Hill and Wang, 1976, $?, ISBN?, 242 pages, paperback

I picked up this volume in the "American Century Series" for $3 in a used bookstore. It is a social history of Concord, Mass., around the time of the American Revolution. The battle itself garners scant coverage, but the impact of the coming of the Revolution and the war itself concerns the bulk of the book.

Gross, a former assistant editor of Newsweek and later Associate Professor of History at Amherst College, combines the details of archives with pleasant prose to craft an interesting and readable narrative about the colonial citizens of Concord. He delves into the minutae of leading families, examines the pressures of too many sons and not enough land, and documents the patriotic fervor that greeted the opening of the Revolution -- as well as its decline as the war dragged on.

Bit by bit, Gross dissects early American life in a small town, touching on wealth, politics, agriculture, women's rights, slavery, and leadership. As war looms, the interaction of various segments of society changes, so that by the time of Independence, the balance -- or restrictions -- of pre-Revolution Concord has been redefined. In most cases, this is a positive development. In others, it represents a step backward. In all cases, Gross makes this a fascinating evolution of town progress.

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