Liberty is Sweet, Woody Holton
Liberty is Sweet, Woody Holton
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Liberty is Sweet
The Hidden History of the American Revolution

Author: Woody Holton

Narrator: Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Unabridged: 22 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/19/2021


Synopsis

A “deeply researched and bracing retelling” (Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian) of the American Revolution, showing how the Founders were influenced by overlooked Americans—women, Native Americans, African Americans, and religious dissenters.

Using more than a thousand eyewitness records, Liberty Is Sweet is a “spirited account” (Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution) that explores countless connections between the Patriots of 1776 and other Americans whose passion for freedom often brought them into conflict with the Founding Fathers. “It is all one story,” prizewinning historian Woody Holton writes.

Holton describes the origins and crucial battles of the Revolution from Lexington and Concord to the British surrender at Yorktown, always focusing on marginalized Americans—enslaved Africans and African Americans, Native Americans, women, and dissenters—and on overlooked factors such as weather, North America’s unique geography, chance, misperception, attempts to manipulate public opinion, and (most of all) disease. Thousands of enslaved Americans exploited the chaos of war to obtain their own freedom, while others were given away as enlistment bounties to whites. Women provided material support for the troops, sewing clothes for soldiers and in some cases taking part in the fighting. Both sides courted native people and mimicked their tactics.

Liberty Is Sweet is a “must-read book for understanding the founding of our nation” (Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin), from its origins on the frontiers and in the Atlantic ports to the creation of the Constitution. Offering surprises at every turn—for example, Holton makes a convincing case that Britain never had a chance of winning the war—this majestic history revivifies a story we thought we already knew.

About Woody Holton

Woody Holton is McCausland Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches and researches Early American history, especially the American Revolution, with a focus on economic history and on African Americans, Native Americans, and women. He is the author of several previous books, including Abigail Adams, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize; his second book, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, was a finalist for the National Book Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Clif on August 21, 2023

This rendering of the American Revolutionary War history strives to also describe concurrent surrounding conditions and happenings that exerted influence on the directions taken. The areas covered include fates of women, enslaved people, Indigenous peoples, religious minorities, and internal social......more

Goodreads review by Conor on January 23, 2022

“Liberty is Sweet” is a triumph and groundbreaking telling of the American Revolution. Rather than retreat into the traditional route of hero-worship or the more modern castigations of the founding fathers, Holton astutely forges a third path that renders them as complex individuals that were a part......more

Goodreads review by Kirstin on September 12, 2022

A 5 from a historical nonfiction standpoint-- so well researched and just a magnificent amount of knowledge packed into less than 600 pages. All of the Revolutionary War explained here and so clearly. However, a 3 for an average reader-- very dense and heavy, so hard to read very quickly. Lightish f......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on December 18, 2021

Holton has written one of the most definitive accounts of the Revolutionary War. He has included everyone in his tome, African Americans both free and enslaved, Native Americans or as the Canadians have authored First Nation People, Women, and poor whites. While certain figures get more print, Holto......more

Goodreads review by Alexis on December 03, 2021

This book looked interesting enough to read, and I was not disappointed. Hilton’s excellent historical narration about our nations tumultuous time period and what led to the revolution was very interesting to read. His book included women preachers (like Hutchinson) and indigenous agents and leaders......more