America at 250: Books for Adults

Reflect on American history and the founding of the United States with these books for the semiquincentennial.

Updated June 30, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Founding gardeners : the revolutionary generation, nature, and the shaping of the American nation
Wulf, Andrea.
Paper Book
A groundbreaking look at the Founding Fathers and their obsession with gardening, agriculture, and botany by the author of Magnificent Rebels and New York Times bestseller The Invention of Nature. * "Illuminating and engrossing." --The New York Times Book Review<...
Liberty is sweet : the hidden history of the American Revolution
Holton, Woody
Paper Book
A "deeply researched and bracing retelling" (Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian) of the American Revolution, showing how the Founders were influenced by overlooked Americans--women, Native Americans, African Americans, and religious dissenters. Using more than...
American inheritance : liberty and slavery in the birth of a nation, 1765-1795
Larson, Edward J.
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023 From a Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful history that reveals how the twin strands of liberty and slavery were joined in the nation's founding. New attention...
The last king of America : the misunderstood reign of George III
Roberts, Andrew
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill and Napoleon The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating--and...
Independence lost : lives on the edge of the American Revolution
DuVal, Kathleen
Paper Book
In an entirely new, global perspective on the Revolutionary period, Kathleen DuVal reveals personal stories such as that of Irish trader Oliver Pollock, Scottish plantation owners James and Isabella Bruce, and Creek leader Alexander McGillivray for whom the American Revolution was more complicated...
Written out of history : the forgotten founders who fought big government
Lee, Mike
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Some of America's most important founders have been erased from our history books. In the fight to restore the true meaning of the Constitution, their stories must be told.       In the earliest days of our nation, a handful of unsung heroes...
The Swamp Fox : how Francis Marion saved the American Revolution
Oller, John
Paper Book
This comprehensive biography of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, covers his famous wartime stories as well as a private side of him that has rarely been explored In the darkest days of the American Revolution, Francis Marion and his band of militia freedom...
The indispensables : the diverse soldier-mariners who shaped the country, formed the Navy, and rowed Washington across the Delaware
O'Donnell, Patrick K.
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of Washington's Immortals and The Unknowns, an important new chronicle of the American Revolution heralding the heroism of the men from Marblehead, Massachusetts On the stormy night of August 29, 1776, the Continental Army faced capture or annihilation after...
Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction "A fascinating and moving account of a courageous and resourceful woman. Beautifully written and utilizing previously untapped sources it sheds new light both on the father of our country and on the intersections of slavery and...
The Indian world of George Washington : the first President, the first Americans, and the birth of the nation
Calloway, Colin G.
Paper Book
George Washington's place in the foundations of the Republic remains unrivalled. His life story--from his beginnings as a surveyor and farmer, to colonial soldier in the Virginia Regiment, leader of the Patriot cause, commander of the Continental Army, and finally first president of the United...
Hero of two worlds : the Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
Duncan, Mike
Paper Book
Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette. Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution, he fought courageously on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a soldier, statesman, idealist, philanthropist, and abolitionist. As a...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.