American Revolution/Civil War: Book Recommendations Please.

Washington's crossing by David Hackett Fischer.

John Adams by David McCullough

1776 also David McCullough

Per your prior thread, I too enjoyed Alan Taylor's book on the Colonization of North America.

I am going to read his book on the American Revolution next

American Revolutions

A Continental History 1750 to 1804

Authors Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote will provide a brilliant intro to the American Civil War. Sufficient detail is provided by both so you should be able to find areas which interest you for further study. Winston Churchill also wrote a small volume on the subject which is well worth the read.

Jay, here's one a bit off the beaten path. Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution by T.H. Breen. The revolution was not solely about taxes and representation as there were other economic pressures due to high livin'. Interesting and a pretty quick read. When I have a moment I'll send you some less travelled routs about the American Civil War. All the best to you, Jay.
Eric

The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood is significant for its analysis of the transformational effects the revolution had on the socioeconomic structure and human relationships. It's a pretty dry read though, imo.

Anyone who recommends David McCullough or Shelby Foote is not steering you wrong. Both are excellent historians and authors, IMO.

Can't go wrong with John Jakes "North and South" trilogy for the US Civil War. Historical fiction at its finest.

With regard to books about the Civil War, allow me to recommend "A Basic Civil War Library" by Ralph Newman and E.B. Long. This is a comprehensive listing of some 300 authoritative texts by a variety of authors, and was published in the "Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society" (1908-1984), Vol. 56, No. 2, Civil War Centennial (Summer, 1963), pp. 391-411. You should be able to purchase a copy for download here (Illinois State Historical Society).
Mr. Newman passed at the age of 86 in July of 1998. He owned the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop in Chicago where he founded the first Civil War Round Table. He was an authority in his own right on both Lincoln and the War. E.B. Long was a professor of American Studies at the University of Wyoming, and began researching and writing about the Civil War in 1955. He passed (too soon) at the age of 61 in March of 1981.
I hope that you find this information to be useful.

If you want to know the mind set of the men who fought in The Civil war you need to Read Jeff Sharra, I shed tears at some passages of Killer Angels.

Civil War - Personal Memoirs of US Grant By Charles L Webster & Co. two volumes set

Lots of terrific recommendations here...
Jay, I am an IB History teacher. I teach History of the Americas and Theory of Knowledge. As a man living not terribly far from Cardiff, I think you may recognize "IB."
I am always on the lookout for more sources on the US Civil War... I am going to check many of these recommendations out myself.
Given your proclivity for wit and the mastery of your own language, I would strongly suggest Richard Beeman of Penn for almost anything concerning the American Revolution. In particular, anything political or about our Constitution.
While McCullough is our "national historian" and a fellow Yale alum, I prefer Richard Beeman of the University of Pennsylvania for this time period. Some have found McCullough to lean a little bit too much towards the John Adam camp. I love Hamilton, Madison, Dickinson etc.... McCullough does not. The historical bias of historians themselves shape our history. For this time period I prefer Richard Beeman.
Both are outstanding and McCullough is the most heavily taught throughout our country's universities.
Without hesitation, I also recommend Shelby Foote and David McCullough for the United States Civil War.
If you go to youtube and look up "Robert Burns Civil War Documentary" you'll find 9 episodes about the US Civil war. These are invaluable documentaries. You get strong dose of Shelby Foote and David McCullough. These films showcase the Photography of Mathew Brady. Brady's photographs of our civil war are important to see.
Lastly, one of the most important books on American History was not even written by an American. It was written by a Frenchman. It is called: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. I'm sure you've at least heard of it. It is a very fresh and engaging account of how an admiring traveler in our country in the 1820's saw our country. His book is also highly prophetic. He sort of predicts the Civil War, The Communist Manifesto and Women's Lib.
This book is free and easy to find on the internet.
Don't skip Andrew Jackson! One of our most interesting and controversial presidents.

Anything about the Civil War by Shelby Foote is well-written and thoughtfully narrated. I especially liked "Vicksburg," but I understand all of it is excellent. An often overlooked Civil War autobiography is that of Ulysses S. Grant. Even as a general, he was a remarkably good writer. His staff officers said it was almost impossible to misread his directives. His autobiography was a tremendous seller. He completed it as he was nearing the end of his life suffering from smoking about 24 cigars a day, I'm sorry to say.

As an interesting side-light, "Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant" was published in 1885 by Charles L. Webster & Co., a subscription publishing company founded by Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain). Toward the end of his life President Grant was left destitute due to the failure in 1884 of Grant & Ward, a business venture which he founded in 1881 with his son, Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. and Ferdinand Ward.
Knowing that he had a terminal cancer, and wanting to provide for his family after his death, President Grant teamed up with his friend, Mr. Clemens, to accomplish this. He finished the manuscript five days before his death in 1885. It is purported that his survivors received approximately $450,000.00 (estimated at more than $10 million in today's dollars) in royalties.

Concerning President Grant, here's another interesting side-light. His given name was actually Hiram Ulysses Grant.

Personally, I suggest that no history of the American Civil War would be complete without "All For The Union" and "Company Aytch". Two personal memoirs from soldiers often quoted in Ken Burn's documentary. Another great memoir is "Hardtack and Coffee".

Just avoid anything by Jack D Ripper....

"Mandrake, come over here, the redcoats are coming!"

Penn has a great history department. Another Penn historian, Walter McDougal, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has written two books that synthesize American history from the Colonial days through Reconstruction in a way that I find compelling, unique, thought provoking and, frankly, disturbing. Freedom Just Around the Corner and Throes of Democracy.
I would agree with lastango about Jackson. You have no chance of understanding how the civil war came to be if you don't understand what is commonly called the Jacksonian era. The man himself is controversial enough, but there seems to be a raging battle in the history departments over how to interpret the whole era. If you want to understand what the fight is about, Jill LePore has pretty much summed it up in this book review
Link to review I
The Howe book she reviews is very readable, but the Sellers book, though somewhat tedious in comparison, is very much worth reading.
But read McDougal. He gets it.