Getting beyond the "Bedtime Story"

Shepherd has me doing one of their “Top Five” lists today: riffing on a line I love from a book review by Jan Lewis, I chose “The best books that get beyond the ‘bedtime story’ of the American Revolution.”

I probably should have written this more than a year ago, but I found it difficult to come up with a top five list! There are already quite a few lists on the American Revolution (Kathleen DuVal did one recently), and I have so many favorite books (and favorite authors) that it seemed impossible to narrow down. Most of my favorites, of course, are academic books, and the site tries to discourage contributors from being too academic. So I chose two of my favorite historical fiction books about the Revolution, two classics, and a relative newcomer that I’ve had success assigning to undergraduates. None had received a lot of attention on Shepherd yet (even though they are all well regarded books).

Benjamin Carp 3/7/24 Benjamin Carp 3/7/24

New article for Current and NYCFM talk tonight!

I’ve just written a piece for Current about the religious angle on the Great New York Fire. Check it out! "Timber Burning”: The Great New York Fire of 1776

Also, Bruce Twickler (author of New York Firefighting and the American Revolution) is having a “Fireside Chat” with me at the New York City Fire Museum tonight (March 7) , in conjunction with a private viewing of the Colonial Wing of the museum.

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Happy Audiobook release day!

Today is the publication day for the audiobook of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution. Have a listen! And if you’re still not sure whether it’s a book worth investigating, subscribers to the Journal of Military History can check out the great review that Professor T. Cole Jones wrote.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for the paperback release day next week!

Brooklyn College did a short video interview with me; I’m pretty sure my work on the Boston Tea Party is featured in the first 2024 issue of American Heritage magazine and there’s another online piece on the way.

In other news, I have just two more online talks scheduled, at the North Jersey American Revolution Round Table and the College of Staten Island History Department. I will also appear on a couple more podcasts in the near future, and I’ll let you know about those when they’re released, but since those are already recorded, I can start thinking about future projects. It’s been quite a year! Thanks to everyone who read, tuned in, or said a kind word.

Benjamin Carp 5/15/23 Benjamin Carp 5/15/23

More exciting news!

I haven’t been updating the blog very much, for which I apologize! But there have still been some exciting things going on.

I had a wonderful talk at Mount Vernon, which you can watch via that link.
I also had a great exchange at the CUNY Graduate Center, hosted by the Early American Republic Seminar, with David Waldstreicher about our books: you can check out his The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley which has also recently come out.
The Graduate Center of CUNY interviewed me: “Who Burned New York in 1776?”
Erik Ofgang, writing for Smithsonian Magazine, asks more specifically, “Did George Washington Order Rebels to Burn New York City in 1776?”
Dozens of colleagues were recognized at the Brooklyn College Faculty Authors Reception, which is held each spring.
Along with other colleagues, I will receive an Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Achievement at Brooklyn College, at a ceremony at the end of the Annual Faculty Day Conference this week.

And there is more to come! Upcoming talks:

May 18 (Thursday), 6:30 pm, In Person, “Lost Stories: How the New York City Fire of 1776 Illuminates Unfamiliar Lives of the American Revolution,” sponsored by New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Fraunces Tavern, New York. Please register using the link!
May 22, 7:30 pm (Monday), In Person, “The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution,” American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia, Montgomery, PA (arrive an hour early for food and drink)
May 23 (Tuesday), 6 pm, In Person and Online, “The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Tale of the American Revolution,” General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York in partnership with the New York Landmarks Conservancy, in New York (advance registration required, whether online or in person).
May 30 (Tuesday), 7 pm, Online, “Benjamin L. Carp on Urban Geographies of the American Revolution,” Richard H. Brown Seminar on the Historical Geography of the American Revolutionary Era at the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library and the American Revolutionary Geographies Online (ARGO) project. Free and open to the public. Register here!