Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

Black Jacks

Read an excerpt from W. Jeffrey Bolster's book, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail.

Liberty's Daughters

Read an excerpt from Mary Beth Norton's groundbreaking book, Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800.

Summer Reading List: 2023 Young Readers Edition

See our summer reading list of Revolutionary books that will encourage young readers to explore the past and the people who shaped it.

A Gentleman of Color

Read an excerpt from Julie Winch's groundbreaking book, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.

The Grimkes

Read an excerpt from Kerri K. Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.

Cover of W. Jeffrey Bolster's book Black Jacks.

Image 091520 1776x2652 Libertysdaughters

A collection of books featured in the Museum's 2023 summer reading list for young readers.

The Grimkes by Kerri Greenidge Book book cover.

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

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History

Eyewitness Images from the American Revolution

Posted: April 11, 2018

Read an excerpt from Arthur Lefkowitz that introduces less-celebrated figures of the war and reveals their methods for creating art amidst the war.

History

Revolution Song

Posted: March 28, 2018

This excerpt from Russell Shorto weaves together the life stories of six historical figures against the backdrop of the American Revolution.

History

The Expanding Blaze

Posted: March 14, 2018

This excerpt from Jonathan Israel investigates radical ideas of self-government, liberty, and republicanism that challenged the Old World institutions.

Fiction

Revolutionary

Posted: February 28, 2018

Read an excerpt from Alex Myers's historical fiction novel on Deborah Sampson, a woman who joined the Continental Army at the age of 21 disguised as a man.

History

Passion is the Gale

Posted: February 14, 2018

This excerpt from Nicole Eustace examines the language of emotions in social and political relationships through letters, diaries, books, and pamphlets

History

Most Blessed of the Patriarchs

Posted: January 24, 2018

This excerpt from authors Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter Onuf dissects the life of Thomas Jefferson and explores his attachment to home and to family.

Children & Young Adults

I Survived the American Revolution

Posted: January 10, 2018

Read an excerpt from Lauren Tarshis's children's book of a young boy's courage as he and the Continental Army prepare for the Battle of Brooklyn.

History

The Common Cause

Posted: December 27, 2017

This excerpt from Robert Parkinson explores the creation of a common cause to rally colonists from South Carolina to Massachusetts against a common enemy.

History

Don Troiani’s Soldiers of the American Revolution

Posted: December 13, 2017

These works by Don Troiani show his original paintings of soldiers alongside the actual objects he studied in his artistic recreations.

This image depicts the book cover of American Cake by Anne Byrn. The book cover shows a white frosted cake with pink rose petals on top. The cake sits on a white cake stand with more petals surrounding the right side of the stand. Below this image is the title of the book. Below the title of the book are three smaller photographs of cakes dated 1770, 1903, and 1963.

History

Double Feature: Gingerbread

Posted: November 22, 2017

Read these excerpts featuring Colonial recipes along with tempting and intriguing stories about our early American culinary history.

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