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Read the Revolution

A curated collection of thought-provoking books about the American Revolution.

Sponsored by The Haverford Trust Company

Featured Books

Bernardo de Gálvez

Read an excerpt from Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia's book, Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution.

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Liberty

Read an excerpt from Don Troiani and the Museum's book Liberty: Don Troiani's Paintings of the Revolutionary War, which accompanies the exhibit of the same name.

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Past and Prologue

Read an excerpt from Michael Hattem's book, Past and Prologue: Politics and Memory in the American Revolution.

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Forgotten Allies

Read an excerpt from Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin's Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution.

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Power and Liberty

Read an excerpt from Gordon S. Wood's new book, Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution.

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    The cover of Bernardo De Galvez Spanish Hero of the American Revolution by Gonzalo Saravia depicts a black background and white lines that illustrate a horse standing on the ground. His front legs are in the air and Bernardo sits on top of him. Bernardo’s outfit is also depicted in white lines, while his hands and face are colored. He looks at the viewer and is wearing a black hat with a white brim.
    This image depicts the book cover of the Museum of the American Revolution’s Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War exhibit catalog. The cover is a painting by Don Troiani titled “Battle of Bunker Hill.” The painting shows solders behind a dirt mound, with their rifles pointing toward the right of the image. There are cannonballs lodged into the ground in front of them and smoke fills the sky.
    Past And Prologue by Michael Hattem
    Forgotten Allies book cover
    This image depicts the cover of Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood. The top of the cover is an image of the Founding Fathers, most of them standing and pointing at one another, in the midst of conversation. The bottom half of the cover is the title of the book, which is written in blue and red colors.

    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 25 items
    The cover of Bernardo De Galvez Spanish Hero of the American Revolution by Gonzalo Saravia depicts a black background and white lines that illustrate a horse standing on the ground. His front legs are in the air and Bernardo sits on top of him. Bernardo’s outfit is also depicted in white lines, while his hands and face are colored. He looks at the viewer and is wearing a black hat with a white brim.
    Biography & Memoir

    Bernardo de Gálvez

    Posted: September 08, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia's book, Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution.
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    This image depicts the book cover of James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath. James Monroe is written in red, while A Life and Tim’s name is written in white. The cover is a portrait of James Monroe in a black jacket. His body is turned off to his left looking in the same direction.
    Biography & Memoir

    James Monroe

    Posted: April 28, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Tim McGrath's book, James Monroe: A Life.
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    This image depicts the book cover of Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred F. Young. The background is a pale yellow. There are images of eight continental soldiers. The middle soldier is the largest and is colored pink. The other soldiers surround this one in varies positions and are colored blue.
    Biography & Memoir

    Masquerade

    Posted: April 06, 2021
    Read an excerpt from late historian Alfred F. Young's book, Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier.
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    Image 120420 Rtr184 Henry Knox Cannons
    Children & Young Adults

    Double Feature: Henry Knox's Winter Adventure

    Posted: December 09, 2020
    Read excerpts from Don Brown's Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution as well as Phillip Hamilton's The Revolutionary War Lives and Letters of Lucy and Henry Knox.
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    Image 101320 Rtr163 Brumwell Turncoat Cover
    Biography & Memoir

    Turncoat

    Posted: January 22, 2020
    Read an excerpt from Stephen Brumwell's Turncoat: Benedict Arnold and the Crisis of American Liberty.
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    British Soldiers American War
    Biography & Memoir

    British Soldiers, American War

    Posted: December 11, 2019
    Read an excerpt from Don Hagist's book, British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution.
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    A Fool's Errand book cover
    Biography & Memoir

    A Fool's Errand

    Posted: October 09, 2019
    This excerpt of Lonnie Bunch intertwines his personal experiences with the long road that led to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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    Rush book cover
    Biography & Memoir

    Rush

    Posted: July 10, 2019
    Read an excerpt from Stephen Fried's biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and surgeon-general in the Continental Army.
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    Image 10012020 Sally Wisters Journal
    Biography & Memoir

    Sally Wister's Journal

    Posted: September 12, 2018
    This excerpt from Sally Wister's journal begins as the British marched towards Philadelphia and she fretted over the uncertainty of her place in the war
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    A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution Book Cover
    Biography & Memoir

    A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution

    Posted: February 22, 2017
    This excerpt includes a journal entry of a young Hessian soldier during the month of July 1781, the summer before the surrender at Yorktown.
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    Sponsored by The Haverford Trust Company