# Revisiting the story of the American Revolution with Rick Atkinson

An episode of [NPR's Book of the Day](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1587369865), 8 Jul 2026, 9:50.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510364/npr.simplecastaudio.com/c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a/episodes/c6c565b0-fa30-4db8-9c68-c5d2a4dd7894/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a&awEpisodeId=c6c565b0-fa30-4db8-9c68-c5d2a4dd7894&feed=tZrJMl4P&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5885095&p=510364&d=590&size=9454698

As we continue to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., we’re revisiting author interviews on important books about American history. In today’s episode, author and journalist Rick Atkinson speaks with Weekend Edition's Scott Simon about his book The British Are Coming. They discuss Atkinson’s portrait of George Washington, whether the American Revolution was motivated by freedom or economic incentives and how “the nation was born disputatiously.” To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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