13 Books for the Big 250 

By Cody Berry 

In honor of the forthcoming 250^th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, I wanted to make some reading recommendations. So, just as there were thirteen original colonies, I have chosen thirteen books, some of which changed the way I thought about the American Revolution and the people who lived it. Many are available at the Saline County Library. I hope you enjoy them. 

1. The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph J.  Ellis  

2. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis 

3. John Adams by David McCullough 

4. 1776 by David McCullough 

5. Liberty! The American Revolution by Thomas Fleming 

6. Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow 

7. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (This book inspired Hamilton the musical and composer Lin Manuel Miranda!)

8. The American Revolution: An Intimate History by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns 

9. These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore 

10. A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn 

11. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 

12. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham 

13. You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe