Currently reading:
Below is a listing of the books I’ve read so far. Let me know what I should pick up next!
- Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
- Almost a Miracle by John Ferling
- The Road to Guilford Courthouse by John Buchanan
- Bunker Hill by Nathaniel PhilBrick
- Washington A Life by Ron Chernow
- 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
- And Imperfect God by Henry Wiencek
- The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood
- The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens by Melissa Walker
- The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1769 by Robert Middlekauff
- John Paul Jones and the American Navy by James C. Bradford
- A Devil of a Whipping, the Battle of Cowpens by Lawrence Babits
- Stealing God’s Thunder by Philip Gray
- Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
- 1776 by David Mccullough
- Washington’s Crossing by David Hacket Fischer
- Realistic Visionary by Peter R. Henriques
- General George Washington by Edward Lengel
- His Excellency by Joseph Ellis
- American Spinx by Joseph Ellis
- Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis
- Crossroads of Freedom by James McPherson
- John Adams by Joseph McCulloh
- Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey J. Kaye
- Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson
- A Call to the Sea by Claude Berube & John Rodgaard
- Patriot Battles by Michael Stephenson
- Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
- A Rage for Glory by James Tertius
- The Inner Jefferson by Andrew Burstein
- Benjamin Franklin an American Life by Walter Isaacson
- The Last Founding Father by Harlow Giles Unger
- For Liberty and Glory by James R. Gaines
- Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman
- Andrew Jackson A Life and Times by H.W. Brands
- Revolutionary Characters by Gordon S. Wood
- American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America by David Stewart
Twistification 
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
Well researched and easy read (though long).
Yes I LOVED this book and forgot to put it on the list. Thanks Harvey!
John Ferling’s Almost a Miracle is a terrific one-volume history of the War.
Just ordered this Steve. Thanks for the recommendation!
About Midway through Steve and I agree, this is a well told chronicle of the war so far. I hope he is as good covering the Southern Campaign.Can’t wait to find out.
Just finished “Almost a Miracle, an outstanding book that helps explain the forest for the detailed trees that other very fine Rev War books provide. Recently I also completed a tour of many of the Southern Campaign battle-sites. Found very interesting that Ferling mentioned that British General Clinton (Willcox: “Portrait of a General”) viewed Kings Mountain as the turning/decision point in the war. Notable Americans Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt agreed. IMHO, I would certainly concur that, for the British after Kings Mountain, it was all “downhill” from there. : )
Steve, just finished the book. Thanks for the recommendation! I have a short review of it here:
Here’re some books not mentioned above which you might like:
“Fusiliers” by Mark Urban
“George Washington’s Military Genius” by Dave Palmer
“Tories” by Thomas Allen
“The First Salute” by Barbara Tuchman
“The Minute Men” by John Galvin
“George Washington” by Willard Sterne Randall
“The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” by Benjamin Franklin
Have a number of others I’ve read I’ll see if I can dig up.
BTW, I’ve mentioned Twistification at: http://www.bahrnoproducts.com/Revolutionary_War_Reenactment.htm
Excellent, thanks Bill! Which of these are your favorite? I am currently still multitasking and reading both Bunker Hill and The Road to Guilford Courthouse.
Fusiliers sounds interesting.
THANK YOU for the call out on your site. Lots of stuff to check out there. I will be diving into it soon!
Dear Peter (?):
They are all great books and favorites for different reasons. If you haven’t read any “from the other side,” eg, “Fusiliers” and “Tories,” try the one you mentioned, “Fusiliers.” I find each of these books has a number of “WOW, I didn’t know that!”s!
Best regards,
Bill
Had already bought “Bunker Hill,” but it was battling for a bottom-bunk place in a hill of other yet-to-be-read books until you mentioned it. Just finished reading it, and it was great — certainly top-bunk worthy! : ) Thanks for the recommendation!!
ALMOST done with this book Bill. The story arch is interesting in that it focuses primarily on Joseph Warren until his demise at Breeds Hill. Then the story shifts to Washington’s struggles at the siege of Boston. Kind of reminds me of the movie Excalibur where the first half is dedicated to telling Author’s story, and the second half on Percival’s hunt for Holy Grail. We shift protagonists mid stream.
Yes, and per the book’s prompt, the reader is left to wonder, if the good, multi-talented Dr. Warren had not been killed at Bunker Hill, who would have been the Father of our Country. Certainly Washington picked up where Dr. Warren and others had left off, and certainly Washington’s leadership from Virginia (vis a vis New England) helped unite the colonies, and certainly Dr. Warren would not have been top general, but it gets one thinking, and mostly to the extent of “why didn’t I ever hear more about this Dr. Warren guy?!” : ) Such is the way of history. All in all an excellent book. Again, thanks for the recommendation!