Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

Female Genius

Read an excerpt from Mary Sarah Bilder's book, Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution.

King Hancock

Read an excerpt from Brooke Barbier's book, King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father.

Witness to Revolution Exhibit Reading List

See five books recommended by the Museum that explore key people connected to George Washington’s tent and were critical to researching and constructing the exhibition.

The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

Read an excerpt from David Waldstreicher's book, The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence.

Brothers in Liberty

Read an excerpt from Phillip Thomas Tucker's book, Brothers in Liberty: The Forgotten Story of the Free Black Haitians Who Fought for American Independence.

Book cover for Female Genius written in a wavy font across the bottom third features Columbia holding the American flag.

Book cover for King Hancock book featuring a large portrait of John Hancock's face with the title King Hancock in gold and Hancock written in his famous signature.

Introductory wall panel in the Witness to Revolution special exhibit with white text on a red background.

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.

Book cover for Brothers in Liberty features the book title in yellow on a red background in the middle of the cover with the subtitle right below in white.

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.

Subscribe Now

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

Filter By:

Showing 111–120 of 262 items

Sort by:

History

Britons

Posted: August 28, 2019

Read an excerpt from Linda Colley's book, Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837.

History

Liberty's Exiles

Posted: August 14, 2019

This excerpt from Maya Jasanoff illustrates exiled loyalists' experience and what it meant as an American colonist returning to Great Britain after defeat.

History

Slave Counterpoint

Posted: July 24, 2019

This excerpt from Phillip Morgan explains the value of studying slave culture in the eighteenth century and “humanizing the institution of slavery.”

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.

Children & Young Adults

Summer 2019 Reading List

Posted: June 26, 2019

View our list of 2019 Summer Reading Books about the American Revolutionary War to share stories of history with children of all ages!

History

Declaration

Posted: June 12, 2019

This excerpt by William Hogeland explores the people, backroom politicking, and passions that ignited our pursuit of liberty during the American Revolution.

History

The Unruly City

Posted: May 22, 2019

This excerpt from Mike Rapport shows London’s response to the American Revolution - Londoners sought political reforms but not a British revolution.

History

The Martyr and the Traitor

Posted: May 08, 2019

This excerpt from Virginia DeJohn Anderson adds complexity to our understanding of choosing sides in the Revolutionary era.

History

Archaeology at the Site of the Museum of the American Revolution

Posted: April 24, 2019

Read this timeline by historical archaeologist Rebecca Yamin about the artifacts discovered during the excavation of Philadelphia's newest Museum.

History

Lexington and Concord

Posted: April 10, 2019

This excerpt from Arthur Tourtellot takes us on a journey into the events of Lexington and Concord starting with an overview of the British Army in Boston

12 of 27 pages