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External Purchase Links
The book will be available for purchase in January 2027
Why the Book is Important
Princeton is indeed a microcosm of America’s history. The book demonstrates how America’s dramatic political, technological, and social changes impacted individuals within a single community. By studying one municipality, the book offers us a unique opportunity to learn more about our nation’s victories, struggles, failures, and global contributions.
Since its founding before the American Revolution, Princeton, New Jersey has been home to thousands of remarkable people: military leaders and infantryman, prominent religious leaders and theologians, slaves and laborers, famous scholars such as Albert Einstein and John Nash, urban developers, immigrants and international students, and even a US president. Trevisan helps us understand who these people were and how, collectively, they invented this fascinating town.
Trevisan’s book is also an important historical record, the only comprehensive history of Princeton, New Jersey published since 1879. A Microcosm of America shows how the people of Princeton—their visions, values, decisions, and hard work—reflect not only the town’s story but also our American story.
Written for Princeton’s residents, university students and alumni, and any American who wants to learn more about US history, Trevisan’s book offers thoroughly researched accounts of the following topics:
· Princeton’s early inhabitants in the 1600s
· The town’s role during the American Revolution
· Slavery, abolition, and the Civil War
· The impact of economic booms and crashes on the town
· Conflicts between university students and local residents, both White and Black
· How developments in transportation reshaped the town’s commerce and workforce
· Urban growth, including struggles against racial discrimination in housing
· How Princeton University attracted other research centers, including the Institute for Advanced Study, Gallup Polls, and RCA
· The development of public schools, including conflicts over funding and segregation
· The rise of modern commerce, including shopping malls, tourism, and hospitality
About the Author
Adrian Trevisan’s research work focuses on the interplay of people, buildings, infrastructure, and communities. His work has covered Black fraternal organizations, early automobiles, churches, 1920s real estate, banks, carpet mills, fire stations, ball bearings, HBCUs, paper manufacturing, and garden apartments. A resident of Princeton since 1997, he has taught classes on Princeton’s history since 2020.
Adrian has an MS in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy, and Washington, DC, and a BA in liberal arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis. He proudly served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an enlisted parachute infantryman.
To request lectures, book signings, and interviews, please visit: adriantrevisan.com.