the sentence structure and turn of phrase are great. the content is a new book, yet nothing new. no new ideas or research. in a few places, the author tries to engage women’s history and Black people, though never their intersection. the assertion that lost me was toward the end when the author claims that although George Washington viewed Black people as property before the war, he came around to their place in “the cause” after the war bc they fought in it. I recommend INDEPENDENCE LOST by Kathleen Duval and Kathleen Duval’s brilliant review of THE CAUSE in WSJ.

THE CAUSE, Joseph Ellis’ newest book, is by turns fantastic, engrossing and mired by small details. It manages to provide insight on a truly large scale over a series of events that we are still reckoning with, and on that level it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. However, the tendency to get lost in minutiae, intentionally, overwhelmed me. I wanted more of the great synthesis and much much less of the detail about figures lost to history. I have a better understanding of the issues that continue to animate the U.S. than I did before reading this book, yet I almost stopped reading it multiple times. I recommend it but urge patience; it is worth the struggle. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Joseph Ellis is a legendary historian of the American Revolution -- his biographies of Adams, Washington, and Jefferson have shaped how a generation of readers have thought of these men and how the unique aspects of their characters, life experiences, worldviews, and relationships with each shaped the development of the revolution and the early republic. Ellis's later contribution, "The Cause," is a worthy addition to the intellectual history of the American Revolution, telling the story of the revolutionary "cause" itself, how different founders defined it and how that definition shifted and changed over time. Ellis, as he has in his prior work, does an admirable job capturing the sometimes contradictory, but often complementary strains of revolutionary-ism and conservatism within the Founding generation, and the role "prudence" played in at times preventing the worst excesses normally associated with revolutions elsewhere but also deferring much needed reckonings on issues of slavery and race, setting up future conflicts that would define the history of America. We highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys American history and the history of the American Revolution, as well as anyone who has been thinking critically about the "meaning" -- the animating "cause" -- that defines this country.

Masterful Revolutionary War historian Joseph Ellis has done an amazing job of telling this story of the Revolutionary War through the context of those who participated in “The Cause.” This will definitely take its place with the other great works on the American Revolution.

This is Ellis' most comprehensive work, covering the causes or rebellion and the ensuing fight for freedom. I struggled to understand what difference he was bringing to the discussion; the description of the book did not make clear exactly what unique contribution to historiography the book would provide, nor did Ellis explain in his introduction. After finishing the book, I found it hard to name it. Much of what Ellis includes would already be known to many scholars. He does, however, synthesize the arguments of past historians (Ch. 1 discusses Bailyn and Wood), so there is that significance.

This is a great book for a popular audience who is looking to bridge the gap between academic work and History Channel "history", but again, for most historians, what Ellis has to say is nothing new. The characters he mentions he is giving voice to are names that most historians are already familiar with: Dickinson, Mercy Otis Warren; although, again, for a popular audience, maybe not so.

Ellis does a good job at making the military history readable, particularly with the southern campaign in the war. His final chapter on the legacies of the Revolution also bring in new research into the larger impact of the revolution.

“Do we really need another book about the American Revolution?” “What’s left to say?” These were my first thoughts when I read the description of this book. We already have 1776 by David McCullough, the (in progress) Revolution Trilogy by Rick Atkinson, Nathaniel Philbrick’s American Revolution Series, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, and Ellis’s own significant contributions to the subject, including the Pulitzer-winning Founding Brothers. But Ellis’s prowess made me pick it up, and I’m grateful I did.

A book charting the single fraught decade between 1773-83 could easily have been three times as long, and an author as capable as Ellis could have taken this opportunity to display his considerable research and writing skills. Instead, Ellis focused on only the elements most essential to an accurate retelling of the narrative, uncovering forgotten characters and motivations along the way. He succeeded at cutting through myths and modern perceptions to allow the reader to “occupy the past” and experience it as it was lived. One result of his restraint and self-editing is that every paragraph yields interesting information to be pondered and digested, making this single 300-page volume feel weightier than many multi-volume works on the subject.

The clarity of the writing allowed me to appreciate Ellis’s major themes of sovereignty and liberty. He understands the revolutionary struggle as a battle for sovereign control, first by the King George III and the British Parliament, and then by the leaders of the fledgling United States. Ellis also emphasized the importance of the idea of liberty for the revolutionaries, but asks the obvious question, “How did a liberty-obsessed rebellion fail to extend liberty to all its constituents?” Ellis provides adequate answers to this question, and makes a point to recount the contributions and experiences of many factions of American society involved in the Cause, including African American slaves, Native Americans, and women.

If I have any complaint at all, it is with the profiles of minor figures that separate each chapter of the book. I believe I understand the purpose of them, as some of the profiles highlighted individuals from the disadvantaged groups listed above, and I usually really enjoy creative formats. But these entries felt like little more than Wikipedia articles. For some, they may be welcome glimpses into the personal lives of lesser known individuals. To me, they were a bit cumbersome and not quite long enough to enrich my reading.

In all, an excellent book that managed to find something fresh amid well-trodden ground.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the advance copy!

“The Cause” written by Ellis brings a unique perspective to the American Revolutionary War! The book focuses on the views of the major players, both the Americans and the British, their political objectives, and how it effected the decisions and actions of each party. It is not a textbook on military strategies and the battles fought, although the major battles are discussed, in the struggle for independence. The revolution was actually known as the “cause” to the colonists, and their initial objective was they did not want a government from across the ocean dictating their lives in America, and British wanted to protect their sovereignty in the New World. Did the 13 colonies want to eventually be governed as a new nation, or just strived to regain their independence to govern themselves individually? There were opinions on both sides, on what the future holds for Americans, during the post Revolutionary War years, with Nationalism being the big debate! Of course, we all know how it turned out, (the birth of the United States of America) but the question still remains today, on how much influence the government should have in our lives? There is still a hesitance to”big government”! Very enlightening read!