meant as mutually exclusive, but as "avenues for fruitful inquiry." Indeed, John Adams (quoted above right), who lived through and helped lead the independence struggle, claimed that "The revolution was... substantially effected before hostilities commenced." McCarthy (Ch. 14) argues that "independence in many of the colonies had essentially been achieved prior to the commencement of military hostilities at Lexington and Concord." The book concludes with 7 appendices that reproduce key historical materials (see table below right), as well as a 23-page index. Reviews and influence Reviews have appeared in the Journal of Southern History the Journal of American History, and the Law and History Review. In the Journal of Southern History, Mills wrote of RPASI that "Although the work covers familiar ground, the approach is fresh and the treatment is stimulating. The interpretative theme is certain to provoke debate." He added that "The criticisms one might make of this study are cosmetic (e.g., the considerable variations in the sizes of several chapters) rather than substantive." In the Journal of American History, Ireland commended the historical essays as shedding light on important aspects of the American Revolution, stating that "having them collected together in one place is useful." He was critical of most chapters by the editors as "much less valuable," and came away feeling "that I have missed the point, or that there is no point here of any great moment for a historian." In Law and History Review, Roeber wrote that RPASI "includes stimulating essays by ten authors, four British," and But in the American colonial frontier, "military tactics were acknowledged by all to be more vicious than those employed in European conflicts." Thus, for Roeber, "One comes away from this rich and stimulating series of essays with the disturbing sense that Americans had, at the very time of the Republic's founding, been swept up on a tide of violent resistance that fit with their colonial frontier experience." Mills wrote that "One can hope that the challenge to conduct more research into the period from 1774 to 1775 and the shift from nonviolent to violent action will be heeded." See also Nonviolent revolution References 1986 non-fiction books Nonviolence Works by Gene Sharp History books about the American Revolution