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
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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...
Black writers of the founding era, 1760-1800
Basker, James G.
Ebook
A radical new vision of the nation's founding era and a major act of historical recovery  Featuring more than 120 writers, this groundbreaking anthology reveals the astonishing richness and diversity of Black experience in the turbulent decades of the American...
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...
The American Revolution : an intimate history
Ward, Geoffrey C.
Paper Book
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 ...
Tom Paine's War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time
Kelly, Jack
Paper Book
"Covers a narrow chronology, from September 1776 to January 1777. These were the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. They were also the months that produced some of Paine's most famous writings. The conjunction of these events and ideas is the subject of Mr. Kelly's narrative." --...
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...
The Indian world of George Washington : the first President, the first Americans, and the birth of the nation
Calloway, Colin G.
Paper Book
A biography of America's founding father and those on whose land he based the nation's future George Washington dominates the narrative of the nation's birth, yet American history has largely forgotten what he knew: that the country's fate depended less on grand rhetorical statements of independence...
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...
Freedom Round the Globe: A World History of the American Revolution
Pearsall, Sarah M S
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE * In a groundbreaking global exploration of the ideas that drove the American Revolution, a prize-winning historian shines a light on the defiance of marginalized peoples all over the world. In her powerful new history of the...
Shots heard round the world : America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War
Ferling, John E.
Paper Book
From acclaimed historian John Ferling, a major, global reappraisal of the Revolutionary War on its 250th Anniversary. In April 1775, British troops marched to Lexington, where an armed group of Yankees awaited them. Despite an order to disperse, shots rang out. Militiamen were...
A republic of scoundrels : the schemers, intriguers & adventurers who created a new American nation
Head, David (Historian)
Paper Book
The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints; here are the stories of those Founders who were schemers and scoundrels, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation's. We now have a clear-eyed understanding of Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin...
The American Revolution and the fate of the world
Bell, Richard
Paper Book
In this revelatory and enthralling book, award-winning historian Richard Bell reveals the full breadth and depth of America's founding event. The American Revolution was not only the colonies' triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England; it was also a cataclysm that pulled in...

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