THE FABRIC OF FREEDOM: 1763-1800

This book by an English professor who teaches at a Scottish University is one of a six-volume series, The Making of America, and the third in that series to appear. The current volume covers the American Revolution, the adoption of the Constitution and the making of the federal government. Professor Wright combines scholastic thoroughness with general readability in describing the emergence of America as a nation from what he considers to have been 13 separate revolutions against the British Crown -revolutions won by the colonies more through British blunders than through Colonial skill. By 1800, which ends the period covered by the volume, the United States is emerging as a nation in every sense of the word. Lucid, witty and objective, this volume lends credence to the publisher's claim to providing the general public with some of the best historical reading through this series.