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 231–240 of 262 items

Sort by:

History

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.

History

The Secret Six

Posted: December 31, 2014

This excerpt from authors Kilmeade and Yaeger shows George Washington's use of intelligence and counterintelligence, including Culper Spy Ring

Biography & Memoir

The Shoemaker and the Tea Party

Posted: December 09, 2014

Read an excerpt from Alfred Young's essays about the contributions of ordinary people, specifically a shoemaker, to the American Revolution.

Biography & Memoir

The Swamp Fox

Posted: February 08, 2017

Read an excerpt from John Oller's biography on Francis Marion, that seeks to unpack and debunk some of the myths on the "Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary War

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 Valley Forge Winter

Posted: December 21, 2016

This excerpt from Wayne Bodle presents the story of the winter of 1777-1778 during the American Revolution with details that may be new to most readers.

History

The West Point History of the American Revolution

Posted: December 12, 2018

This excerpt from a team of historians details 1778 when the British went to the South to rally Loyalists and disrupt the economy of the Revolutionaries.