John E. Ferling is a professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he is the author of several books, including “A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic”, “Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence”, and his most recent work, “The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon”. He has appeared in television documentaries on PBS, the History Channel, C-SPAN Book TV, and the Learning Channel.
Books in order of publication:
The Loyalist Mind: Joseph Galloway and the American Revolution – 1977
A Wilderness of Miseries: War and Warriors in Early America – 1980
The First of Men: A Life of George Washington – 1988
Struggle for a Continent: The Wars of Early America – 1992
John Adams: A Life – 1992
Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution – 2000
A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic – 2003
Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 – 2004
Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence – 2007
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon – 2009
Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free (published June 21, 2011)
Jefferson and Hamilton: “The Rivalry That Forged A Nation” – 2013
Whirlwind: the American Revolution and the War that Won It. Bloomsbury Press. 2015
Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe. 2018
Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778–1781 – 2021
Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War – 2025
Oak Lawn Library Friends 