THE MEANING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

This is a compilation of short pieces, pleasant but not too provocative, which maintain varying degrees of fidelity to the collection's, title. The essays are grouped under four headings: The Revolutionary Generation; The Revolution's Creativity; The Revolution as a Continuing Process; The Other (British) Side. About the men of 1776 we learn such things as that the much maligned George III was only a ""latter-day King Canute"" seeking to hold back the waves of time, that Washington has been over-adulated but still qualifies as the Greatest American, that Jefferson's as grand as he's built up to be but Hamilton should have gotten a lot more favorable publicity. Those essays which do actually deal with the Revolution's meaning do not do full justice to the variety of interpretations to be found of its goals, its literature, and its legacy. The only real note of controversy is in two essays by John Truslow Adams and Henry Steele Commager disputing New Deal tactics on the authority of the Founding Fathers. The final section provides the happy information that the British don't harbor any harsh feelings. Some other well-known old hat contributors; A.L. Rowse, Allan Nevins, Louis Nizer, R. L. Duffus.