Books for America 250

Books for America 250

By Lawrence W. Reed

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” 

So began Thomas Paine’s great essay, The Crisis, which appeared on December 19, 1776, at one of the darkest moments of the American Revolution. In the five months since the issuance of the Declaration of Independence, the ragtag Continental Army had been chased out of New York City by the British and were facing a brutal winter. Prospects for victory seemed remote.

Just as his more famous pamphlet, Common Sense, had roused patriot passions the previous January, so did The Crisis in an hour when spirits desperately needed a lift. On Christmas night, George Washington famously led his men across the Delaware to trounce Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. Along with Washington’s sterling leadership, Paine’s words further inspired the troops to rout British regulars at Princeton on January 3.

Books on the American Revolution number in the hundreds, at least. What better time to dive into some of them than America’s 250th anniversary? For your summer reading on the subject, I strongly recommend the following. Three were authored by the late, superb historian Gordon S. Wood, who died last week at 92:

1.      Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different by Gordon S. Wood. You’ll learn fascinating details about Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison and others that you never heard of before.

2.      The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood. In this highly praised volume, Wood explains why the Revolution was much more than a separation from Britain; it was a rejection of old ways of life and thought.

3.      The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States by Gordon S. Wood. Great insights on American exceptionalism, untarnished by “progressive” or “woke” propaganda.

4.      Born of Ideas: How Principles, Faith, and Courage Forged America by Lawrence W. Reed. Yes, this is mine and it’s available for pre-order now on Amazon. Find out why what the Founders accomplished is worth celebrating, including much that you never heard in your “unbiased” history classes.

5.      The American Miracle: Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic by Michael Medved. True stories of events so staggering in their improbability that Divine Providence may be their best explanation.

6.      1776 by David McCullough. The late, beloved historian with the golden voice lays out this pivotal year in a style that is breathtakingly exciting and profoundly informative.

7.      Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World by Eric Metaxas. One reviewer wrote, “I’m stunned. I couldn’t put this book down and was annoyed whenever life forced me to.” It hit me the same way.

8.      The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson. You know the words. They begin with, “We hold these truths…”

9.      Proclaiming Liberty: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence by Timothy Sandefur. A fast-paced narrative about one of history’s most enduring statements on justice.

10.  Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution by Eric Jay Dolin. A swashbuckling adventure about how private individuals came to the rescue of the infant American navy.

Bonus: Read online or download for free the Happy Birthday, Freedom! brochure from the Free Society Coalition, on whose board I proudly serve: www.freesocietycoalition.org.

(Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty at the Foundation for Economic Education in Atlanta, Georgia. His forthcoming book, Born of Ideas: How Principles, Faith, and Courage Forged America, is available now for pre-order on Amazon.)