of the Revolution to and why?

Never read one with so much info and so many areas at the same time period

What does Phil Holland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr Holland is a master story teller and the book needed his talent to hold it together

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but not possible interesting and detailed

Any additional comments?

I became aware of many events that affected our lives that were not related in our history Made me open my mind to the various possibilties of our fragil future

interesting but bland

an interesting history lesson that suffers from bland and boring writing. truly unfortunate considering the topic.

Computer reading.

The information in this book is invaluable and interesting, but the gentleman who reads it lacks any emotion or tone change. It is monotonous to listen to and causes the material to feel dry. Save your money on this audio book and buy the printed copy.

interesting

not as captivating as I had hoped, but still full of interesting information. nice to know what happened in other places that are often overlooked in our american history classes.

Fascinating history of North America and its native population far beyond the Colonies

We never seem to hear in school about what was happening around North America while George Washington was fighting the British in the Colonies. In fact, it seems there was warfare of a different kind all around the Continent and in the surrounding seas. The Russians were trying to get a foothold on the West Coast while the Spanish were fighting Native Americans in California as a small example. You can see as the book progresses, the Indian population being driven out of their homelands, but at the same time fighting each other for the dwindling land and food sources. Of course we all know what eventually happened, but the book fills in a lot of puzzle pieces. Sometimes unnecessarily bloody in detail, and frankly boring and stagnant at other times, it is not helped by the narrator’s droning, even at the most exciting parts. Still, it shows that just existing from day to day was beyond anyone’s imagination today.

Maybe better in print

This is a rarity for me--an audiobook that would better if you read it yourself. Fascinating subject and material that sparkles in comparison to conventional American history, but the reading is as deadly as the lecturer you no longer remember from college. I was looking forward to this one, but couldn't stay with it long at all.

Might as well have been an AI reading a book

The voice was as boring as a poor text to speech AI unfortunately, but the book being mostly a book of facts that had little connection to each other certainly made the voice actor’s job difficult as well. Some sad facts about how Indians were treated and the suffering of the early pioneers and conquered. Otherwise, I struggled to follow along.