Independence Day Reads
Celebrate Independence Day by learning about American history through a good book. The Library owns many novels set during the Revolutionary War as well as engaging nonfiction titles.
FICTION:
Citizen Washington by William Martin
In “Citizen Washington,” a newspaper publisher named Hesperus Draper learns that Martha Washington has burned her husband's letters at his death. Draper sets his nephew on a quest to find the truth about the letters and about the man himself.
The Glorious Cause by Jeff Shaara
Bestselling author Jeff Shaara captures the amazing saga of how 13 colonies became a nation, taking the conflict from kingdom and courtroom to the bold and bloody battlefields of war.
King’s Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb
John Sevier has not taken much interest in the American Revolution, as he is too busy fighting Indians in the Carolinas and taming the wilderness. But when an arrogant British officer threatens his settlement, the war becomes personal.
Love and Honor by Randall Wallace
Virginia cavalryman Kieran Selkirk is summoned to a meeting on the eve of the American Revolution. There he finds none other than Benjamin Franklin, who reveals that the British have asked Catherine the Great to provide 20,000 Russian soldiers to help put down the resistance in America. Selkirk's mission is to travel to Russia disguised as a British mercenary and convince Catherine not to join the British.
A Matter of Honor by William C. Hammond
The first volume in a series of maritime novels set in the early years of the United States, “A Matter of Honor” is a dramatic account of a young man's coming of age during the American Revolution.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Kidnapped from Africa as a child, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes to Manhattan during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. The hardship and prejudice of the new colony prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery.
The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith
Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this debut novel follows three generations of family, characters who yearn for redemption amidst a heady brew of war, kidnapping, slavery and love.
To Try Men’s Souls by Newt Gingrich
This story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington's army. The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington crossing the Delaware.
NONFICTION:
1775: A Good Year for Revolution by Kevin Phillips
Phillips punctures the myth that 1776 was the watershed year of the American Revolution. He suggests that the events and confrontations of 1775 achieved a Patriot control of territory and local government that Britain was never able to overcome.
1776 by David McCullough
Using extensive research from both American and British archives, McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence, when the whole American cause was riding on their success.
American Creation : Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis
Historian Ellis guides us through the decisive issues of the nation's founding. He explains how the idea of a strong federal government, championed by Washington, was eventually embraced by the American people.
The American Revolution: A Visual History by DK Publishing
Beginning with the first stirrings of colonial resistance, “The American Revolution” presents illustrated accounts of every major military action and comprehensive timelines for every stage of the war.
Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence by Alan Gilbert
We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population. Gilbert shows that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British forces to gain theirs.
George Washington's Secret Six : The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
When General George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied, thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring.
Revolutionaries : A New History of the Invention of America by Jack Rakove
In the early 1770s, the men who invented America were living quiet lives in the New World, devoted primarily to family and the private pursuit of wealth and happiness. None set out to become "revolutionary" by ambition, but when events in Boston escalated, they found themselves thrust into a crisis that moved from protest to war.
Whirlwind : The American Revolution and the War That Won It by John Ferling
Balancing social and political concerns of the period and perspectives of the average American revolutionary with a careful examination of the war itself, Ferling has crafted the ideal book for armchair military history buffs, a book about the causes of the American Revolution, the war that won it and the meaning of the Revolution overall.
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