Published by
Penguin Random House, 2025
Photo: Dorothy Greco
New York Times Bestseller Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence
Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
National Book Award for American Sphinx, The Character of Thomas Jefferson
New York Times Bestseller His Excellency: George Washington
The Great Contradiction - The Tragic Side of the American Founding is a major new history from our most trusted voice on the Revolutionary Era.
Joseph J. Ellis
“The American Revolution is often encrusted with the barnacles of sentimentality and nostalgial; we see only what we want to see. Joseph Ellis has masterfully widened our lens to tell a deeper, more complex, more accurate story of our founding. The great figures and ideals are still there, but now they are accompanied by the stories of those left out of the prize of liberty and freedom."
Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker
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