The Minutemen and Their World, by Robert Gross focuses directly on life and struggles in Concord in the seventeen hundreds. He provides a fresh outlook and new style that works to the readers advantage. This style of writing separates Gross from many other writers. As other writers deal with the colonies as a whole, Gross separates and investigates on a more specific level. He focuses on the lives of the farmers and ordinary towns people. This inside out approach allows the reader to see how decisions effected everyday life for ordinary people. Gross's analytical style called "new social history" is compounded by primary documents and statistical analysis of many records kept through out history. This is to the reader's advantage, because not only does this it give us an accurate account of what happened in the 1700's, but it also provides numerical statistic to back up the authors presentation of the truth. Gross also writes in a story like fashion that makes this book easy to read.

Robert Gross starts with an overview of some of the main problems that Concord has as city to stay together and work as one town. He explains that Concord has trouble staying united

Concord relied on a board of selectmen than ran and voted on issues that were brought to their attention in the town meetings. An average selectmen was one of high social class, wealthy "owning... twice the holding of an ordinary farmer"(13), open minded, and business oriented. Gross discussed numerous potential candidates and many elected candidates. He uses their background and social standing to account for the decisions made while in office. There were five selectmen in the beginning and they often had troubles agreeing resulting from their different needs. Chapter one's title "Do Not Be Deviled for So Small Matters" is derived by the simplicity of these needs. Gross shows this through individual events that happened through out the 1700's.

Gross also discusses the struggle for religious unity in Concord. In the works of the "Great Awakening" the people of concord began to separate into two groups. With in Concord their becomes a struggle between the New and the Old Lights. The New Lights were products of this religious revolution. They believed that religion needed to ask more questions. The moved beyond religion and started getting involved with politics. This separation would divide Concord increasingly. There became a strong out cry to hire new minister of both backgrounds, however Daniel Bliss, the first New Light minister of Concord, wouldn't allow anymore Old Light preacher. He continued to implement his views on political issues and cause controversy through out the colonies.

Gross goes future than any other writers. It was interesting to see that in the time that Britain was implementing its imperial program that "They (Concordians) were burying their contentious pastor, Daniel Bliss, in an expensive style that was sure to increase local taxes" (33). This would give the Concordians further reason to

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Approximate Word count = 1246
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)