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

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History

Among His Troops

Posted: November 27, 2019

Read an excerpt from the Museum of the American Revolution's Among His Troops Coffee Table Catalog.

History

An Empire on the Edge

Posted: July 28, 2015

Read an excerpt from Nick Bunker as he describes the Rhode Island colonist attack on a British ship which widened divisions between colonists and the Crown.

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

Band of Giants

Posted: July 29, 2014

This excerpt from Jack Kelly describes the circumstances surrounding Washington's important decision to march his troops to Virginia in the summer of 1781.

History

Battle of Cowpens

Posted: January 20, 2015

This excerpt from Lawrence Babits transports us to 1781, when Americans finally achieved victory at the Battle of Cowpens after a series of southern losses.

History

Battle of Paoli

Posted: October 23, 2019

Read an excerpt from Thomas J. McGuire's book, Battle of Paoli.

History

Belonging to the Army

Posted: March 22, 2017

This excerpt by Holly Mayer introduces different types of camp followers and the services they provided to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War