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*The American Revolution*; Transcripts and Guidebook (Great Courses) (Teaching Company)
This Teaching Company course is devoted to a survey of the American
Revolution, from its outbreak at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775,
until its close with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the
dispersion of the American Continental army. It is a story concerned mostly
with a war—an 18th-century war in particular—which requires some
understanding of what the nature of 18th-century warfare was and how it
shaped the American Revolution for both American and British soldiers.
This course begins with a very short overview of the issues that brought the
North American British colonies into conflict with the British Empire, and
moves from there at once to the outbreak of hostilities between American
and British forces. The 24 lectures in this series are built around three
important questions:
1. What were the armies and navies which fought the Revolution like?
How different was the British regular from the American militiaman
and Continental regular? What was combat in the 18th century like?
2. What were the major campaigns of the Revolution? How important
were Trenton, Saratoga, and Yorktown? What difference did the formal
intervention of the French in 1778 make?
3. Who were the leaders of the Revolution? In particular, how much of a
difference was made by the military leadership on both sides—by
George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, Lord George Germain, Sir
William Howe, and even King George III?
Revolution, from its outbreak at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775,
until its close with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the
dispersion of the American Continental army. It is a story concerned mostly
with a war—an 18th-century war in particular—which requires some
understanding of what the nature of 18th-century warfare was and how it
shaped the American Revolution for both American and British soldiers.
This course begins with a very short overview of the issues that brought the
North American British colonies into conflict with the British Empire, and
moves from there at once to the outbreak of hostilities between American
and British forces. The 24 lectures in this series are built around three
important questions:
1. What were the armies and navies which fought the Revolution like?
How different was the British regular from the American militiaman
and Continental regular? What was combat in the 18th century like?
2. What were the major campaigns of the Revolution? How important
were Trenton, Saratoga, and Yorktown? What difference did the formal
intervention of the French in 1778 make?
3. Who were the leaders of the Revolution? In particular, how much of a
difference was made by the military leadership on both sides—by
George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, Lord George Germain, Sir
William Howe, and even King George III?
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2008
11 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Allen C. Guelzo
56 books273 followersAllen Carl Guelzo (born 1953) is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 1, 2018
This is my first foray into The Great Courses. I don't know if I just got lucky with this one but IT IS MAGNIFICENT. I chose it because I realized I hadn't studied the Revolutionary War since...middle school? And since military history is my deal, I figured I should brush up. This was the perfect reintroduction. Guelzo is an engaging, erudite speaker and kept things trucking along. For the first time, I understand the devastation of Arnold's betrayal (emotionally—he didn't succeed with his plans), the role of the loyalists, and how the French fit in. Lafayette was only 19 years old when he joined up! Also, I had no idea that the British employed battalions of German mercenaries.
Anyway, great listen.
Anyway, great listen.
August 1, 2017
This 24 part lecture series is one of the best Great Courses classes I have listened to. Guelzo does a superb job of laying out the entire chronology of the war. He is a masterful storyteller, making this class an entertaining as well as informative listen. He explains the major battles and the decision-making of both the British and American commanders. For a general overview of the Revolution, this is the book I would recommend listening to.
January 21, 2016
I grew up in a town with stars displayed on the houses that sent soldiers to the Revolutionary war. I toured Fort Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill and the Old North Church. I've read 1776 and one about Valley Forge that I can't remember the title of. I read of John Marshall's exploits as a continental soldier in Washington's army in John Marshall: Definer of a Nation. I read Barbara Tuchman's analysis of British decision making The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam. With all that, I never had a clear narrative of events, characters and locations from beginning to end. For example, I could have never told you exactly what Benedict Arnold did wrong or what led to the surrender of Cornwallis. I couldn't have explained the difference between Minute Men and the Continentals. I didn't know of Nathaniel Greene or John Burgoyne and I certainly didn't know much about the role of the French. So, now I do. This is a series of lectures performed by a really enthusiastic history prof and so it suits the audio book format perfectly. While there are some dry parts about how the Continental army was reorganized and how many soldiers were in the 3rd Dragoons in 1780, other details about the supply and structure of both armies were fascinating. Same goes for the life histories and family backgrounds of some of the British generals. A lot of research went into this series. For example, the order of battle of so many clashes. There are certain battle descriptions that raised my blood, so I was really caught up in the story.
March 29, 2011
Spoiler alert: The Americans win. Though by all accounts they shouldn't have. Guelzo is a natural-born storyteller, and knows his stuff backward and forward.
This is pretty much a straight-foward military narrative, with political and intellectual background only being filled in where necessary to explain the historical events.
This is pretty much a straight-foward military narrative, with political and intellectual background only being filled in where necessary to explain the historical events.
July 2, 2017
Founding “an Empire for Liberty.”
Professor Guelzo has created a very well organized and even better presented survey course in the military aspects of the American Revolution. These lectures should be considered to be just one aspect of American history, covering just the major battles of the war between 1775 and 1781, as well as creating entertaining profiles of some of the major players, on both the American and British sides.
Some reviewers have complained that the guidebook should have contained more and better maps for those locations that presented logistical problems to both sides. I found that the course becomes even more amazing when augmented by internet sources.
I won't try to expand or rehash some of the very well written reviews (of which there are many on TGC review site), but the main aspect of these lectures to me seemed to be the examination of George Washington's character, bravery and cunning in the face of nearly impossible obstacles (both on the battlefield and with his 'allies' in congress). I also enjoyed the discussion of Daniel Morgan's exploits, since he figures prominently in my family's genealogy.
I highly recommend these lectures as a part of a thorough examination of the revolutionary period of the US. Needless to say, wait for those great sales and use those coupons.
Professor Guelzo has created a very well organized and even better presented survey course in the military aspects of the American Revolution. These lectures should be considered to be just one aspect of American history, covering just the major battles of the war between 1775 and 1781, as well as creating entertaining profiles of some of the major players, on both the American and British sides.
Some reviewers have complained that the guidebook should have contained more and better maps for those locations that presented logistical problems to both sides. I found that the course becomes even more amazing when augmented by internet sources.
I won't try to expand or rehash some of the very well written reviews (of which there are many on TGC review site), but the main aspect of these lectures to me seemed to be the examination of George Washington's character, bravery and cunning in the face of nearly impossible obstacles (both on the battlefield and with his 'allies' in congress). I also enjoyed the discussion of Daniel Morgan's exploits, since he figures prominently in my family's genealogy.
I highly recommend these lectures as a part of a thorough examination of the revolutionary period of the US. Needless to say, wait for those great sales and use those coupons.
February 27, 2017
Thoroughly inspiring and renewing. Our nation's great military founding story. Be assured that you haven't heard it this way before.
May 22, 2021
[4.5 stars] The two main mistakes commanders make in battle, it seems:
Overestimating an enemy/terrain/resolve of the people and being too cautious instead of pressing boldly forward.
Underestimating an enemy/terrain/resolve of the people and pressing too boldly forward instead of being cautious.
I guess I might also add:
Not doing things by the textbook
Doing things by the textbook
Not coming down on restive elements of the civilian population, emboldening them to do mischief
Coming down on restive elements of the civilian population, turning them against you
Expecting too much of rag-tag militia fighters
Expecting too little of rag-tag militia fighters
Luckily, America and Britain both wisely took the lessons of the Revolutionary War to heart and never ran afoul of any of these issues again ever. Hooray!
Anyway, snark aside, I found this to be a highly enjoyable lecture series on the American Revolution, one of those subjects I was reasonably educated about in school, especially as a New Englander (my middle school was named after a French officer from the war who’d stayed in town), but of course, an American kid in a lily-white suburb in the 1980s got a somewhat idealized and one-sided picture of events. That seems to be true across the pond, as well. I remember mentioning to a British coworker German prisoners of war that had been housed in a basement in Connecticut, leaving behind their German graffiti on a wall for modern tourists to see. My coworker, a pretty intelligent and informed guy, had never been told that his country had employed mercenary Hessian soldiers in North America at all. To us, they were presented as King George’s proto-stormtroopers.
This series gives a pretty balanced portrait of events and the lecturer, though he gets a bit quippy at times, has an infectious enthusiasm for his subject matter. We learn that separation of the US from Britain was hardly inevitable, except for a series of political blunders made by the king and his supporters in parliament -- indeed, that the opposing Whig Party was rather sympathetic to the frustrations of colonial subjects. The British military experience doesn’t seem all that dissimilar to the American one in Vietnam or Iraq, with it being for the British to run around on wild goose chases in the countryside, losing men to battle and disease at the end of a three-thousand-mile chain of supply and command, while the rebels just had to hold out and do a little better on the hearts-and-minds front (or at least terrorize loyalists into packing up and leaving for Canada, which they did). Meanwhile, the costs added up and added up, and Britain’s foreign adversaries (much like the Iranian government operating in Iraq) found ways to take advantage and pursue their own agendas. The combat style of lining up on a field in bright uniforms and blazing away at each other with muskets wasn’t as foolish as modern people usually assume, but was actually a product of careful military thought, with plenty of sensible reasons behind it (given the tools at hand). War is always a bloody business between more-or-less evenly matched opponents. The British army didn’t truly find out what a bad day looked like until 1916.
Then, as now, people were more likely to join the army (on either side) because they needed a job than out of high-minded principles. Meanwhile, the high-minded might have talked a little more than they picked up a musket. Then as now, militiamen just weren’t worth as much on the field as a disciplined, professional military, but bless their weekend warrior hearts. I’ve always been more than a little cynical about Tea Partiers and Trump supporters, with their tacky 1776-themed T-shirts stretched over beer bellies and way of treating the Constitution with the same cargo-cult reverent ignorance as they treat the Bible, and this series only confirms my views -- let’s face it, the founders and the rebels absolutely fucked over American blacks. And we should goddamn well talk about it in classrooms. And fuck you if you don’t think so. Not that the British, with their brutal Caribbean plantations, were a whole lot better. I’m not a religious person, but I hope God found a way to redress it. Us white people never will.
I think my main takeaway is that human nature hasn’t really changed that much in 250 years. It’s both worrisome and comforting. Politics back then was little more high-minded than now, full of short-sightedness, ego, pettiness, spite, fence-sitting (if not outright cowardice), miscommunication, calculation, miscalculation, vicious partisanship, and unadulterated cray-cray. All they were missing was some Twitter-like platform to hurl invective at each other. The underprivileged mattered until they started wanting a piece of pie (which was usually given to them in the form of land, at the expense of indigenous people). King George was just a man. Washington was just a man. So was Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and everyone else. The founders, once they’d decided to get King George off their backs, really had no idea how the fuck to govern properly and fumbled around through committee after committee, in a way that anyone who’s ever been a Unitarian and/or Universalist is familiar with, worrying and pissing off Americans who began to wonder if they were trading one despot for another, possibly an even worse one. Yet, there were moments of profound human courage, determination, nobility, and vision in the mix, too, on both sides. Maybe not as commonplace as I was led to believe in elementary or middle school, but they happened. They most surely did.
It’s such a fascinating and relatable story. As you listen, you appreciate how random history can be, how many routes the pinball could have taken down though the pins. If I have any complaint, it’s that the lecture series kind of ends when the war does, with a brief epilogue. I’m sure you can go on with a few other Great Courses lecture series, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more in the closure department.
Overestimating an enemy/terrain/resolve of the people and being too cautious instead of pressing boldly forward.
Underestimating an enemy/terrain/resolve of the people and pressing too boldly forward instead of being cautious.
I guess I might also add:
Not doing things by the textbook
Doing things by the textbook
Not coming down on restive elements of the civilian population, emboldening them to do mischief
Coming down on restive elements of the civilian population, turning them against you
Expecting too much of rag-tag militia fighters
Expecting too little of rag-tag militia fighters
Luckily, America and Britain both wisely took the lessons of the Revolutionary War to heart and never ran afoul of any of these issues again ever. Hooray!
Anyway, snark aside, I found this to be a highly enjoyable lecture series on the American Revolution, one of those subjects I was reasonably educated about in school, especially as a New Englander (my middle school was named after a French officer from the war who’d stayed in town), but of course, an American kid in a lily-white suburb in the 1980s got a somewhat idealized and one-sided picture of events. That seems to be true across the pond, as well. I remember mentioning to a British coworker German prisoners of war that had been housed in a basement in Connecticut, leaving behind their German graffiti on a wall for modern tourists to see. My coworker, a pretty intelligent and informed guy, had never been told that his country had employed mercenary Hessian soldiers in North America at all. To us, they were presented as King George’s proto-stormtroopers.
This series gives a pretty balanced portrait of events and the lecturer, though he gets a bit quippy at times, has an infectious enthusiasm for his subject matter. We learn that separation of the US from Britain was hardly inevitable, except for a series of political blunders made by the king and his supporters in parliament -- indeed, that the opposing Whig Party was rather sympathetic to the frustrations of colonial subjects. The British military experience doesn’t seem all that dissimilar to the American one in Vietnam or Iraq, with it being for the British to run around on wild goose chases in the countryside, losing men to battle and disease at the end of a three-thousand-mile chain of supply and command, while the rebels just had to hold out and do a little better on the hearts-and-minds front (or at least terrorize loyalists into packing up and leaving for Canada, which they did). Meanwhile, the costs added up and added up, and Britain’s foreign adversaries (much like the Iranian government operating in Iraq) found ways to take advantage and pursue their own agendas. The combat style of lining up on a field in bright uniforms and blazing away at each other with muskets wasn’t as foolish as modern people usually assume, but was actually a product of careful military thought, with plenty of sensible reasons behind it (given the tools at hand). War is always a bloody business between more-or-less evenly matched opponents. The British army didn’t truly find out what a bad day looked like until 1916.
Then, as now, people were more likely to join the army (on either side) because they needed a job than out of high-minded principles. Meanwhile, the high-minded might have talked a little more than they picked up a musket. Then as now, militiamen just weren’t worth as much on the field as a disciplined, professional military, but bless their weekend warrior hearts. I’ve always been more than a little cynical about Tea Partiers and Trump supporters, with their tacky 1776-themed T-shirts stretched over beer bellies and way of treating the Constitution with the same cargo-cult reverent ignorance as they treat the Bible, and this series only confirms my views -- let’s face it, the founders and the rebels absolutely fucked over American blacks. And we should goddamn well talk about it in classrooms. And fuck you if you don’t think so. Not that the British, with their brutal Caribbean plantations, were a whole lot better. I’m not a religious person, but I hope God found a way to redress it. Us white people never will.
I think my main takeaway is that human nature hasn’t really changed that much in 250 years. It’s both worrisome and comforting. Politics back then was little more high-minded than now, full of short-sightedness, ego, pettiness, spite, fence-sitting (if not outright cowardice), miscommunication, calculation, miscalculation, vicious partisanship, and unadulterated cray-cray. All they were missing was some Twitter-like platform to hurl invective at each other. The underprivileged mattered until they started wanting a piece of pie (which was usually given to them in the form of land, at the expense of indigenous people). King George was just a man. Washington was just a man. So was Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and everyone else. The founders, once they’d decided to get King George off their backs, really had no idea how the fuck to govern properly and fumbled around through committee after committee, in a way that anyone who’s ever been a Unitarian and/or Universalist is familiar with, worrying and pissing off Americans who began to wonder if they were trading one despot for another, possibly an even worse one. Yet, there were moments of profound human courage, determination, nobility, and vision in the mix, too, on both sides. Maybe not as commonplace as I was led to believe in elementary or middle school, but they happened. They most surely did.
It’s such a fascinating and relatable story. As you listen, you appreciate how random history can be, how many routes the pinball could have taken down though the pins. If I have any complaint, it’s that the lecture series kind of ends when the war does, with a brief epilogue. I’m sure you can go on with a few other Great Courses lecture series, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more in the closure department.
October 31, 2021
This was a really, really good introduction to the Revolutionary War. I actually think that if people have never read anything about it before this would be a wonderful place to start. Guelzo did a good job showing that not everyone among the founding fathers had entirely altruistic motives. For example, George Washington never would have joined the rebellion if his promotion opportunities had not been cut short because he was a colonist (a.k.a. a country bumpkin). Had the British allowed him to reach a higher rank in the military he'd have likely been found leading Red Coats on the battlefield.
March 25, 2018
Good, though exactly the kind of history I was hoping to avoid. I wanted more of a political and social history of the revolution, whereas this course was very focused on the military aspect. But well done for sure. Guelzo is one of the better Great Courses lecturers I've heard. He reminded me of a toned down and not quite as entertaining Dan Carlin.
November 25, 2018
I like listening to Guelzo, but I'm sure that's not true for everyone. I've known him only as a Civil War historian, so it was interesting to hear him on the War for Independence. And to be clear--this is a book primarily about the military events connected with the Revolution and only has little about the political revolution itself except as it bears upon the Continental Army.
February 4, 2020
Excellent, if short. Liked the enthusiasm of the professor, but i do think the topic deserves a longer and more complete look. There was a major lack of discussion on things like POW camps, the effect on the civilian population, and only a brief section on the early pre war lead up to revolution. Its all well done, but too breif.
February 7, 2021
Probably more of a 3.5. The main focus was the military aspects of the revolution and I would have preferred more focus on other aspects of revolutionary American culture and society and how that influenced or was impacted by the war itself. The lecture itself was well done, and I can not fault the information or research, just wish it brought in other elements.
May 24, 2022
A fine course that is focused on the military history of the revolution as you would expect. If you are more of a military history buff than I am, I suspect this course would be perfect for you. Even with only a mild interest in military history, I found this course informative and fairly interesting.
December 27, 2025
The American Revolution by Allen Guelzo is an amazing, concise foray into the political and military history of the American Revolution. Its not an ideas course, but rather carries the learner from prerevolutionary North America right up until the end of the war. Guelzo is a great teacher, and this course is top notch.
March 19, 2018
Enthusiastically presented. The cheap applause track made me groan every time, but not a big deal.
As others have observed, this is almost entirely a military history. I personally would have preferred a bit more on other factors.
As others have observed, this is almost entirely a military history. I personally would have preferred a bit more on other factors.
December 10, 2018
I've been working my way up through Western History this year and was excited to finally get to the American Revolution. This course was good but a bit of a let down. It's primarily a history of George Washington's military encounters. Interesting, but limited in scope.
February 28, 2019
Another on of The Great Courses from the Teaching Company. I learned a lot that I didn't know about the American Revolution. Dr Gelzao tells it from a Military and strategy perspective, and keeps the politics to a minimum. It is available thru the Milwaukee County Library system.
August 27, 2020
American history that reads like a soap opera! Prof Guelzo entertainingly draws insights from the characters, background events and simultaneous events of the American Revolution. It is a literal miracle that we won that war.
June 1, 2022
This book was phenomenal!! Incredible detail and a way of bring the history to life and in a fullness of detail that helps someone truly understand the struggles, the victories, the losses of this great war.
September 12, 2023
brisk and useful summary of the history. Guelzo's great, delivered with energy. Fascinating to get British perspective, and to learn some of the history of the battles and military tech. Depressing that in some ways US fought Revolution to preserve slavery.
October 17, 2023
With so much to cover in so many directions, Professor Guelzo did the best he could to let readers know how important each part was to the other.
I understand the Revolutionary War much better from listening to this book.
I understand the Revolutionary War much better from listening to this book.
October 23, 2017
I am not the audience for this set of lectures because it was mostly military history. If you like military history this would be worth checking out.
January 16, 2018
I enjoyed this course very much though it was heavy on military history and I'm more interested in political and social history/history of ideas. Still very engaging and worth the time.
July 19, 2019
This topic never gets old for me! New material in these lectures I’d never heard!
January 22, 2021
Absolutely wonderful overview! Engaging from start to finish.
May 30, 2021
The scope and breath of this course is simply stunning! If you adore history, as I do, this course is a must! Allen C. Guezlo is a wonder as he leads you through these history altering events!
January 27, 2022
Very good review of the American Revolution. Dr Guelzo gives insight beyond the battles to why events happen.
January 11, 2023
This has been one of my favorite Great Courses. There is so much information that history classes just gloss over. Worth the 12 hours of listening.
March 6, 2023
One of my favorite Great Courses series in a long time. The author/narrator is excellent and so into what he’s teaching. Loved it. Easy 5/5
March 18, 2024
Very enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews