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About

Curated by Museum staff since 2013, Read the Revolution features excerpts from thought-provoking books about the American Revolution. Read the Revolution was created with thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Subscribe to get the biweekly Read the Revolution featured excerpts emailed right to your inbox for free.

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Speaker Series

Inspired by the Read the Revolution featured excerpts, the Read the Revolution Speaker Series brings celebrated authors and historians to the Museum for lively, facilitated discussions of their work. Each Read the Revolution Speaker Series program, hosted by Museum President & CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, includes a special talk and audience Q&A.

About the Series

All Books

Showing 1–10 of 43 items
Cover for David Waldstreicher's book The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley with the book title and author name in bold black font against an orange background with a colorized version of Phillis Wheatley's portrait in the center.

The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

Posted: March 13, 2024
Read an excerpt from David Waldstreicher's book, The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence.
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Cover of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff featuring a zoomed in image of Samuel Adams's face.

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Posted: January 24, 2024
Read an excerpt from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff's book, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams.
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Book cover for Founding Martyr by Christian Di Spigna featuring a portrait of Dr. Joseph Warren.

Founding Martyr

Posted: December 13, 2023
Read an excerpt from Christian Di Spigna's book, Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s Lost Hero.
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Book cover for Freedom's Prophet by Richard Newman featuring a large scale portrait of Bishop Richard Allen.

Freedom's Prophet

Posted: November 22, 2023
Read an excerpt from Richard S. Newman's book, Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers.
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The Road To Yorktown edited by Norman Desmarais book cover

The Road to Yorktown

Posted: July 12, 2023
Read an excerpt from Norman Desmarais's edited edition of The Road to Yorktown: The French Campaigns in the American Revolution, 1780-1783.
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A Gentleman of Color book cover

A Gentleman of Color

Posted: April 05, 2023
Read an excerpt from Julie Winch's groundbreaking book, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.
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The Grimkes by Kerri Greenidge Book book cover.

The Grimkes

Posted: March 22, 2023
Read an excerpt from Kerri K. Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.
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Cover of The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten featuring a photograph of an older Charlotte.

The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten

Posted: March 08, 2023
Read an excerpt from The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten, edited by Ray Allen Billington.
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Book covers for First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause.

Double Feature: First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause

Posted: February 22, 2023
Read excerpts from Mitch Kachun's First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory and Jean O'Connor's The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution.
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Flora Macdonald Pretty Young Rebel book cover by Flora Fraser

Flora MacDonald: "Pretty Young Rebel"

Posted: January 25, 2023
Read an excerpt from Flora Fraser's new book, Flora MacDonald: “Pretty Young Rebel”: Her Life and Story.
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