Synopsis
'Fascinating, mind-scrambling' – The New Yorker
'Engaging . . . Pearsall's book does so much to illuminate' – The New York Times
'She casts her net wide . . . fluent and engaging . . . offers a decentered, kaleidoscopic view' – New Statesman
'Fantastic . . . a triumph' – Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring
'Extraordinary . . . thrilling narrative and sharp analysis' – Tiya Miles, author of All That She Carried
A fresh and surprising history that reckons with a defining global moment on its 250th anniversary: The American Revolution.
In this authoritative revisionist history, prize-winning historian Sarah M. S. Pearsall restores the shock, drama and world-altering flux of 1776, revealing how the fires of change that sparked the American Revolution were igniting all around the world. From St. Kitts to Kolkata, Ghana to Guangzhou, all kinds of people, not just the men declaring independence in Philadelphia, asserted their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Freedom Round the Globe tells a story the world needs to hear, of the fraught origins of a nation that by turns perplexes, fascinates and horrifies us. It is a story of global transformation and revolutionary fervour, of triumph as well as tragedy, and of the insurgents, lovers, and dreamers who dared to imagine better societies.
‘A syncopated dance of ideas delivered with a poetic touch. Global in scope and local in depth, it is chock full of unexpected insights’ – Jefferson Cowie, author of Freedom’s Dominion
Details
Reviews
“This book is FANTASTIC. So giddy and interesting is the journey. The best and most enthralling thing may be the way in which Pearsall makes strange this familiar subject, pulling deep insights like beautiful silken handkerchiefs from a pocket no one had even noticed. What a triumph. I loved it.”Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring
“A stimulating account of a major episode in history that brings out its global impact”Jeremy Black, author of Crisis of Empire
“A brilliant and timely interpretation of the American Revolution, and a new understanding of the eighteenth-century world. Beautifully conceived, elegantly written, deeply researched, Freedom Round the Globe is a must read for anyone interested in American and world history”Clifton Crais, author of The Killing Age
“Incredible . . . vibrant, inventive, intricate . . . This extraordinary history offers thrilling narrative, sharp analysis, and encouragement to liberty’s defenders while presenting a carrousel of fascinating figures – some familiar, most refreshingly new”Tiya Miles, Cundill History Prize-winning author of All That She Carried
