Happy Father's Day: Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution - Nathaniel Philbrick

Release Date - June 2013

Nathaniel Philbrick
Viking

Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth

Did your significant other or child give you a gift card for books for Father's Day? Here's a book that I found fascinating, and that's rather surprising given my dislike of history. Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution is an enthralling look at the events leading up to Boston's famous Battle of Bunker Hill.

I'm not a big fan of historic non-fiction. I fully blame every teacher I had in high school who taught by the text only. If you disagreed with the way the events were written or dared find the subject matter dull, you were guaranteed a lecture and lousy grades.

With Bunker Hill, I know Boston pretty well and have been all over the Freedom Trail many times. It makes the events a little more personal. Despite that, from page one, I found myself intrigued with the writing. Nathaniel Philbrick did something pretty amazing, he caught my attention and held me captive as I read through the events.

Some events horrified me. There are things in here that never made it into the history books we were taught from, such as being tarred and feathered and dragged through Boston's streets.  I was shocked to get to the nitty gritty behind the dumping of tea in the Boston Harbor. It just comes off as pretty petty to me, though I know many a war has been based on pride and ego.

In the end, I learned a lot about the foundations of the city and the events that changed America's future. I really recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history or even Boston for that matter.

Keep an eye out in the future for the movie too. Ben Affleck optioned the rights and given his ties to Boston, I can only imagine how good his movie will be!