Landis Wade wears many hats. He is a mystery writer, a doting grandfather, a former podcaster, and, as he puts it, a “recovering trial lawyer.” He is also, however, a devoted history buff. His interest in history is reflected in his Indie Retirement Mystery series. The first book in this series, Deadly Declarations (2022), is structured around a mystery that relates to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, and the second book, Deadly Gold Rush (2026), deals in part with the history of gold mining in Charlotte during the 1830s.
In the process of conducting the research for Deadly Declarations, Landis immersed himself in the history of the American Revolution and its connections to the Charlotte area. Given his expertise on this topic and since the 4th of July is just around the corner, I contacted Landis and asked him if he could recommend some excellent books that relate to Independence Day. Here is what he sent to me:
It is interesting how the U.S. marks 250 years of independence from the year we declared independence in 1776 and not the year we won it in 1783.
Sure, 1776 was the year the founders signed the Declaration of Independence, but at that time, independence was far from a sure thing. David McCullough’s book—1776—published July 4, 2006, by Simon & Schuster demonstrates this point from the perspectives of the people who experienced the action in a way that only a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award can do. 1776 is one of my favorite books on the era because it reads like a novel and reveals what happened in the year when George Washington and his army barely escaped utter defeat. The parade was almost over before it started, and the stories of how the patriots snatched victories late in the year from the early jaws of defeat is an engaging tale. One story in the book I like is when Washington sent Howe to abandoned Fort Ticonderoga in New York to recover British cannons, and against all odds and extreme conditions, he and his troops did so, allowing Washington to use the cannons to force the British to abandon Boston. My wife and I are going to visit Fort Ticonderoga this summer.
1776 was a companion book to McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography of John Adams, the second U.S. president who contributed to independence in so many ways. It reads even more like a novel because it is based on extensive writings by Adams’ family. If you prefer the screen, the HBO miniseries based on the book is excellent.
This is probably where I should slip in how surprised John Adams said he was in his 1819 letter to Thomas Jefferson that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence signed one year earlier had been concealed from him—implying it was Jefferson who did so—and how Adams floated the idea in a letter to a friend that Jefferson may have plagiarized words from the Meck Dec when drafting “Mr. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.” For an excellent historical account of the Meck Dec debate, I recommend Scott Syfert’s The First American Declaration of Independence? The Disputed History of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775.
A bookshelf about American independence is not complete without a book on Thomas Jefferson, a complicated and important founding father who did much for the country. If you’d like a single volume sweeping account of Jefferson’s life, check out Pulitzer Prize winning author John Meacham’s biography, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. And for more readings, check out the Monticello Suggested Reading List which is comprehensive enough to include books that show Jefferson’s contradiction between liberty for all and the slaves he held.
One story about Adams and Jefferson I find encouraging in the turbulent political times in which we live—where friends and family are divided by extreme politics and the flow of misinformation—is how despite their heated political differences when they were running for office, Adams and Jefferson later engaged in regular correspondence for many years until the day they died and (notwithstanding their short written skirmish about the Meck Dec) they treated each other with respect. In fact, they died on the same day fifty years to the day after signing the Declaration of Independence, almost as if they decided to take the curtain call together so neither one got more credit than the other.
Let me finish with another David McCullough recommendation. Yes, I do like McCullough, but here’s why. He is an excellent storyteller, but he is also an important historian who tells the truth about history and that truth matters to our future, more now than ever. In the book The American Spirit, Who We Are and What We Stand For, you will find a collection of speeches by McCullough. In the Introduction, he muses about going off to give speeches and sometimes feeling down about the state of things, only to come away from the experiences feeling refreshed having seen again and again “long-standing American values still firmly in place, good people involved in joint efforts to accomplish changes for the better, the American spirit still at work.” He says in one speech to read widely and when it comes time to ring the bell, “give the rope one hell of a pull.”
In this 250th year after our fight for independence, do something revolutionary. Fight the misinformation. Read history books that don’t reshape the past. Read books that make you think. And while you’re at it, read banned books. Adams, Jefferson, and McCullough would approve, and as Thomas Paine would say, it’s only Common Sense.
I thank Landis for providing these reading recommendations. There is one book, however, that he left off his list, and that’s his own excellent mystery Deadly Declarations. For readers who want to know more about this book as well as Landis’s other publications, please click on the following link: https://landiswade.com/
All the books that Landis recommends provide insights into the history of the Patriots’ fight for independence. As we celebrate Independence Day here in Storied Charlotte, we should remember that we are not just celebrating our independence from Great Britain; we are also celebrating our ancestors’ determination to declare their independence from being ruled by a king.
