The American Revolution - by Geoffrey C Ward & Kenneth Burns (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts, and others: a richly illustrated, human-centered history of America's founding struggle--expanding on the landmark, six-part PBS series

"From a small spark kindled in America, a flame has arisen not to be extinguished." --Thomas Paine

In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired independence movements and democratic reforms around the globe.

The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. In this sumptuous volume, historian Geoffrey C. Ward ably steers us through the international forces at play, telling the story not from the top down but from the bottom up--and through the eyes of not only our "Founding Fathers" but also those of ordinary soldiers, as well as underrepresented populations such as women, African Americans, Native Americans, and American Loyalists, asking who exactly was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Enriched by guest essays from lauded historians such as Vincent Brown, Maya Jasanoff, Jane Kamensky, and Alan Taylor, and by an astonishing array of prints, drawings, paintings, texts, and pamphlets from the time period, as well as newly commissioned art and maps--and woven together with the words of Thomas Paine-- The American Revolution reveals a nation still grappling with the questions that fueled its remarkable founding.

Review Quotes

"A sprawling canvas in every sense, including its generous use of paintings and maps. . . . Ward and Burns offer a visual feast, conveying the full continental grandeur of North America. We see the familiar battlegrounds--Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Yorktown--but the story also ranges into the deep interior, and toward Canada and the Caribbean. . . . The book and, no doubt, its companion film will effectively ground the coming national conversation about our origins. We can't avoid the American Revolution, so we might as well face it squarely. This hefty volume does just that, and reminds us how, against all odds, a fractious people came together in the first place. Let's hold that thought, and see if we can get through 2026 in one piece." --Ted Widmer, The New York Times Book Review

"A substantial work in every sense--richly illustrated, gorgeously printed, and patient in its storytelling. Ward's prose moves with a measured, cinematic cadence. . . . This book is a long conversation across centuries, generous in its curiosity and unsparing in its clarity. . . . A history written with the conviction that understanding the past is an act of citizenship." --Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

"This gripping, in-the-moment, thought-provoking, visually exciting history profoundly deepens our understanding of our nation's origins and how the past is shaping our volatile present. . . . Ward and Burns bring their uniquely erudite and dynamic expertise to the story of the American Revolution, [chronicling] political and military history in startling detail through eyewitness accounts." --Booklist (starred review)

"The achievement of this volume is to be forthright and occasionally critical, but still grand and stirring. All truths are self-evident for Burns and Ward, not just the easy ones. . . . The bulk of the volume is comprised of Ward's lucid prose and exquisitely rendered details." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

GEOFFREY C. WARD, historian and screenwriter, is the author of twenty books, including A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Francis Parkman Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written or cowritten many documentary films, including The Vietnam War, The Civil War, Baseball, The War, The West, Mark Twain, Not for Ourselves Alone, and Jazz. KEN BURNS, the producer and director of numerous film series, including The Vietnam War, The Roosevelts, and The War, founded his own documentary film company, Florentine Films, in 1976. His landmark film The Civil War was the highest-rated series in the history of American public television, and his work has won numerous prizes, including the Emmy and Peabody Awards, and two nominations for Academy Award. He lives in Walpole, New Hampshire.