top of page
~ Suggested Reading ~
1. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (a fantastic book about the battle of Gettysburg)
2. Gettysburg (the movie based on Killer Angels)
3. Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley (the story of the men who are on the Iwo Jima memorial. The personal stories as researched by the author are riviting. However, information has come out recently that the author's father was not, in fact, one of the men on the statue (or in the original picture).
4. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (a biographical account of men and women who fought in World War II).
5. A two volume set of historical novels (very easy reading) on the American Revolution by Jeff Shaara.
The Glorious Cause (book 1)
Rise to Rebellion (book 2)
6. 1776 by David McCullough (a more rigorous treatment of the origins of the American Revolution).
7. Primary source documents:
The U.S. Constitution
(Please, read it outside of history class. Read it for yourself...PLEASE!!!! Read it slowly...read it thoughtfully...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
The Federalist Papers: Modern English Edition Two edited by Mary E. Webster (The Federalist Papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Their purpose was to argue in favor of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution)
As is true of anything in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Below I have provided a suggested list of books to read prior to our departure. If you read only one book, I suggest Killer Angels. If you read two, I would add Flags of Our Fathers (see the note below regarding this book).
The primary source documents are very important. I have pocket copies of The Constitution if you would like one. The Federalist Papers and Common Sense can be ordered from Amazon.com. I promise, if you read these books before our departure, you will get so much more out of the trip.
bottom of page