The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Revolution

by Alan Axelrod

You're no idiot, of course. You know that the American Revolution started when those guys in Boston threw some tea off a boat. Or was it when Paul Revere made his famous ride? Let's face it: when it comes to knowing about our nation's struggle for independence, our grade-school memories are about as trustworthy as Benedict Arnold. Don't blush red (or white, or blue) yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Revolution is an authoritative overview of the conflict, filled with little-known facts that will enlighten even the most educated history buff. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American Revolution

396 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

Alan Axelrod, Ph.D., is a prolific author of history, business and management books. As of October 2018, he had written more than 150 books, as noted in an online introduction by Lynn Ware Peek before an interview with Axelrod on the National Public Radio station KPCW. Axelrod resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've throughly enjoyed all of the Idiots and Dummies books I've read thus far except this one. For one thing, it was dry. These kinds of books are almost never dry. With all the bold headings and marginal icons, these books are usually really neat, but this one completely through me off from what I was trying to accomplish (a good foundation towards understanding The American Revolutionary War). I was often wondering: "wait what? who was this guy? what side are we talking about? and why is this book so boring? Take away all the boxed in little extras, pictures, maps, icons, (which distract rather than enhance the story), and we are left with some rather dry reading. This book didn't capture the time period, didn't bring to life the personalities (the short biographies throughout were terrible), and generally didn't do very much for me. Sure I have my chronological pull out page, and a couple of maps to clarify things. In the end though, this book was truly idiotic. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

[Nancy G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and interesting.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways this is better than most text books as it tries to be clear about overall events, and provides a bit of humor here and there. This is also a helpful book to read first before reading more detailed info about events.

[Nick Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book detailing the full events of the American Revolution from the American colonization in the 1600's to the writing of the constitution.