In his epic new book, Russell Shorto takes us back to the founding of the American nation, drawing on diaries, letters and autobiographies to flesh out six lives that cast the era in a fresh new light. They include an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a rebellious young woman who abandoned her abusive husband to chart her own course and a certain Mr Washington, who was admired for his social graces but harshly criticized for his often-disastrous military strategy. A powerful narrative and a brilliant defence of American values, Revolution Song makes the compelling case that the American Revolution is still being fought today and that its ideals are worth defending. Russell Shorto’s work has been praised as “first-rate intellectual history” (Wall Street Journal), “literary alchemy” (Chicago Tribune) and simply “astonishing” (New York Times).