I am a trained historian. I have my BA from Gettysburg College and my MA from Monmouth University. I sell insurance. Which makes me the greatest living cliche ever.

History has always been a subject that I loved. I read it as much as I can but I am a bit of a history snob. I tend to gravitate towards scholarly works but every once in a while I read a popular history volume.

This list of weekly recommendations will be selected from books that I read as a undergraduate history student at Gettysburg College. I’ll do a part two that will include books from my graduate classes.

The list is below the fold.

Glorious Cause, by Robert Middlekauff

From the Publisher
This is outstanding narrative history in the grand style — an eloquent and dramatic account of vital events and vibrant figures which has become the basic opus on the Revolutionary War. The Glorious Cause is a compelling account of the American colonies’ struggle for independence. Middlekauff charts the growing conflict between England and America — the political and personal controversies within the halls of Parliament to establish a viable colonial policy — to the ultimate outbreak of military confrontation in 1775 and 1776.

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, by Bernard Bailyn
From the Publisher

To the original text of what has become a classic of American historical literature, Bernard Bailyn adds a substantial essay, “Fulfillment,” as a Postscript. Here he discusses the intense, nation-wide debate on the ratification of the Constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution. This detailed study of the persistence of the nation’s ideological origins adds a new dimension to the book and projects its meaning forward into vital current concerns.

Declaration of Independence, by Carl Lotus Becker
From the Publisher

Carl L. Becker’s important study is an analysis of the concepts expressed in the Declaration. Here is a lucid explanation of what the Declaration really is, what views it sets forth, where those views arose, and how they have been accepted or modified by succeeding generations. A book that every American should read.

Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, by Charles A. Beard

From the Publisher

In this famous study, the author turned the hagiography of many earlier American historians on its head. Unlike those writers, who had stressed idealistic impulses as factors determining the structure of the American government, Beard questioned the Founding Fathers’ motivations in drafting the Constitution and viewed the results as a product of economic self-interest.

Brimming with human interest, insights, and information every student of American history will prize, this volume — one of the most controversial books of its time — continues to prompt new perceptions of the supreme law of the land.