I had to do some serious reading to get into this new time period, trying to get a solid sense of society, customs, politics, religion, as well as the obvious historical events.
Here is my current list of books read/referenced:
Evans, Peter G., Birds of the Eastern Caribbean, Oxford: Macmillan Education, 1990.
Herbert, Janis, The American Revolution for Kids, Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2002. (Yep, a kids’ book. Because sometimes you just need the basics for review/quick ref.)
Hubbard, Vincent K., A History of St. Kitts, Oxford: Macmillan Education, 2002.
Hubbard, Vincent K., Swords, Ships & Sugar, Corvallis: Premiere Editions International, 1996. (Great regional basics/overview.)
Lellouch, Deborah, Nevis: Queen of the Caribbean, Charlestown: Hummingbird Productions, 2000. (Visual reference/photography.)
O’Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson, An Empire Divided, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. (Excellent resource on the region, battles, etc.)
Parker, Matthew, The Sugar Barons, New York: Bloomsbury, 2011. (This was an incredibly wonderful resource. The best of the bunch.)
Porter, Roy, English Society in the 18th Century, London: Penguin Books, 1982. (This one was incredibly dense and difficult to read; maybe because I’m too American!)
Schecter, Barnet, The Battle for New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2002. (Still in the process of reading. More for the next book, VERITY.)
Schanzer, Rosalyn, George vs. George, Washington, DC: National Geographic Books, 2004.
Smith, C. Carter, editor, American Revolution, New York: DK Publishing, 2002. (Great basics, visual reference.)
Taylor, Dale, Everyday Life in Colonial America, Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1999.
Vickery, Amanda, Behind Closed Doors, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. (Interesting cultural detail.)