Washington won the Revolutionary War despite very unfavorable odds and setbacks early on.

A classic. The best single-volume book on the Revolutionary War.

Winner of the Bancroft Prize and a classic on the ideological origins of the revolution.

A great book on the Constitutional Convention and the creation of the Constitution. Also read Max Ferrand's "The Framing of the Constitution of the United States" and "Records of the Federal Convention of 1787."

This book won the Pulitzer Prize. The Revolution and Jefferson changed America from colonies, to a republic, and unexpectedly to a democracy. Jefferson's Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Pulitzer Prize. The presidency of John Adams (rated #16 by C-Span's survey) was tarnished by the Alien and Sedition Acts, but his founding father reputation is high. Also read the Adams bio by Ellis.

A terrific book on the Constitution for general readers. Easy-to-read yet authoritative. Also read Akhil Reed Amar's outstanding "The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction."

Useful context for the debates raging today about religion and government.

Ellis is one of the greatest historians of the Revolutionary War era. Based on early reviews and an interview I heard of Ellis, this book should be an excellent history.

Pulitzer Prize-winning book explains the struggle over slavery climaxing in civil war. Widely recognized as probably the best book on the Civil War.

Winnter of the Pulitzer Prize. A very insightful and engrossing novel on the Battle of Gettysburg. Maybe the best historical novel ever written. The movie "Gettysburg" is based on this book, but the book is better.

A superb narrative reasonably told from the South's perspective. The author narrated the masterpiece Civil War documentary by Ken Burns.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This classic is part three of Bruce Catton's classic trilogy. Catton is one of the greatest historians ever.

National Book Award. THE classic book on Hitler's dark rise to power during the depression, the catastrohic world war of conquest he started, and heinous Nazi Germany crimes. 55 million died in WWII.

FDR is rated the 2nd best president by C-SPAN's historian survey and numerous other surveys. FDR's shrewd leadership destroyed Hitler and led America through the Great Depression. The New Deal created pragmatic reforms, such as SEC, FDIC, Fed Reserve Board, FHA, Fair Labor Standards Act, Social Security, huge infrastructure works and GI Bill. Decades of STABLE prosperity followed.

They lived through the Great Depression and World War Two. They made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy Adolph Hitler and the Nazi empire. They made reforms and profound changes to ensure that another Depression (there had been many in US history) and another World War (there had been two) would not happen again. They were the Greatest Generation.

Vivid, impacting combat memoirs of a U.S. marine who survived the savage frontline fighting of the Pacific campaigns. A classic.

This tells the story of the war in Europe from the perspective of the American soldiers, from D-Day to Victory in Europe Day.

Gruesome and horrifying! Hitler's SS death squads brutally murdered 1.5 million people in invaded areas. The details are chilling. Eventually the millions of mass killings would be moved to discreet, methodical death camps.

This soon-to-be-released WWII documentary by Ken Burns has the potential to be the best WWII documentary ever made. The early reviews from Cannes and other previews have been amazing.