Colonial America: A History, 1585 - 1776

Middleton's book, Colonial America, is not your typical 'textbook.' He paints a fascinating panorama of this country's tenuous beginnings and carries the story up to, but does not include, the Revolution. There is sufficient detail so the reader can easily see why the Revolution was looming, but not so many details that one goes to sleep wading through them. This book reads like a novel and I heartily recommend it to anyone remotely interested in the early history of the United States.