Book Completed - The Radicalism of the American Revolution

david@davidsmedberg.me (David Smedberg) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 22:02:04 +0000

I just logged that I'm no longer reading The Radicalism of the American Revolution, by Gordon S Wood. I Finished the book.

Here are my comments:

I am glad I read it, but I may have to read it again in order to really incorporate what I learned into my way of thinking. I admit, I was thinking of "The American Revolution" as either a military or governmental phenomenon, and this book spends very little time on either military strategy or changes in law. Even to the extent that he does examine governmental figures, it's primarily to use them examples of changes in thought processes, not actual policy. This is not a problem, necessarily, but I was adjusting to this reality in real time as I read, and so I think I missed some connecting "glue" if you will, that connects his premises or inciting questions to his conclusions. In particular, he seems to have been animated to write the book by the perception of difference between the French and American Revolutions, and by his own conviction that there are key similarities, but I am not sure I can articulate the similarities beyond "they're both a big deal", which is not specific enough to do him credit, I think.

The book I am beginning or resuming now is The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois, by Honorée Fannone Jeffers.

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Book Completed - The Radicalism of the American Revolution