April Morning (Audible Audio Edition) Howard Fast Jamie Hanes Recorded Books Books
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Historical novelist Howard Fast brings the past colorfully to life with his powerful stories. In his best-selling April Morning, he portrays a young man's introduction to the harsh realities of war during our nation's fight for independence.
Fifteen-year-old Adam Cooper is anxcious to join the excitement and action of the Revolutionary War. On the morning of April 19, 1775, he stands beside his Massachusetts farmer father to face the redcoats marching out of Boston. But suddenly, his father falls on the village green, and Adam's hands are shaking as he shoots at columns of marching men.
With realistic drama and riveting suspense, Howard Fast brings the glory and the agony of the colonial battlefield vividly to life.
April Morning (Audible Audio Edition) Howard Fast Jamie Hanes Recorded Books Books
Did you ever have a book that your teacher made you read in school, and afterwards you wondered why they made you read it? What was the point? Well, "April Morning" was that book for me. Ms. Collins made us read it in 7th grade. I could never figure out why she chose this particular book, except that it was about the Battle of Lexington, and she figured it would be good for us to read about an important event in American history."April Morning" tells the "Coming of Age" story of fifteen-year-old Adam Cooper, who stands with his father, Moses Cooper, and the other townspeople on Lexington Green on the morning of April 19, 1775, and faces down the British. Later that day, Adam participates (sort of) in the guerilla attacks by the colonists on the British as they retreat from Concord.
Early in the book, Moses Cooper criticizes his son, saying that when it comes to doing his chores, Adam is "slow to start, and quick to finish." That might be a description of the book itself, except it's more "slow to start and slow to finish." The story picks up pace in the middle of the book, particularly in the battle scenes. But mostly, the book is a dull, plodding story, filled with long-winded speeches by Moses Cooper, and long-winded narratives by Adam, philosophizing on this or that aspect of his life. As a 7th grader, I could barely wade through it.
A few years ago, I did a bit of reading on the actual history of the Battle of Lexington. Then I went back and re-read "April Morning," which only increased my distaste for the book. Howard Fast's account of the Battle of Lexington is filled with historical mistakes. It isn't just that the book is a dull story – it's "bad history" as well.
It's as if Howard Fast only did a small amount of research before writing the book. He probably read one or two encyclopedia articles about the Battle of Lexington, jotted down a few names of people involved and a timeline of the battle, and figured that was enough. Then he decided to chuck history out the window, and just make things up.
Here is just a *partial* list of the many historical inaccuracies in "April Morning:"
* When Paul Revere rides into Lexington to sound the alarm, he is described as a young man and a stranger to the town. (No one in Lexington knows his name.) In 1775, Paul Revere was 40 years old when he made his famous ride, and was well-known to the people of Lexington. He'd been there several times before to coordinate with the local militia leaders about resistance to the British.
* After Paul Revere delivers his message, the townspeople of Lexington are shocked and surprised to learn that the British are coming since, as Adam tells us, "the Redcoats never ventured outside Boston." In real life, it was well-known that the British were going to march to Concord to try to confiscate the arms stored there by the Minutemen. In April, 1775, the people of Lexington had been expecting such an attack for several months.
*In the book, Adam describes the boys in the town ringing the bells in the church steeple to summon the militia. But in 1775, the town of Lexington didn't *have* a church. It had a meeting house that doubled as a church on Sundays. It did have a town bell, but the bell was mounted *outside* the meeting house.
*The town preacher, the Reverend Jonas Clarke, mentions that Samuel Adams and John Hancock were staying at his house on the night before the battle. "I did not want them here," says Reverend Clarke. In real life, Adams and Hancock did stay at Clarke's house in Lexington on the night before the battle, but since Hancock's grandfather had built the house, and Hancock was engaged to Rev. Clarke's daughter, they were welcome guests there. (This house is known in Lexington as the Hancock-Clarke House – which makes me think that Howard Fast didn't even bother to visit Lexington before writing his book.)
*John Parker, the real-life captain of the Lexington militia, who led the militia at the Battle of Lexington, doesn't even appear as a character in "April Morning." His cousin, Jonas Parker, is a character in the book, and the depiction of Jonas's death on Lexington Green is one of the few historical things that Howard Fast gets right.
*In real-life, there were two militia members in Lexington named Jonathan Harrington – an uncle and a nephew, who both had the same name. The uncle was killed in the battle on Lexington Green, famously dying on his doorstep in front of his wife and son. The nephew survived to become a Continental Army soldier. But in "April Morning," it's the *younger* Jonathan Harrington who dies on his doorstep, in front of his mother. In other words, Howard Fast kills off the *wrong* Jonathan Harrington!
*In the book, following the battle on Lexington Green, Adam Cooper hides out in a smokehouse for several hours, while the Redcoats search the town. He nearly gets caught by two Redcoat soldiers. In real-life, after the massacre on Lexington Green, the British soldiers didn't even bother to search the town. They just marched on to Concord.
*In "April Morning," the men of Lexington who are killed in the battle are laid out in the town meeting house. This actually happened, but at the end of the novel, the people of Lexington hold a nighttime candlelight vigil for them. In fact, the men killed in the battle were buried in the town burying ground only a few hours after their deaths. Also, no mention is made of the real-life fact that, later in the day, a British cannon ball crashed through the meeting house wall and almost knocked the building over.
So "April Morning" is a very poor book overall. Howard Fast could have written a better story, but apparently he didn't think it was important to be historically accurate in a historical novel.
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April Morning (Audible Audio Edition) Howard Fast Jamie Hanes Recorded Books Books Reviews
Caught the movie by the same name with Tommy Lee Jones & Rip Torn, which is based on this book, and liked it pretty well, so when I ran across this book, I couldn't pass it up. It's not Hemingway, but a good historical fiction read. For those like me who enjoy this sort of Genre, I think you'll not regret taking the time to read "April Morning".
I chose this book for my 9th grade daughter to read as part of our study of the Rev War and was surprised to find that I enjoyed it tremendously.
Mr. Fast's character portrayals is incredibly insightful and terribly moving.
You really are *with* the characters each step of the way.
Don't miss this one!
This was at least my second, perhaps my third time reading this novel and once again I found it very informative. Historically it recounts the morning of April 18-19, 1775 and the first battle of the Revolutionary war. The story is told through the eyes of Adam Cooper, a boy of 15. We have the teenage angst of a boy feeling unloved by his father, who is a strict disciplinarian. Adam is confused by his feeling and his desire for independence from his father. Adam also is interested in a young girl who lives nearby. Word has come down that the British are coming and men and boys run to sign up to stand against the redcoats. Adam's father allows him to sign up and in the course of one day the boy grows into a man after encountering war and loss.
April Morning is a coming-of-age novel set in colonial America. Adam Cooper is 15. He is displeased with his father’s strict, demanding, rational nature. The only thing his father likes more than a good argument is winning a good argument. He intends for Adam to follow his intellectual path, a route to which Adam is not inclined. It seems to Adam that he can do nothing to please his father, although that opinion will change sharply before the day ends.
Adam’s father is a leader in a committee that is preparing to defend the colonies from an anticipated British assault. Adam’s father is certain that the British will listen to reason if the villagers stand their ground. A group of villagers assemble in the village square to have words with the Redcoats as they come marching down the road. Appeals to reason are met with bayonets and muskets. The villagers who do not die scatter, having not fired a shot.
Adam suddenly finds himself fighting for a cause. He isn’t much of a fighter, but during the course of a long, eventful and exhausting day, Adam and his fellow colonists badger the Redcoats by hiding behind walls and in the woods and taking potshots at them, with considerable success. The novel’s importance, however, comes from the description of how war, even a single day of war, has a profound impact on Adam. He bears losses, lives with regret, and redefines his relationship with his father and the rest of his family.
The novel presents an interesting and probably accurate view of the Revolutionary War, as fought (at least initially) by men who knew nothing about war, who thought of concepts like liberty and natural rights as abstractions, and who were winging it when they took up arms against the British. The Battle of Lexington had no leaders, just ordinary people doing what needed to be done, often with great reluctance and less courage that the history books might suggest. As Adam’s coming-of-age story and as a larger story of a free people’s natural reaction to oppression, April Morning is a small masterpiece.
Did you ever have a book that your teacher made you read in school, and afterwards you wondered why they made you read it? What was the point? Well, "April Morning" was that book for me. Ms. Collins made us read it in 7th grade. I could never figure out why she chose this particular book, except that it was about the Battle of Lexington, and she figured it would be good for us to read about an important event in American history.
"April Morning" tells the "Coming of Age" story of fifteen-year-old Adam Cooper, who stands with his father, Moses Cooper, and the other townspeople on Lexington Green on the morning of April 19, 1775, and faces down the British. Later that day, Adam participates (sort of) in the guerilla attacks by the colonists on the British as they retreat from Concord.
Early in the book, Moses Cooper criticizes his son, saying that when it comes to doing his chores, Adam is "slow to start, and quick to finish." That might be a description of the book itself, except it's more "slow to start and slow to finish." The story picks up pace in the middle of the book, particularly in the battle scenes. But mostly, the book is a dull, plodding story, filled with long-winded speeches by Moses Cooper, and long-winded narratives by Adam, philosophizing on this or that aspect of his life. As a 7th grader, I could barely wade through it.
A few years ago, I did a bit of reading on the actual history of the Battle of Lexington. Then I went back and re-read "April Morning," which only increased my distaste for the book. Howard Fast's account of the Battle of Lexington is filled with historical mistakes. It isn't just that the book is a dull story – it's "bad history" as well.
It's as if Howard Fast only did a small amount of research before writing the book. He probably read one or two encyclopedia articles about the Battle of Lexington, jotted down a few names of people involved and a timeline of the battle, and figured that was enough. Then he decided to chuck history out the window, and just make things up.
Here is just a *partial* list of the many historical inaccuracies in "April Morning"
* When Paul Revere rides into Lexington to sound the alarm, he is described as a young man and a stranger to the town. (No one in Lexington knows his name.) In 1775, Paul Revere was 40 years old when he made his famous ride, and was well-known to the people of Lexington. He'd been there several times before to coordinate with the local militia leaders about resistance to the British.
* After Paul Revere delivers his message, the townspeople of Lexington are shocked and surprised to learn that the British are coming since, as Adam tells us, "the Redcoats never ventured outside Boston." In real life, it was well-known that the British were going to march to Concord to try to confiscate the arms stored there by the Minutemen. In April, 1775, the people of Lexington had been expecting such an attack for several months.
*In the book, Adam describes the boys in the town ringing the bells in the church steeple to summon the militia. But in 1775, the town of Lexington didn't *have* a church. It had a meeting house that doubled as a church on Sundays. It did have a town bell, but the bell was mounted *outside* the meeting house.
*The town preacher, the Reverend Jonas Clarke, mentions that Samuel Adams and John Hancock were staying at his house on the night before the battle. "I did not want them here," says Reverend Clarke. In real life, Adams and Hancock did stay at Clarke's house in Lexington on the night before the battle, but since Hancock's grandfather had built the house, and Hancock was engaged to Rev. Clarke's daughter, they were welcome guests there. (This house is known in Lexington as the Hancock-Clarke House – which makes me think that Howard Fast didn't even bother to visit Lexington before writing his book.)
*John Parker, the real-life captain of the Lexington militia, who led the militia at the Battle of Lexington, doesn't even appear as a character in "April Morning." His cousin, Jonas Parker, is a character in the book, and the depiction of Jonas's death on Lexington Green is one of the few historical things that Howard Fast gets right.
*In real-life, there were two militia members in Lexington named Jonathan Harrington – an uncle and a nephew, who both had the same name. The uncle was killed in the battle on Lexington Green, famously dying on his doorstep in front of his wife and son. The nephew survived to become a Continental Army soldier. But in "April Morning," it's the *younger* Jonathan Harrington who dies on his doorstep, in front of his mother. In other words, Howard Fast kills off the *wrong* Jonathan Harrington!
*In the book, following the battle on Lexington Green, Adam Cooper hides out in a smokehouse for several hours, while the Redcoats search the town. He nearly gets caught by two Redcoat soldiers. In real-life, after the massacre on Lexington Green, the British soldiers didn't even bother to search the town. They just marched on to Concord.
*In "April Morning," the men of Lexington who are killed in the battle are laid out in the town meeting house. This actually happened, but at the end of the novel, the people of Lexington hold a nighttime candlelight vigil for them. In fact, the men killed in the battle were buried in the town burying ground only a few hours after their deaths. Also, no mention is made of the real-life fact that, later in the day, a British cannon ball crashed through the meeting house wall and almost knocked the building over.
So "April Morning" is a very poor book overall. Howard Fast could have written a better story, but apparently he didn't think it was important to be historically accurate in a historical novel.
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