Revolutionary reading! North Salem and Somers history buffs offer book recommendations

What better way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday than by taking a deep dive into books that explore the nation’s founding ideals, diverse perspectives, and the experiences of both everyday and extraordinary people who helped shape the country?

Halston Media reached out to local historians and librarians for their recommendations in several genres: nonfiction, fiction, and children’s/young adult literature.

SOMERS

For children and young adults, Somers Town Historian and teacher Doris Jane Smith recommends My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier; George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Two Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer; and I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis.

Her nonfiction selections for adults include The American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington by H.W. Brands; Paul Revere’s Ride by David Hackett Fischer; Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier: A Narrative of Joseph Plumb Martin; and 1776 by David McCullough.

For adult fiction, Smith recommends The Traitor’s Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America by Allison Pataki, daughter of former Peekskill mayor and New York Gov. George E. Pataki.

The Somers Library maintains a robust collection of fiction and nonfiction books covering the American Revolution.

The library has also hosted several Rev250-related events, including Uncovering Westchester LGBTQ+ History, a Patriotic Rosette Workshop, and a historical miniatures display depicting the Battle of Monmouth.

On July 6, the library plans to host cellist Alex Prizgintas for a performance of “America: Songs of Patriotism, Protest, and Praise.”

NORTH SALEM

North Salem historian Susan Thompson shared some of her favorite books about the Revolutionary era.

Among her recommendations are The Revolutionary Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff; The British Are Coming and The Fate of the Day, the first two volumes of Rick Atkinson’s Revolution Trilogy; Westchester County in the American Revolution by Otto Hufeland; The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts; and Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.

Thompson also pointed history enthusiasts to the McDonald Papers, a collection of interviews with eyewitnesses to the Revolution available online through the Westchester County Historical Society.

She is also a fan of My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, which she said “beautifully captures the agony and confusion of a family torn by divided loyalties,” as well as A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier by Joseph Plumb Martin.

Cathleen Sulli, director of the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library in North Salem, shared several titles that have been featured by the library’s History Book Group: The Revolutionary Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff; The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding by Joseph J. Ellis; and In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown by Nathaniel Philbrick.

The library is currently closed for an ongoing renovation and restoration project, but copies of these books are available through other branches of the Westchester Library System.

Amy Kendel, the library’s head of youth services, recommends the following young adult titles for readers ages 13 and older: My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier; Chains (Book 1 of the “Seeds of America” series) by Laurie Halse Anderson; The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre by Ann Rinaldi; and Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen.

For children and middle-grade readers ages 8 to 12, Kendel suggests Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes; I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis; Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady; Revolutionary War on Wednesdayby Mary Pope Osborne; If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution by Will Mara, illustrated by Kelly Kennedy; and Ben’s Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick.