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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.

A Gentleman of Color book cover

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.

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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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.

200th Edition Museum Staff Picks Reading List includes Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow; Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar; American Revolutions: A Continental History 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor; and The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. Young; and Spies in the Continental Capital by John A. Nagy. The book covers are shown two on top and two on the bottom of the image.

Reading List: Read the Revolution 200th Edition Staff Picks

Posted: August 11, 2021

To celebrate the our 200th edition of Read the Revolution, Museum staff picked their favorite books about the American Revolution.

This image depicts the cover of Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman. The title of the book is written in the middle with a red background. The top of the book covers shows a black illustrated eagle with a white background. The bottom image is of the Founding Fathers and is in color.

Plain, Honest Men

Posted: July 28, 2021

Read an excerpt from Richard Beeman's book, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution.

This image depicts A Crisis of Peace by David Head book cover. It is a colored portrait of General Washington.

A Crisis of Peace

Posted: July 14, 2021

Read an excerpt from David Head's book, A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution.

This image depicts the Standing in Their Own Light book cover by Judith Van Buskirk. The image is a painting of a person of African Descent in military clothing. He his wearing a blue jacket and carrying a rifle pointed upward in his right hand. His right leg is bent, giving the illusion that he is walking on a field.

Standing in Their Own Light

Posted: June 23, 2021

Read an excerpt from Judith L. Van Buskirk's book, Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution.

The image depicts Colonists Citizens Constitutions book cover by James Hrdlicka. It is a blue cover with a photo of the first few lines of the constitution. “We, the people of the United States,” is a visible.

Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions

Posted: June 09, 2021

Read an excerpt from James Hrdlicka's exhibition book Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions: Creating the American Republic.

This image depicts the Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781 book cover by John Ferling. Hi name is written on the bottom of the cover. The title of the book is written in black with an off yellow background. And the top of the cover shows a portrait of George Washington on horseback with soldiers surrounding him and smoke filling the air behind them. There are three red coated solders standing to the right of Washington.

Winning Independence

Posted: May 26, 2021

Read an excerpt of John Ferling's new book, Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781.

This image depicts the book cover of The Gun, The Ship, and The Pen by Linda Colley. The text of the title is written in large blue letters. There is an illustration, pictures vertically on the left side of the book cover. It shows a sailor, with his back to the viewer, looking out at a ship on fire in the sea.

The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen

Posted: May 12, 2021

Read an excerpt from historian Linda Colley's new book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World.

This image depicts the book cover of James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath. James Monroe is written in red, while A Life and Tim’s name is written in white. The cover is a portrait of James Monroe in a black jacket. His body is turned off to his left looking in the same direction.

Biography & Memoir

James Monroe

Posted: April 28, 2021

Read an excerpt from Tim McGrath's book, James Monroe: A Life.

This image depicts the book cover of Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred F. Young. The background is a pale yellow. There are images of eight continental soldiers. The middle soldier is the largest and is colored pink. The other soldiers surround this one in varies positions and are colored blue.

Biography & Memoir

Masquerade

Posted: April 06, 2021

Read an excerpt from late historian Alfred F. Young's book, Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier.

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