Books: Non-Fiction

The American Revolutionaries: A History in Their Own Words, 1750-1800

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Milton Meltzer. 1987. 224 pages.
First hand accounts and primary documents on the American Revolution.

Time Periods: 18th Century, 1765

9780064461450A humble shoemaker hears the bells ringing at Lexington and responds to a call to battle. An aide to George Washington recounts his feelings as he crosses the Delaware. A young surgeon describes in his diary the horror of an army camp, where the spread of smallpox, frostbite, and starvation are deadlier than any sword.

Most of us know about the American Revolution only from secondhand accounts of the fighting or from documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But listen closely and you can hear the voices — those that tell the truest stories — of men, women, and children of all races who experienced the Revolution firsthand. [Publisher’s description.]

Awards:

  • 1987 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
  • The USA Through Children’s Books (ALSC)
  • Best Books of 1987 (SLJ)
  • Notable 1987 Children’s Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
  • 1987 Children’s Books (NY Public Library)
  • 1987 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
ISBN: 9780064461450 | HarperCollins