
The American Revolution
An Intimate History
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Pre-order for $28.80
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
About this listen
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 to be aired in November 2025
“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, and Alan Taylor, and by an astonishing array of prints, drawings, paintings, texts, and pamphlets from the time period, and 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.
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Power and the Glory
- Life in the English Country House Before the Great War
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For generations, the great palaces of Britain were home to living histories, noble families that had reigned for centuries. But by the end of the nineteenth century, members of elite society found themselves, for the first time, in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors—from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios—lacked lineage and were unencumbered by the weight of tradition. In The Power and the Glory, historian Adrian Tinniswood reconstructs life in the country house during its golden age before the Great War.
-
Black Lamb and Gray Falcon
- By: Rebecca West
- Length: 39 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country’s history as well as its daily life.
By: Rebecca West
-
History Matters
- By: David McCullough, Dorie McCullough Lawson - contributor, Michael Hill
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
History Matters brings together selected essays by beloved historian David McCullough, some published here for the first time, written at different points over the course of his long career but all focused on the subject of his lifelong passion: the importance of history in understanding our present and future. Edited by McCullough’s daughter, Dorie McCullough Lawson, and his longtime researcher, Michael Hill, History Matters is a tribute to a master historian and offers fresh insights into McCullough’s enduring interests and writing life. The book also features a foreword by Jon Meacham.
By: David McCullough, and others
-
James Madison's Constitution
- A Double Security and a Parchment Barrier
- By: Howard Schweber -edited by, Eric T. Kasper -edited by
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In James Madison's Constitution, Eric T. Kasper and Howard Schweber have assembled a roster of ten prominent contributors to excavate Madison's thinking about key concepts and issues over questions of what the Constitution requires, permits, and prohibits. Madison's key role at the Constitution's drafting was instrumental in forging the document into what it is today.
By: Howard Schweber -edited by, and others
-
The Last Dynasty
- Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two of the most famous figures from the ancient world, but the Egyptian era bookended by their lives—the Ptolemaic period (305-30 BC)—is little known. In The Last Dynasty, Toby Wilkinson unravels the incredible story of this turbulent era.
By: Toby Wilkinson
-
Mellon vs. Churchill
- The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War
- By: Jill Eicher
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Mellon, one of the most accomplished businessmen of his era, is almost unknown today. To this shy, diffident (but brilliant) man fell the daunting task of collecting the war debts from European governments still devastated by WWI and struggling to recover economically. Dealing with the US Congress and the heads of foreign governments on the world stage became one of the great adventures of his life. Mellon vs. Churchill presents Winston Churchill through a different lens, focusing on his service as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Great Britain was the largest debtor to the US.
By: Jill Eicher
-
The Power and the Glory
- Life in the English Country House Before the Great War
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For generations, the great palaces of Britain were home to living histories, noble families that had reigned for centuries. But by the end of the nineteenth century, members of elite society found themselves, for the first time, in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors—from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios—lacked lineage and were unencumbered by the weight of tradition. In The Power and the Glory, historian Adrian Tinniswood reconstructs life in the country house during its golden age before the Great War.
-
Black Lamb and Gray Falcon
- By: Rebecca West
- Length: 39 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country’s history as well as its daily life.
By: Rebecca West
-
History Matters
- By: David McCullough, Dorie McCullough Lawson - contributor, Michael Hill
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
History Matters brings together selected essays by beloved historian David McCullough, some published here for the first time, written at different points over the course of his long career but all focused on the subject of his lifelong passion: the importance of history in understanding our present and future. Edited by McCullough’s daughter, Dorie McCullough Lawson, and his longtime researcher, Michael Hill, History Matters is a tribute to a master historian and offers fresh insights into McCullough’s enduring interests and writing life. The book also features a foreword by Jon Meacham.
By: David McCullough, and others
-
James Madison's Constitution
- A Double Security and a Parchment Barrier
- By: Howard Schweber -edited by, Eric T. Kasper -edited by
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In James Madison's Constitution, Eric T. Kasper and Howard Schweber have assembled a roster of ten prominent contributors to excavate Madison's thinking about key concepts and issues over questions of what the Constitution requires, permits, and prohibits. Madison's key role at the Constitution's drafting was instrumental in forging the document into what it is today.
By: Howard Schweber -edited by, and others
-
The Last Dynasty
- Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two of the most famous figures from the ancient world, but the Egyptian era bookended by their lives—the Ptolemaic period (305-30 BC)—is little known. In The Last Dynasty, Toby Wilkinson unravels the incredible story of this turbulent era.
By: Toby Wilkinson
-
Mellon vs. Churchill
- The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War
- By: Jill Eicher
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Mellon, one of the most accomplished businessmen of his era, is almost unknown today. To this shy, diffident (but brilliant) man fell the daunting task of collecting the war debts from European governments still devastated by WWI and struggling to recover economically. Dealing with the US Congress and the heads of foreign governments on the world stage became one of the great adventures of his life. Mellon vs. Churchill presents Winston Churchill through a different lens, focusing on his service as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Great Britain was the largest debtor to the US.
By: Jill Eicher
-
A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg
- From the Crater's Aftermath to the Battle of Burgess Mill, Volume 2
- By: A. Wilson Greene
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 27 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grinding, bloody, and ultimately decisive, the Petersburg Campaign was the Civil War's longest and among its most complex. A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg offers a gripping, comprehensive history of the decisive campaign in the eastern theater. In this second of three volumes, A. Wilson Greene narrates the critical months from August through October 1864, during which Ulysses S. Grant's army group launched three major offensives against Robert E. Lee's defenses around Petersburg and the Confederate capital in Richmond.
By: A. Wilson Greene
-
Advance Britannia
- The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1942-1945
- By: Alan Allport
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The author of Britain at Bay—which the Wall Street Journal called “[perhaps] the single best examination of British politics, society, and strategy [from 1938 to 1941] that has ever been written”—picks up his sweeping social history in 1942, when what was once a regional war has become an intricate, globe-spanning conflict, with profound consequences for the British Empire and for a British people already exhausted after more than two years of fighting
By: Alan Allport
-
Capitalism
- A Global History
- By: Sven Beckert
- Length: 40 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A landmark event eight years in the making, a brilliant global narrative that unravels the defining story of the past thousand years of human history.
By: Sven Beckert
-
Buckley
- The Life and the Revolution That Changed America
- By: Sam Tanenhaus
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 29 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Majestic in its sweep, rich in ideas and argument, and packed with news and revelations, Buckley vividly captures its subject in all his facets and phases—founding editor of National Review, the 20th century’s most influential political journal; syndicated columnist and TV debater; ally of Joseph McCarthy and Barry Goldwater; mentor to Ronald Reagan; wisecracking candidate for mayor of New York; and bestselling novelist and memoirist.
By: Sam Tanenhaus
-
Race Against Terror
- Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War
- By: Jake Tapper
- Narrated by: Jake Tapper
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
June 2011: a man fleeing the Arab Spring on a refugee boat surrenders himself to Italian authorities. He claims that, as a terrorist, he is responsible for the deaths of American soldiers. This unexpected surrender sets off an unlikely chain of events and one of the most significant, but little-known, cases in American history.
By: Jake Tapper
-
The Devil's General
- The Life of Hyazinth Strachwitz, "The Panzer Graf"
- By: Raymond Bagdonas
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The most highly decorated German regimental commander of World War II, Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz first won the Iron Cross in the Great War. He was serving with the 1st Panzer Division when the Polish campaign inaugurated World War II. Strachwitz's exploits as commander of a panzer battalion during the French campaign earned him further decorations before he transferred to the newly formed 16th Panzer Division. There, he participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia and then Operation Barbarossa, where he earned the Knight's Cross.
By: Raymond Bagdonas
-
Destiny Disrupted
- A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes
- By: Tamim Ansary
- Narrated by: Tamim Ansary
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as it looks from a new perspective: with the evolution of the Muslim community at the center. His story moves from the lifetime of Mohammed through a succession of far-flung empires, to the tangle of modern conflicts that culminated in the events of 9/11. He introduces the key people, events, ideas, legends, religious disputes, and turning points of world history, imparting not only what happened but how it is understood from the Muslim perspective.
By: Tamim Ansary
-
Twelve Years with Hitler
- Secretary to the Führer
- By: Albert Zoller
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1930, as a young woman, Christa Schroeder became a stenographer for the Nazi party, before being noticed by Hitler who, in 1933, hired her as his private secretary. Schroeder remained by Hitler's side, fiercely loyal, for twelve years, living at the Wolfsschanze and even joining him and his staff in the Führerbunker in Berlin in January 1945. In 1945, interned in the Augsburg camp, Christa Schroeder was interrogated by French liaison officer Albert Zoller who asked her to recount her years spent with the Führer.
By: Albert Zoller
-
Igniting the American Revolution
- 1773-1775
- By: Derek W. Beck
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few Americans know that the Revolutionary War did not begin with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, but over a year earlier, in April 1775. Now historian Derek Beck draws on previously unpublished documents to tell the full story of the war before American independence - from both sides. Spanning the years 1773 to 1776, this audiobook sweeps listeners from the Boston Tea Party to the halls of Parliament - where Ben Franklin was almost run out of England for pleading on behalf of the colonies.
-
-
Learned so much!
- By tracey68 on 10-15-17
By: Derek W. Beck
-
Deadwood
- Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West
- By: Peter Cozzens
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sifting through layers and layers of myth and legend—from nineteenth-century dime novels like Deadwood Dick to HBO prestige dramas to the casino billboards outside of present-day Deadwood trumpeting the hand of “aces and eights” that Hickok purportedly held when he was shot—Peter Cozzens unveils the true face of Deadwood, South Dakota, the storied mining town that sprang up in early 1876, just as the young United States was celebrating its hundredth birthday, and came raining down in ashes only three years later.
By: Peter Cozzens
-
The CIA Book Club
- The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature
- By: Charlie English
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For almost five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, standing as the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. With the risk of nuclear annihilation too high for physical combat, conflict was reserved for the psychological sphere. No one understood this battle of hearts, minds, and intellects more clearly than Bucharest-born George Minden, the head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA books program.” This initiative aimed to win the Cold War with literature.
By: Charlie English
-
2024
- How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
- By: Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, Isaac Arnsdorf
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf bring us the definitive and explosive account of how Trump and his advisers overcame a dozen primary challengers, four indictments, two assassination attempts, and his own past mistakes to defeat the Democrats, and pave the way for a second term that would be far more aggressive and ruthless than the first.
By: Josh Dawsey, and others