This is called a Sourcebook, because it consists of various documents that were written around the time of the American Revolution. There is not a great deal of analysis of these documents, but there is an introduction for each chapter, and a brief description of each item. The documents are divided somewhat by topic, or by who wrote them, and partially by time frame. Some of the chapters include documents created by or about Native Americans, African Americans, or women of the era. Other chapters are focused on the lead up to the Revolution, the Revolution itself, and how the Confederation of states became the United States.
Most of the entries are fairly short. In fact, there are a few that are just images or cartoons that would have been printed in the newspapers of the times, or scans of documents. Some of the documents were written for publication, while a few were journal entries, or letters to friends. But all give an indication of what at least some people were thinking during the time frames covered. And the editors tried to include as wide a variety of opinions as they could. For example, speeches by Native chiefs regarding treaties, and Abigail Adams’ well-known letters to her husband, John.
Some of these documents might be familiar to someone who has studied early American history, but others are more obscure. While each document stands alone in this book, each one might be a jumping off spot to find more information about a specific author, or incident. The appendix shows where each document was from, but not any other information about them. Since there is such a variety of documents, there is bound to be something of interest. If you are curious about any aspect of this time frame, you could find something new in this book.
If this was your family, how would you research them? There are some documents that were letters or diary entries for everyday people. These would be found at various archives. Even if something was not written by your ancestor, the person who did write might have had similar experiences to your ancestor.