It was a war which started on April 19, 1775, when the minutemen of Lexington and Concord fired on the British Redcoats from Boston.

But in the minds and hearts of the American people it was a revolution which began—John Adams said—fifteen years before a drop of blood was shed.

Here is the complete and thrilling story of both the war and the revolution, the quarter of a century that transformed thirteen quarrelsome English colonies into a new nation, the United States of America. Here are the causes of the war, defined with graphic clarity. Here is down-to-earth picture of Colonial economics. Here are the founding fathers, portrayed life-size, struggling toward the common agreement expressed in the Declaration of Independence. And here, above all, is the inspiring battlefield narrative—including a detailed account of every important action from Lexington to Yorktown.

Events are viewed, as they should be, within the larger framework of European history. English parliamentary affairs become as vivid as George Washington's troubles earning money as a Virginia planter. The importance of the French alliance is as clear as the steadfast quality of George Washington's leadership.

The American Revolution is a book that will excite the enthusiasm of every young reader—and make him very proud.

From the dust jacket

*Includes 12 pages of photographs