Ask most Americans why their forefathers started the Revolution and they'll likely mention no taxation without representation or the belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. But that's just the beginning, as historian Alan Axelrod so brilliantly shows in this fascinating examination of what really caused the breach across the Atlantic and how the revolutionary movement began. This brought something unique to the world: an entirely new kind of nation, founded on a set of ideas. In engrossing, conversational prose, Axelrod digs beneath the classically taught history to explore everything from little-known facts to alternate realities, along with the eyewitness testimony, popular culture and art of the period. From the seeds of dissent through the long fight to glorious victory, the full, astonishing story of America's revolution finally comes to light.