The American Revolution: An Intimate History
Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns
2025 – Knopf – 608 pages
Dave’s Summary
The coffee-table book “The American Revolution: An Intimate History” is an excellent companion to the Ken Burns PBS series. We all studied the American Revolution in school, but this book fills in the blanks of what we were told (or remember). It doesn’t just focus on the major figures of the Revolution or key battles; instead, it brings to life the stories of militiamen, Loyalist families, Black soldiers, and women pamphleteers.
Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns remind us that America’s history was shaped by the events of this time, including the French and Indian War, which led to the Revolution.
The book includes maps and pictures, which make it a perfect companion to the TV series.
Among the things that I learned:
The founders believed a significant change had already taken place before the first shots at Lexington.
John Adams described this change as a revolution that formed in the minds of the people. It grew from a shared belief that a new kind of government was possible. This government, they believed, would draw its power from the people themselves, not from a king or distant authority.
Americans were deeply split during the fight with Britain, which was divided too. Many Americans, maybe one in five, opposed the Revolution’s success. Some Black Americans sought freedom with the British, while others fought for the American cause. Native Americans and recent immigrants also took sides on both fronts.
George Washington struggled to pay his troops. Many wanted to go home after their original tour of duty, even though they were ready to leave at crucial points in battle.
In addition to dealing with the impact of war, troops also fought disease, especially smallpox, which “scarred, blinded or killed hundreds of thousands of Native Americans” and then ravaged both the British and the American armies.
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