The 100 Best American Revolution Books of All Time – Journal of the American Revolution

Our readers are avid consumers of history and continually search for the next great book on the revolutionary war. and there is no shortage of options. Amazon alone sells over 12,000 books categorized as “revolution and foundation.” With so many options, where does any student of the revolution begin? Which tomes are the most credible for their impeccable research and unbiased scrutiny of the time?

As editors of the Journal of the American Revolution, we read and test many history books. We also chat with many of America’s earliest historians and experts on the subject, who have strong book opinions and recommendations. From our years of publishing, writing, reading, researching, interviewing, and speaking, we’ve compiled a list of what we consider to be the best books on the American Revolution of all time. ok, maybe not of all time, but certainly of our time. and this is possibly the most exciting moment in history for history.

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Modern technology has made an unprecedented amount of primary source material available to researchers, thus improving the depth, breadth, and accuracy of the information that is published. therefore, it is not surprising that many books on this list have been published in the last two decades.

While we originally set out to identify the 100 best books on the American Revolution, we’ll no doubt add more to this list over time. Groundbreaking work is being published more often than ever and there may be titles we missed (let us know which ones you think we missed in the comments). That said, while the headline will remain the same, you’ll have over 100 books and that count will no doubt grow in the years to come.

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To make the list more manageable, we’ve divided the books into five broad categories, which we’ve arranged in our recommended reading order:

1. Start with a few all-in-one books to get a general understanding of the era, its timeline, its challenges, and its characters. You’ll also gain a solid synthesis of cultural, economic, and political analysis.
2. Learn the origins and causes of the revolution. How did a small regional rebellion escalate into a generalized revolution? what were the key contributions and influences?
3. next, meet the people—individuals and groups—who made the revolution; what were their motivations, their inspirations, etc. it is important to look at the revolution from many perspectives.
4. fully understand the politics of the revolution, locally, nationally, and globally. much political ground is covered in the other four categories and volumes devoted to this topic are not as prevalent as biographies or battle books, so naturally this section is lighter than others. If you want, save the post-war political books for later. we’ve highlighted a few of them below, but there are plenty of other great books on the constitution and the federal period to consider beyond this list.
5. finally, more than just strategy and tactics, appreciate what all the Participants sacrificed to understand conflict and warfare, from small skirmishes and large campaigns to bloody massacres and epic battle scenes.

Reading our list of books will inevitably invite a variety of curiosities. We encourage you to have a tablet or computer nearby with allthingsliberty.com preloaded in your browser so you can quickly search our archives for background and additional narratives on newly discovered people, places, and events. With more than 1,000 articles published since 2013, the Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of knowledge about the era. Furthermore, our content is conveniently categorized into similar categories of People, Politics, Culture, Economy, Conflict & war and critical thinking.

The best books in each subsection below are listed alphabetically by title. and, in most cases, we have included the original publisher and year of publication even if a paperback or more recent reprint is available. Be sure to leave a comment with your favorite American Revolution history book, as well as anything you think we missed or did right. Cheers to the fascinating history of the American Revolution and happy reading!

all in one

• Near Miracle: American Victory in the Revolutionary War by John Ferling (Oxford University Press, 2007)
• The American Revolution: A History by Gordon S. Wood (Modern Library, 2002)
• The American Revolution in its Political and Military Aspects, 1763-1783 by Eric Robson (W. W. Norton, 1966)
• American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 by alan taylor (w. w. norton, 2016)
• angel in the whirlwind: the triumph of the american revolution by benson bobrick (simon & schuster, 1997)
• the birth of the republic, 1763-89 by edmund morgan (university of chicago press, 1956)
• founders: the people who brought you a nation by ray raphael (the new press, 2009)
• a history of the american revolution by john r. alden (knopf, 1969)
• journal of the american revolution, annual volume 2015, 2016, 2017 by various (westholme publishing)
• the radicalism of the american revolution by gordon s. wood (knopf, 1991)
• rebels and redcoats: the american revolution through the eyes of those who fought and lived through it by george f. Scheer and Hugh F. rankin (da capo press, 1987)
• revolutionary war reporting: before it was history, it was news by todd andrlik (sourcebooks, 2012)
• spirit of the seventies Six: The Story of the American Revolution Told by the Participants by Henry Commanger and Richard Morris (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1958)
• The War for America, 1775-1783 by Piers Mackesy (Harvard University Press, 1964)

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origins

• Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution, 1763-1776 by arthur m. Schlesinger, Mr. (columbia university, 1917)
• an empire on the edge: how britain came to fight the united states by nick bunker (knopf, 2014)
• first american revolution: before lexington and concord by ray raphael (the new press, 2002)
• from resistance to revolution: colonial radicals and the development of american opposition to britain, 1765-1776 by pauline maier (knopf, 1973 )
• Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn (Harvard University Press, 1967)
• The Market of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped Independence american for you h. Breen (Oxford University Press, 2004)
• Prelude to Independence: The Newspaper War Against Britain, 1764-1776 by Arthur M. schlesinger (knopf, 1958)
• the spirit of ’74: how the american revolution began by ray raphael and marie raphael (the new press, 2015)
• the postage stamp crisis: prologue to revolution by edmund morgan and helen morgan (the university of north carolina press, 1953)
• the urban melting pot: northern seaports and the origins of the american revolution by gary b. nash (harvard university press, 1979)

people

• alexander hamilton by ron chernow (the penguin press, 2004)
• american sphinx: thomas jefferson’s character by joseph ellis (knopf, 1996)
• the revolution In Indian Territory: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities by Colin G. Calloway (Cambridge University Press, 1995)
• Becoming Great Men: Youth and Military Service in the Revolutionary War by John A. Ruddiman (Virginia University Press, 2014)
• Being in the Army: Camp Followers and Community During the American Revolution by Holly Mayer (South Carolina University Press, 1996)
• Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Revisited by James Kirby Martin (Nyu Press, 1997)
• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster, 2004)
• Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence by Alan Gilbert (University of Chicago Press, 2012)
• British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution by Don n. hagist (westholme publishing, 2012)
• brothers in arms: american independence and the men from france and spain who saved it by larrie d. ferreiro (knopf, 2016)
• dangerous guests: enemy captives and revolutionary communities during the war of independence by ken miller (comnell university press, 2014)
• the drill master of the forge Valley: Baron Steuben and the Making of the American Army by Paul Lockhart (Smithsonian Books, 2008)
• Some Bloody Noses: The Realities and Mythologies of the American Revolution by Robert Harvey (The Ignore Press, 2002)
• The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H. w. Marks (Doubleday, 2000)
• First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His and the Nation’s Prosperity by Edward G. lengel (de capo press, 2016)
• forgotten allies: the oneida indians and the american revolution by joseph t. glatthaar and james kirby martin (hill and wang, 2006)
• founding brothers: the revolutionary generation by joseph ellis (knopf, 2000)
• the monticello hemingses: an american family by annette Gordon-Reed (W. W. Norton, 2009)
• Lost Independence: Living on the Brink of the American Revolution by Kathleen Duval (Random House, 2015)
• Inventing Ethan Allen by John J. Duffy and H. nicholas muller iii (upne, 2014)
• the iroquois in the american revolution by barbara graymont (syracuse university press, 1972)
• john adams by david mcullough (simon & schuster, 2002 )
• Freedom’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World by Maya Jasanoff (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011)
• Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred F. young (knopf, 2004)
• memoirs of joseph plumb martin (1830; since republished by many)
• the men who lost america: british leadership, the american revolution and the fate of empire by andrew jackson o’shaughnessy (yale university press, 2014)
• the minutemen and their world by robert a. Gross (Hill and Wang, 2001, originally 1981)
• Minute Men: The First Fight: Myths and Realities of the American Revolution by John R. Galvin (Brassey’s, 1989)
• The Negro in the American Revolution by Benjamin Quarles (North Carolina University Press, 1961)
• Thomas Hutchinson’s Ordeal by Bernard bailyn (harvard press university, 1976)
• patriots: the men who started the american revolution by a. J. langguth (simon & schuster, 1988)
• paul revere and the world he lived in by esther forbes (houghton mifflin, 1943; now mariner books, 1999)
• revolutionary founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in Nation Building by Alfred F. Young, Gary B. nash and ray raphael (vintage, 2012)
• revolutionary mothers: women in the fight for american independence by carol berkin (knopf, 2005)
• rochambeau: the abandoned founding father America by Arnold Whitridge (Collier Books, 1974)
• The Cobbler and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. young (beacon press, 1999)
• washington—a life by ron chernow (penguin press, 2010)
• washington and hamilton: the alliance that forged america by stephen f. knott and tony williams (sourcebooks, 2015)
• washington: the indispensable man by james thomas flexner (little, brown and company, 1974)
• women of the republic: intellect and ideology in revolutionary america by linda k. kerber (north carolina university press, 1980)

politics

• American Writing: Making the Declaration of Independence by Pauline Maier (Old Books, 1998)
• The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 by Gordon S. wood (north carolina university press, 1969)
• an empire divided: the american revolution and the british caribbean by andrew jackson o’shaughnessy (pennsylvania university press, 2000)
• the first congress: how james madison, george washington and a group of extraordinary men invented the government by fergus m. bordewich (simon & schuster, 2016)
• the founding of a nation: a history of the american revolution by merrill jensen (oxford university press, 1968)
• from revolution to Reunion: Reuniting South Carolina Loyalists by Rebecca Brannon (University of South Carolina Press, 2016)
• Independence: The Struggle to Free America by John Ferling (Bloomsbury Press, 2011)
• The Perils of Peace: America’s Struggle for Survival After Yorktown by Thomas Fleming (Harper Perennial, 2008)
• Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 by pauline maier (simon & schuster, 2010)
• revolutionary summer: the birth of independence by joseph ellis (knopf, 2013)
• the unknown american revolution: the Rebel Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create the United States by Gary B. nash (Viking, 2005)

conflict & war

• 1776 by david mccullough (simon & schuster, 2005)
• 1777: turning point at saratoga by dean snow (oxford university press, 2016)
• after From Yorktown: Don Glickin’s Final Fight for American Independence (Westholme Publishing, 2015)
• The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution by Barnet Schecter (Penguin Books, 2003)
• the battle of hubbardton: the rearguard action that saved america by bruce m. venter (arcadia publishing, 2015)
• john elting’s battles of saratoga (philip freneau press, 1977)
• the burning of her majesty’s schooner gaspee: an attack on the government of The Crown Before the American Revolution by Steven Park (Westholme Publishing, 2016)
• Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill by Richard M. ketchum (doubleday, 1974)
• defying the patriots: the boston tea party and the making of america by benjamin l. carp (yale university press, 2010)
• devil of a whipping: the battle of cowpens by lawrence babit (north carolina university press, 1998)
• sunday Fatal: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of the Battle by Mark Edward Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone (University of Oklahoma Press, 2016)
• george washington’s big gamble: and the naval battle that The American Revolution Won by James Nelson ( Ragged Mountain Press, 2010)
• Grand Forage 1778: The Battlefield Around New York City by Todd W. Braisted (Westholme Publishing, 2016)
• Weapons of Independence: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 by Jerome Green (Savas Beatie, 2009)
• Igniting the American Revolution, 1773-1775 by Derek W. beck (source books, 2016)
• a naval history of the american revolution by gardner allen (houghton mifflin, 1913)
• paul revere walk by david hackett fischer (oxford university press , 1994)
• the philadelphia campaign: volume one and two by thomas j. mcguire (stackpole books, 2006/2007)
• revolution in the hudson: new york city and the hudson river valley in the american war of independence by george c. daughan (w. w. norton, 2016)
• the road to harmony: how four stolen cannons started the revolutionary war by j. i bell (westholme publishing, 2016)
• the road to guilford courthouse: the american revolution in the carolinas by john buchanan (wiley, 1999)
• saratoga: turning point of America’s Revolutionary War by Ricardo M. Ketchum (Henry Holt and Co., 1997)
• Sea of ​​Glory: A Naval History of the American Revolution by Nathan Miller (Naval Institute Press, 1992)
• Secret History of the american revolution revolution: an account of the conspiracies of benedict arnold and many others excerpted from secret service document by carl van doren (viking, 1941)
• the southern strategy: the british conquest of south carolina and Georgia, 1775-1780 by David Wilson (South Carolina University Press, 2008)
• The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of the American Revolution by Sam Willis (W. W. Norton, 2016 )
• victory at yorktown: the campaign that won the revolution by richard m. ketchum (henry holt and co., 2004)
• american war of independence: attitudes, policies, and military practices, 1763-1789 by don higginbotham (macmilian, 1971)
• the crossing of washington by david hackett fischer (oxford university press, 2004)
• the washington immortals: the untold story of an elite regiment that changed the course of the revolution by patrick k. o’donnell (atlantic monthly press, 2016)
• washington’s secret war: the hidden story of the valley forge by thomas fleming (smithsonian press, 2005)
• path of the fox : American Strategy in the War for America, 1775-1783 by Dave Palmer (Praeger, 1975)
• The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton by Richard M. Ketchum (Doubleday, 1973)
• With Musket and Tomahawk, Volume II: The Mohawk Valley Campaign in the Desert War of 1777 by Michael O. logusz (casemate, 2012)
• with zeal and bayonets alone: ​​the british army on campaign in north america, 1775-1783 by matthew h. Spring (Oklahoma University Press, 2008)
• Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois by Glenn F. williams (westholme publishing, 2005)

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