John Adams

• Based heavily on the biography written by David McCullough, this mini-series stars Paul Giamatti as President Adams and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail. Before becoming President, Adams is best known as the lawyer who defended the British soldiers accused of murdering civilians at what we call the Boston Massacre. He won exoneration for his clients, but then had to deal with the fallout from some of his fellow Americans for the rest of his life. 
• One last reason to watch is the casting of Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin. The actor really brings Franklin to life as much as Giamatti and Linney give breath to the Adams. He is the eccentric we have all read about. However, his skills as our fledgling nation’s first ambassador are still studied today by everyone from businesspeople learning to make deals to State Department employees looking to shape foreign relationships. 

The Patriot

• Mel Gibson. In a work of fiction, Mel Gibson’s character (Benjamin Martin) is based on members of the Continental Army, including Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion, aka The Swamp Fox, among others. It is Marion’s exceptional ambush and hit-and-run tactics that bring the combat scenes to life. 
• The movie’s runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes feels like a marathon run at a sprinter’s pace. Even a comedic scene in which Martin tries to figure out how to build a rocking chair like that of a British general is quick and perhaps the funniest moment of the film. It also stirs your heart, so if you aren’t punching the air as Benjamin Martin finishes off William Tavington (Jason Isaacs in his best villainous role before Harry Potter), then you need to consider moving to Canada. 

A Wee Bit O’ Revolution

• This is a stand-up comedy performance from Craig Ferguson, the former Late Late Show host. He did this shortly after gaining his U.S. citizenship, and it’s nearly two hours of his love for this country and the things that still confuse him after living here for over a decade. It is a fun watch, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself out of breath from laughing. 

We hope you enjoy some of my favorite movies as we continue to celebrate our nation!

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Paul Revere and the World He Lived In 

• Much more than a biography, Esther Forbes brings to life Revere’s home of Boston. She begins in 1715 when Revere’s father, Apollos Rivoire, arrives from France to begin life in Massachusetts. From there, the author continues to Paul Revere’s birth, the Revolution, and the early years of our nation leading up to 1818.
• Ms. Forbes was fortunate to be able to study and use a number of Revere’s personal papers in possession of his great- and great-great grandchildren. The papers provide an insight to these years that few historians and researchers get to observe unless they were at the events themselves. For those of us who can now only read about it, this is as close to breathing the same air as we’ll ever get.

Our Nation’s Archive

• At first glance this looks like nothing more than a really big history book. The kind that filled your school backpack all by itself. The authors (Jay Crosby and Erik Bruun) pulled together hundreds of primary documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. They also went further back in time to include first-hand explorations accounts from Columbus, Peter Martyr and Richard Eden, and the charter given to Sir Walter Raleigh from Queen Elizabeth to establish the first English colonies.
• Other documents such as every Inaugural Address from Washington to Clinton. Legal failures and successes from Plessy v Ferguson to Brown v Board of Education are included to show that despite getting it wrong, there is always hope to set things right one day.

The Dawn’s Early Light

• Written by Walter Lord, this is the story of the final six months of the War of 1812; August 16, 1814 to February 17, 1815. The title is taken from Francis Scott Key’s poem about the British attack on Ft. McHenry on September 13, 1814.
• Also called the Second War of Independence, the author (a former operator with the O.S.S. and later a lawyer) weaved together American and British sources to give a brutally honest portrayal of political and military actions that could have split this nation almost fifty years before the start of our Civil War. If you’re looking for an accurate account of these events, there’s no better book to pursue. 

Finally, these aren’t just recommendations. Each one (among others) is a part of my home library I’ve been building since I started pursuing a degree in history, across a twenty-year career in the U.S. Air Force, and then personal research in the years since I retired.

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