Top 16 Books About The American Revolution Updated 04 /2024

Violence broke out between American militiamen and British soldiers in Lexington, Massachusetts, in April of that year. This started the Revolutionary War. They fought for eight years. The fight for independence was not an easy task. In his 1783 farewell orders to the Continental Army, George Washington said that the American victory in the Revolutionary War was "little short of a miracle." Books about the American Revolution aren't hard to come by these days, but the following stories should be at the top of your list.

In these Revolutionary War books, you'll get a new look at the fight for American independence. They show vivid portraits of lesser-known revolutionaries and a secret plot to kill George Washington.

The Indispensables

By Patrick K. O'Donnell

Author Patrick K. O'Donnell has written a new book called "The Indispensables," which tells the story of the 14th Continental Regiment, also known as the Marbleheaders. In 1775, this regiment was put together. It was made up of men from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area who worked at sea. The Marbleheaders worked tirelessly to protect the colonies during the American Revolution. They played a big role in many battles, from rescuing George Washington's troops from the British after the Battle of Brooklyn to secretly ferrying his men across the icy Delaware River in the days before the Battle of Trenton, where they fought the British.

The Marbleheaders were also a very diverse group, setting a standard for the U.S. Army that it would not meet for 170 years. He tells the whole story of the Marbleheaders for the first time in his new book, The Indispensables. This little-known regiment played a big role in making the American Revolution a success.

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

By Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer has written many books about people who have been forgotten. This is the New York Times best-selling author's new book. In it, he looks into a little-known event from 1776 that almost caused the Revolutionary War to end: a plot to kill General George Washington that was carried out by Washington's bodyguards. The First Conspiracy is a well-researched and well-written spy thriller that adds a new twist to the story of George Washington and the American Revolution.

Revolutionaries

By Jack Rakove

From Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Hamilton, it's hard to picture the everyday lives of the revolutionaries who built the United States. Jack Rakove, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, shows in his book that the Founding Fathers were ordinary men with different views who came together to solve a big problem. During the Revolutionary War, Revolutionaries looks at the famous and not-so-famous inventors of America, as well as their competing ideas about how the new country should be run. It also looks at how the new country came to be.

Washington

By James Thomas Flexne

The author of this four-volume biography, James Thomas Flexner, has won many awards for his work. He goes beyond the image of America's first president to find a man made of flesh and blood. Washington's life is told from his birth in the British colony of Virginia to his death at Mount Vernon. This "essential" biography gives a "perceptive account of an extraordinary man who, for all his monumental image, was still a human being." The New York Times Book Review says:

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence

By Carol Berkin

Carol Berkin, a historian, talks about how important women were in the fight for American independence. First, women helped raise money for the new country. They also planned boycotts of British goods. War broke out at some point. They worked as spies and messengers, and they helped the Continental Army get things like food and water. Some people even took up arms and joined the fight. Berkin's book is well-written and filled with first-person accounts that show how women from all walks of life were important to the success of the Revolutionary War.

Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775–1781

By W. J. Wood

Is this what you're looking for? Military historian W.J. Wood gives a detailed account of the battles that shaped the bloody fight for American independence, from Bunker Hill and Kings Mountain to the Battle of the Capes, in a book. This book is full of maps and illustrations, making it great for both history buffs and people who like to think about strategy.

A Son of Thunder

By Henry Mayer

Give me freedom or I'll die! In the United States, Patrick Henry may not be the first name that comes to mind when people think of the Founding Fathers. However, the charismatic speaker and his views on liberty helped set the tone for the American Revolution. In this interesting biography, Mayer talks about the life and ideas of a very important revolutionary.

The Radicalism of the American Revolution

By Gordon S. Wood

This book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, retells the American Revolution as a fiery rebellion that spread across the colonies and took on its own life. Wood shows how the Revolutionary War and America's break with England turned a colonial society into a radical republic, which led to the messy, liberal democracy we know and love today.

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution

By Nathaniel Philbrick

This book by Nathaniel Philbrick shows the chaos of the Revolutionary War. He also talks about the relationship between George Washington and his trusted general, Benedict Arnold. Valiant Ambition is a gripping story of loyalty and betrayal, as well as the tense conflict that led to the birth of the United States of America.

West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776

By Claudio Saunt

One naturally thinks of the Eastern seaboard of the United States when talking about the year 1776. There was a lot of war in the colonies. Yet, it wasn't the only place where things were going. There were Russians and Spaniards in Alaska, and the Sioux made their way to the Black Hills. This happened across North America. Saunt wants us to look at the wide range of revolutionary events that shaped the American continent as the colonists fought for independence in the east.

Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary War

By Maya Jasanoff

History students know the popular story about the Revolutionary War. Colonists were tired of British rule, so they broke away from the monarchy to start a new country. Among these people and women, there were about 60,000 people who stayed loyal to Great Britain, though. Afterwards, they were forced to leave their homes and sail for a safe place in the British Empire. These 18th century exiles are told about in a moving way by Jasanoff. They had to leave the United States and look for a new home somewhere else.

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