[mmayoabc]

Would anyone have any suggestions on the best books regarding the Revolutionary War specifically?

[levijackson]

Depends on what you’re interested in (i.e. the military side, or political aspects). For books that focus on the war itself, I really enjoyed 1776 by David McCullough and Almost a Miracle by John Ferling.

[mmayoabc]

Thank you, sir.

[mpelkowski]

I have only just begun Conceived in Liberty by Murry Rothbard, but it is amazing so far. He starts at the conception of colonial life and moves through the revolution (over 1500 pages mind you).

If you only want to look at the war itself, volume 4 of Conceived in Liberty covers 1775-1784.

[gutzmank]

In my estimation, the best general survey is John Richard Alden’s _A History of the American Revolution_. It deals with the military, political, and diplomatic components of the story in a fascinating, reliably scholarly way. _1776_, like most of McCullough’s books, is popular with book buyers, but essentially pointless: he never tells you why you should care about the story he tells, or even what came of it. The book just starts and ends. If you want something more specific, please do say what it is. There are thousands of books on various aspects of the Revolution, and so you can read about any part of the story that you want.

[mmayoabc]

Thank you, Micheal. I have yet to tackle Conceived in Liberty but certainly plan to. Thanks Dr. Gutzman. A general survey was precisely what I was looking for. However, I would be interested if you might have any suggestions for books that cover how the revolution was perceived by common colonials, how it effected them economically and socially and what divisions occurred between loyalists and revolutionaries.

[gutzmank]

The best books on society and the Revolution are Gross’s _The Minutemen and Their World_ and Holton’s _Forced Founders_. Gross’s prose is truly captivating, and Holton’s book will surprise you from front to back.

[mmayoabc]

Excellent, thanks again, sir.

[gutzmank]

You’re welcome.

[mike]

David Hackett Fischer’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” is packed with detail surrounding Revere’s ride that took place on the evening of April 18th,1775. Fischer hashes out detail after detail about Revere, colonial life, the militia(and family), their arms, their accoutrement, their respective political opinions, along with many enthralling details concerning the battles at Lexington and Concord.

“…if the British went out by water, we would shew two lanthorns in the North Church steeple, and if by land, one, as a signal…” — Paul Revere re-telling the event

“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” — Captain John Parker on the Lexington Green, April 19th, 1775

Don’t miss it, its a great read.

[Author]

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