The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History

The Material World of Eyre Hall: Four Centuries of Chesapeake History by Carl R. Lounsbury is a Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum Featured Publication. Erected in 1759 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Eyre Hall is still occupied by...

Travels With George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy

Does George Washington still matter? In Travels With George, bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington's unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all thirteen former colonies,...

America's Forgotten Colonial History

From the publisher: "This is what we all learned in school: Pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. They had a rough start, but ultimately made a go of it, made friends with the Indians, and celebrated with a big Thanksgiving dinner...

The Course of History: Ten Meals That Changed the World

Some of the most consequential decisions in history were decided at the dinner table, accompanied - and perhaps influenced - by copious amounts of food and drink. The Course of History: Ten Meals That Changed the World is a fascinating book that explores...

The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840

Go on a literary journey with preeminent legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar! In his 800+ page book, The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840, Amar covers the history of the American Constitution's formative decades.  When...

Craft: An American History

At the center of the United States' economic and social development, according to conventional wisdom, are industry and technology—while craftspeople and handmade objects are relegated to a bygone past. Renowned historian Glenn Adamson turns that...

A History of Tea

As the world's most popular beverage, tea has fascinated us, awakened us, motivated us, and calmed us for well over two thousand years. A History of Tea tells the compelling story of the rise of tea in Asia and its eventual spread to the West and beyond...

Inventing the American Flag

With gorgeous four-color reproductions of an amazing array of art from diverse cultures and eras, Inventing the American Flag explores the symbolism of the national flag and investigates why the founding fathers chose the images they did to represent the...

Bricks: Now and Then

“Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.” - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Buildings made of brick are found in very different epochs and cultures all over the world. Always astonishing, the qualities of...

American Stories

American Stories by Paul Aron follows the evolution of our founding stories and myths and how they spread far and wide throughout our history. The story of the cherry tree, for example, tells us nothing about George Washington’s actual...

Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity

When hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other disasters strike, we count our losses, search for causes, commiserate with victims, and initiate relief efforts. Amply illustrated and expansively researched, Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity...

Peyton Randolph and Revolutionary Virginia

In 1763, King George III’s government adopted a secret policy to reduce the American colonies to "due subordinance" and exploit them. This brought on the American Revolution. In Virginia, there was virtually unanimous agreement that...

Revolutionary Brothers

Steeped in primary sources, Revolutionary Brothers casts fresh light on the remarkable, often complicated, friendship of two extraordinary men - the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. As Lafayette opened doors in Paris and Versailles...

A Brief Treatise on Tomb & Grave Stones of the Eighteenth Century

An introductory guide and study resource for understanding the process of Eighteenth Century Gravestone carving, as well as a primer on identifying carvers of the stones. Includes proper notes for academic study thereon, along with many pictures for...

An Army Doctor’s American Revolutionary War Journal, 1775-1783

At the age of 21, James Thacher (1754–1844) joined the newly formed American army as a surgeon's mate, eventually advancing to the role of surgeon for the Massachusetts 16th Regiment. In 1823, he published his Journal, reporting both wartime events...

Witchcraft in Colonial Virginia

Witchcraft in Colonial Virginia by Carson Hudson is a fascinating book about eighteenth-century witchcraft beliefs and trials in Virginia based on actual facts in historical records and not Hollywood myths and modern legends. While the witchcraft mania...

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings is part of the Leather-bound Classics series and is a collection of the crucial documents, speeches, and other writings that shaped the United States. In addition to the Constitution, readers can review the...

Hidden History of Civil War Williamsburg

Each year, thousands of visitors from around the country visit the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's re-created 18th-century capital of Virginia to learn about the past and walk where the Founding Fathers walked. The fact that the same ground was later...

Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck and A New History of America's Origin

In Marooned, Joseph Kelly reexamines the history of Jamestown and comes to a radically different and decidedly American interpretation of these first Virginians. In this gripping account of shipwrecks and mutiny in America's earliest settlements, Kelly...

Civil War Ironclads HERO DVD

In the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy raced to build armored, steam-powered warships that were the ancestors of today's navies. Meet the people behind and aboard the "ironclads"&;and relive the famous 1862 battle between the Monitor...

The War of 1812 HERO DVD

A generation after the Revolution, Americans were once again plunged into war with Great Britain. Why? Join Henry Clay, Tecumseh, Andrew Jackson, James Madison, and others as they struggle to determine what course the United States will take. Also...

The Journal of Major George Washington

In 1753, Virginia Governor Dinwiddie appointed 21-year-old Major George Washington to a delicate mission - deliver a letter to the local French commander demanding that he and his forces leave British Territory and bargain for support with the local...

Quest for a Cure

Erected in 1773, burned in 1885, and now reconstructed, the Public Hospital was the first public facility in colonial America built for the treatment of the mentally ill. This highly readable account of Quest for a Cure gives an overview of the attitudes...

I Am Murdered

George Wythe was Thomas Jefferson's mentor and friend, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court—and a victim of lethal poisoning. His murder and the trial of his nephew for the killing caused a sensation...

Founding Feuds

The Founding Fathers have been hailed for centuries as shining examples of men who put aside their own agendas to found a nation. But behind the scenes, there were more petty fights and fraught relationships than signatures on the Declaration of...

The American Flag: A Handbook of History & Etiquette

A perfect patriotic gift, this handsome guide to the American flag is a concise collection of the history and etiquette of the U.S. flag. The book, bound in hardcover in a distinctive blue leatherette with gold stamping, includes details of the laws...

Family Bonds: Free Blacks in Virginia

After a new law in 1806 required freed enslaved persons to leave Virginia and therefore leave their enslaved loved ones, many free African Americans did the unthinkable: returned to slavery. Read about the lives of these brave men, women and children,...

Thomas Jefferson Art of Power

A No. 1 New York Times Bestseller, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power has been named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham once...

The Art and Soul of African American Interpretation

The Art and Soul of African American Interpretation is the first book in which African American interpreters themselves reflect on their profession. Six experienced interpreters discuss how they research historical figures and create characters, often...

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard has a long history that predates the United States of America. Founded in 1767 as the Gosport Shipyard, it has been burned and rebuilt three times, once to prevent it from getting into the hands of the newly independent state of...

Yorktown, Virginia: A Brief History

Yorktown's history is often overshadowed by its pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. The site of the British surrender has held several victory commemorations over the past two hundred years. Yorktown also was a thriving colonial port and the site of...

Historic Trades

With more than 90 color photos, this charming hardcover book celebrates Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Trades in vivid detail. Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area is home to the largest, most diverse museum-operated trades program in the world. Here...

My America: An Owner's Guide

My America: An Owner's Guide asks kids to think about fundamental questions about what it really means to be an American. How does America work? Who are "We the People?" And how have the American people shaped our history? Filled with kid-friendly...

Colonial Williamsburg the first 75 years

This book relates the fascinating story of how the Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., went about restoring Virginia's colonial capital. Equally engrossing is the account of how the Williamsburg that visitors see today turned a sleepy...

Physick Medicine in Williamsburg

The professional practice of medicine and the methods used to treat patients in colonial Williamsburg between 1740 and 1775 are thoroughly explained. Topics include medical theory, education, treatments, surgery, and brief biographical sketches of...

James Wilson: An Introduction to His Life and Work

James Wilson is one of the lesser known founders, undeservedly so. He was one of only six persons to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Even more importantly, his ideas helped shape both documents and stressed the duty of...