Russell Shorto

His most recent work, published in November 2017, is Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom, which tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of six Americans from vastly different walks of life.

On September 8, 2009, Shorto received a Dutch knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau for strengthening the relationship between the Netherlands and the United States through his publications and as Director of the John Adams Institute.

Russell Shorto (born February 8, 1959) is an American author, historian and journalist, best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, The Island at the Center of the World. Shorto's research for this book relied greatly on the work of the New Netherland Project (now known as the New Netherland Research Center) and the New Netherland Institute. Shorto has been the New Netherland Research Center's Senior Scholar since 2013.

Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on February 8, 1959, Shorto is a 1981 graduate of George Washington University. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and was (2008–2013) director of the John Adams Institute [nl] in Amsterdam, where he lived for 6 years, 2007–2013. As of 2014, Shorto resides in Cumberland, Maryland, where he is working on his next book, a narrative history of the American Revolution.