Show y I til I The Gr Greatness at ess Remains I I PHE HE heyday of the in American t 1 i I literature seems to be passing For several sev sev- ef eral l years no book made such a hit as the thebo bo book k that tried to explode a myth or tear teardown down do a reputation And since this nation h had d a vast number of inflated reputations and an even greater grat r at r number of myths that thit pissed passed for sober history this was all to the go good d. d The was needed and he did dida a good job But now and then he overdid it Too often otten the debunk r became something little better letter than a mud stinger slinger He told us that V Washington was a rum toper and that Lincoln was a a. a scheming small-brained small politician He Hebr br branded the Revolutionary n r fathers as selfish a and d uncouth connivers and saw all American history as a miserable epi epic in greed cowardice coward coward- ice and chicanery The interesting thing now is the fact that thai our most cherished h heroes roes and oUr most cherished cherished cherished cher cher- traditions stripped of the bunk that the thes s school hool books plastered on m. m t to th them m ate are quite a as noble quite as admirable as before All AIl of this is brought to mind by reading The War Var of Independence by Claude H H. H V Van h Tyri Tyne I Professor Van an Tyne is head of the history d department at t f the University of Michigan h n. n His book authoritative to o the last degree p punctures s a l number ib b t of Revolutionary It proves s for instance that George II III was vias r riot t the wilful simpleton ton we have sup sup- p posed sed It proves that the colonists were prone to magnify fh their heir ir own troubles am and ig England's honest attempts to placate them m. m It proves indisputably that the early Americans did not make very good soldiers tH they y desert deserted d when the going got rough they y r robbed th heir hir ir own countrymen the they hey often ran away in iiI battle they were insubordinate insubordinate and petty and jealous of each others others' others's s successes And yet in spite of all alI of this Professor V Van r Tynes Tyne's es e's caustic book also proves that th the R RV Revolutionary 1 fi ry epoch p Ji was Ii is a i p period fi d on which li 1 every American can an look wit with extreme pride It t. t proves that thia there thet w wa s real gr an SS real heroism th in h 1 war var for depend in independence If It proves that Washington was vas as every bit as great greaf as JJ he JJ has ts t's b bet been en painted It proves that the laurels laurels' ot at J Jefferson Greene Grede Franklin the and others others' were well weB earned It proves th that thit f the tile ragged raged continentals with I all their faults aults vere were genuine heroes hetos In other wOrds although the book strips away the trie scho school l b- b book bk k myth if nev nevertheless fh less leaves one filled with tic n for th the Americans who won th their ir independence I e c amazed at their valor and endurance proud of their determination 1 and integrity All of which h Indicates nd c-ates c that thit th the r when he is a c ip e f ni do does docs s no not rob us of anything we need Our great tra traditions tra- tra traditions i are arc built on n good d f foundations d I |