Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

A Bard of Wolfe's Army

Read an excerpt from the book, A Bard of Wolfe’s Army: James Thompson, Gentleman Volunteer, 1733-1830, edited by Earl John Chapman and Ian Macpherson McCulloch.

Feeding Washington's Army

Read an excerpt from Ricardo A. Herrera's book, Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.

Flora MacDonald: "Pretty Young Rebel"

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

Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word

Read an excerpt from Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word, written by Sarah Jane Marsh and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.

Indigenous Continent

Read an excerpt from Pekka Hämäläinen's book, Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America.

Book cover for Feeding Washington's Army by Ricardo A. Herrera featuring an image of Harrington Fitzgerald's painting Valley Forge Winter.

Flora Macdonald Pretty Young Rebel book cover by Flora Fraser

Cover for Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh.

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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Children & Young Adults

Summer Reading List: 2020 Young Readers Edition

Posted: July 08, 2020

View our list of 2020 Summer Reading Books about the American Revolutionary War to share stories of history with children of all ages!

The Museum’s 2021 Children’s Youth Reading List includes Why Longfellow Lied: The Truth About Paul Revere’s Ride, The Age of Phillis by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, and A Parade for George Washington by David A. Adler and illustrated by John O’Brien.

Children & Young Adults

Summer Reading List: 2021 Young Readers Edition

Posted: August 25, 2021

View our list of new books about the American Revolutionary War to share stories of history with children of all ages for 2021 summer reading.

Children & Young Adults

Summer Reading List: 2022 Young Readers Edition

Posted: July 13, 2022

Check out the Museum education team's 2022 summer reading list selections for young readers ages 6-12.

History

Tacky's Revolt

Posted: February 12, 2020

Read an excerpt from Vincent Brown's book, Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War

History

The American Crisis

Posted: December 23, 2015

Read an excerpt from Thomas Paine's collected writings, including the first in his pamphlet series published on December 19, 1776.

History

The American Plate

Posted: March 10, 2015

Read this excerpt from Libby O'Connell's The American Plate about the role patriotism played in leading us towards our now ubiquitous coffee culture.

History

The American Revolution

Posted: October 08, 2013

Read this excerpt of a letter by Benedict Arnold 'to the Inhabitants of America' that reveals the ideological shift he experienced over the course of war.

History

The American Revolution

Posted: August 26, 2014

This excerpt from Gordon Wood shows how the ideals of 'republicanism' influenced the governments being formed at the start of the Revolutionary War.

History

The American Revolution: A Historical Guidebook

Posted: October 21, 2014

This excerpt from Frances H. Kennedy describes more than 100 landmarks from the American Revolution in the chronology of their importance to the war.

History

The Battle for the Fourteenth Colony

Posted: January 14, 2014

This excerpt from Mark Anderson reveals the beginnings of the Quebec Campaign when colonists were trying to bring Canada into the Continental confederation

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