The Glorious Cause is the second in Shaara's two volume piece historical fiction concerning the Revolutionary War. Rise to Rebellion was the first, and I believe the superior of the two, but The Glorious Cause is an excellent novel as well.
Rise to Rebellion is the superior of the two novels due to the changes of heart that the readers sees in John Adams and Benjamin Franklin concerning the issue of independence from England. The Glorious Cause has little of that type deep soul-searching. However, it is a fantastic portrayal of the difficulties encountered by the Continental Army and George Washington, in particular.
If I were to have my druthers, I would have preferred that Shaara had broken the second 600+ page novel into two novels to make it a trilogy and expanded them both by delving more into the politics of the day and the difficulties of fighting a war with the governmental structures and restrictions that the Continental Congress was hampered with.
In addition, more battles and fronts could have been explored, such as the ill-fated American invasion of Canada and Benedict Arnold's naval adventures on Lake Champlain.
That being said, these are still a highly recommended novels - either for the American Revolution novice or the enthusiast.
Well done, Mr. Shaara.
I rate these books 5 stars out of 5.
These two books can be found on Amazon here: Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause.
Reviewed on December 23, 2005.
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