News and Blog

(The World According to Carp?)

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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).

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Coming up in 2024

After a whirlwind fall of talks on both the Great New York City Fire of 1776 and the Boston Tea Party of 1773, which celebrated its 250th anniversary on December 16, 2023, my schedule finally seems to be calming down somewhat. But I am still doing a couple of Zoom events in January, as well as some private events in New Jersey, New York, and Florida, in January and February. Please see the Events page for more information!

I did publish an article reflecting on my experiences at the Boston Tea Party reenactment, which you can read about at HNN/Bunk History. I also chatted with Smithsonian Magazine.

Thanks to all the wonderful audiences who invited me to speak about the American Revolution and its legacy during the very busy year of 2023. Happy New Year to everyone!

Oh, and stay tuned! The paperback edition of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution should be available soon, as well as (I think!) the audiobook! The great Vaughn Scribner wrote a really nice review of the book for H-Environment, and Gene Procknow (who previously reviewed the book for the Journal of the American Revolution) called the book one of the best he read in 2023.

Agh, there’s much more! Colonial Williamsburg published a cool piece on the Boston Tea Party, and I appeared on several podcasts, and even a couple of TV shows, over the past months. I’ve tried to stay on top of all that on social media, but not on this blog, for which I apologize! Best wishes to all for 2024.

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JAR Review!

I just spent an enjoyable weekend at the Conference of the American Revolution in Williamsburg, where Westholme Publishing and the Journal of the American Revolution play a prominent role. How nice to wake up the next day to find this review by Gene Procknow, one of JAR’s most prolific and respected contributors!

With lawyer-like precision, Carp lays out his case, principally through first-hand accounts from British and Loyalist sources and alleged Rebel arsonists. Then, through meticulous research, he identifies over ten ignition points and many other locations where residents uncovered combustible materials. Finally, Carp provides a detailed street map supporting his thesis, identifying burned areas, ignition points, incendiaries, and witnesses.

. . . . .

I recommend Benjamin Carp’s book to aspiring historians and others as an example of challenging long-accepted interpretations to discover new insights and improved understandings.

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Reviews, interviews, and Rethinking

Greetings from Los Angeles! I wanted to tell everyone about some new publications!

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