Just finished another audible book during my daily dog walks and long weekend runs. Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick. I have been a big fan of Philbrick for years – ever since my father bought me a copy of his book about the white whale that smashed and sunk the whale ship Essex in 1819 (soon to be a movie!). Philbrick tends to be very even handed in his description of historical events and obviously loves the maritime world. Sometimes, he gets a little too bogged down in the details, but such is life.

The book starts with the small tax on tea imposed by the British Government – which was to be used to pay for colonial administration – and leads through the events in Massachusetts until the British abandoned Boston, including the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. I felt I should learn more about these events because not only are they important and I know nothing about them, but also I now live in Cambridge. Truth be told, I now need to go visit some of these locations and see if I can put the pieces together in my head…

One slight criticism that pervaded my listening to this book – it is very descriptive. It includes a lot of specific locations and troop movements. I have no doubt that the actual physical book includes a huge quantity of maps explaining the directions and locations of all involved, but there was no map in the audible version. It wasn’t tell a few minutes ago when I looked up where Bunker Hill is actually located that I realized I have been there many times. Bottom line-it was a hard book to work through on tape…probably would have been much better in print.

So, what did I learn:

-Philbrick does a very good job of being evenhanded. He shows the flaws of players and strategies and moves on both sides of the revolution. He paints John Hancock as being a man who pursued his own commercial interests (interestingly by trying to buy up the whale ship market at one point). He shows that men and women on both side of the fight were very flawed, but that they also help deep beliefs. One central character is Joseph Warren, a doctor who was basically running the show in Massachusetts through the Committee of Safety and the Provincial Congress while Samuel Adams and others were at the Continental Congress. Warren was a strong leader, but he decided to run towards the fighting during the battle of Bunker Hill, fought as a regular soldier (he held the rank of Major General at the time), and died there. The book strongly hints that he would have challenged George Washington for leadership of the new army had he survived.

-Interestingly, the Colonists initially were not fighting for their independence. They wanted to restore the rights their fathers had – they simply wanted to be able to provide their own self rule while still respecting the rights of the Sovereign (the English King) over them. What made them mad were the small customs that England was collecting to pay for the colonial administration (and the French and Indian War debt) and the fact that England appointed their Governor instead of allowing them to elect their own local leadership. Another passage hints that a compromise could have been reached (and was discussed in England) by allowing the Colony to elect their own officials and simply giving them a sum of taxes to pay each year and allowing the Colony to decide how to raise the funds. It is not till the end of the book, after the major battles and during the Siege of Boston, that the Declaration of Independence is signed and the colonists shift from ‘fighting the ministers and advisors of the King,’ while still supporting the King to actually fighting for their own independence. This is a subtle distinction, but I think it appears to be key in the minds of the colonists – they wanted to remain part of England and loyal to the King – they just did not like his policies.

-The book also covertly poses as a metaphor for the revolutions of today. The key element is that while the social media (the pamphlets and speeches of the 1700’s) are great and inspiring, a lot of people fight and bleed and die in a revolution. The book does not back down when describing the various battles (maybe it even gets a little too bogged down in the details here). Revolutions are brutal, visceral events and this was obviously clear based on the events in Massachusetts. It is equally clear in the Middle East today.

-My favorite part of the book was in the epilogue where John Quincy Adams, who had watched the Battle of Bunker Hill as a young child in 1775, looked out over the anniversary of the battle 60+ years later. John Quincy Adams was the embodiment of seeing the Constitution as a living document. After serving as President for one term in the 1820’s, he went on to serve in the House of Representatives and fought to abolish slavery for 17 more years. The book closed by noting that while the events in and around Boston in the early 1770’s were the beginning of our struggle for independence, that struggle continued throughout the war and then afterwards – even to today – as we continue to try to understand and redefine what freedom and independence really mean. If you watch or read science fiction or star trek, have no doubt, this struggle will probably continue for hundreds of more years to come.

-What was missing from this book: The rest of the country. While the book was clearly focused on the Massachusetts colony and the events around Boston, it barely even touched on the other colonies and the Continental Congress. I found myself wondering what was going on outside of Massachusetts. Were they really the only ones struggling against the British at this point? What was driving the other colonies to push for independence? What was the Continental Congress doing? Questions for another book….

Definitely worth reading, but probably should read it rather than listen to it. Score: 6.5 for the lack of maps in an audible book.