Books on U.S. History

Explore national history with this collection of study guides for fiction and non-fiction texts covering events, key figures, and viewpoints that have shaped the United States over the centuries. A sampling of topics within this collection includes the Puritans, Indigenous peoples, the successes and failures of the country's founders, U.S. presidents, war, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and more.

Life on the Mississippi

by Mark Twain

Publication year 1883

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Teamwork

Tags Action & Adventure, US History, American Civil War, American Literature, World History, Travel Literature, Humor, Classic Fiction, Biography

Life on the Mississippi is a powerful narrative concerning the past, present, and future of the Mississippi River, including its towns, peoples, and ways of life. The narrative is written by Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Twain explains in the narrative how he “stole” this nickname from an old steamboat captain who was also a writer. Mark Twain is a nautical term and a pilot’s phrase that means “two fathoms.” Two... Read Life on the Mississippi Summary

Lift Every Voice and Sing

by James Weldon Johnson

Publication year 1900

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Equality, Joy, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Nation, The Past, Future, Race, Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Inspirational, African American Literature, American Literature, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History

... Read Lift Every Voice and Sing Summary

Light in August

by William Faulkner

Publication year 1932

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Modernism, Southern Gothic, Dramatic Literature, US History, Southern Literature, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Published in 1932, Light in August is William Faulkner’s seventh novel. The novel is set in the American South during prohibition and features an ensemble cast of characters who grapple with alienation, racism, and heartbreak across a nonlinear narrative. Classified as a Southern gothic and modernist novel, Light in August is considered a seminal work in 20th-century American literature.Note: This study guide quotes and obscures Faulkner’s use of the n-word.Plot SummaryLena Grove, a young pregnant... Read Light in August Summary

Lincoln in the Bardo

by George Saunders

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Death, Community, Forgiveness, Memory, Guilt, War, Fathers, Appearance & Reality

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Grief & Death, American Civil War, Religion & Spirituality, US History, Race & Racism, American Literature, World History

The novel Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, published by Random House in 2017, offers a portrait of an American legend in mourning, surrounded by a poignant but funny cast of 166 characters. It is Saunders’s debut novel, though he has been a notable author of short story collections for decades. The novel won the prestigious Man Booker Prize and was a New York Times best seller.Set in 1862, Lincoln in the Bardo is... Read Lincoln in the Bardo Summary

Linden Hills

by Gloria Naylor

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags African American Literature, Race & Racism, Education, Education, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Gloria Naylor published Linden Hills in 1985, three years after the publication of her debut novel, The Women of Brewster Place. While Naylor’s debut novel focuses on women living in an impoverished housing development, Linden Hills examines an affluent black community through the eyes of two young men: Lester, a Linden Hills resident, and Willie, an outsider living on Wayne Avenue.The Linden Hills neighborhood is the “place to be” (260) in Wayne County, with its... Read Linden Hills Summary

Locking Up Our Own

by James Forman Jr.

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, US History, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Incarceration, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Sociology, World History

Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America is a work of nonfiction by James Forman Jr., an American lawyer and legal scholar specializing in racial inequities in criminal justice. Published in 2017, this critically acclaimed book examines the complex role Black leaders played in advancing tough-on-crime policies that ultimately contributed to the mass incarceration of Black people in the United States. Drawing on his experience as a public defender and his extensive... Read Locking Up Our Own Summary

Lorne

by Susan Morrison

Publication year 2025

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Teamwork, Community, Politics & Government, Art, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags US History, Arts & Culture

... Read Lorne Summary

Lost Children Archive

by Valeria Luiselli

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Language, Immigration, Family

Tags Action & Adventure, Immigration & Refugeeism, Latin American Literature, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Travel Literature

Lost Children Archive is the first English-language novel by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli. Published in 2019, Lost Children Archive was awarded the 2020 Rathbones Folio Prize and was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2019 Booker Prize. The novel illustrates the intersections and overlaps between a troubled family’s cross-country journey and the treacherous journeys of “lost” children migrating from Mexico to the United States.Lost Children Archive is also an archive in... Read Lost Children Archive Summary

Lost in the Funhouse

by John Barth

Publication year 1968

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags US History, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

John Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse is a collection of self-reflexive stories that stray from traditional realist narrative methods while calling attention to the artifice of narrative technique. It features stories narrated by a spermatozoon journeying to the ovum, a Siamese twin attached belly to rear to his brother, and characters from Greek mythology. In one tale, a teenager gets lost in a funhouse mirror maze. Steeped in allusions to Greek mythology, Arabic, and postmodern... Read Lost in the Funhouse Summary

Love and Hate in Jamestown

by David A. Price

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Fear, Perseverance, Hate & Anger

Tags US History, Colonial America, Education, Education, American Literature, World History, Biography

Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and The Start of a New Nation (2003) is a narrative history of the English’s founding of Jamestown in 1606 written by David A. Price. Price is a journalist for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other American publications. In his retelling of the story, Price seeks to puncture some of the romantic mythology surrounding the relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas, while placing their... Read Love and Hate in Jamestown Summary

Lovecraft Country

by Matt Ruff

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Nation, Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, US History, Social Justice, American Literature, African American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Lovecraft Country Summary

Lyddie

by Katherine Paterson

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Coming of Age, Family, Economics, Education

Tags Historical Fiction, US History, Poverty, Industrial Revolution, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Lyddie is a 1996 novel written by Katherine Paterson, winner of the National Book Award, the Newbury Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Astrid Lindgren Award, the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. Lyddie was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children’s Book, and an Honor Book of the International Board on Books for Young People. Some of her notable books include Bridge... Read Lyddie Summary

Manhunt

by James L. Swanson

Publication year 2006

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, Politics & Government, War

Tags Crime & Law, US History, Politics & Government, Military & War, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography

Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer (2006) by James L. Swanson is a popular true-crime historical thriller about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 and the search for the assassin John Wilkes Booth. James Swanson has written several books about Abraham Lincoln and other events in American history including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The book won the Edgar Award, a literary award for fiction and non-fiction works... Read Manhunt Summary

March

by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin

Publication year 2013

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction

Themes Education, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Race, Justice, Equality, Perseverance

Tags US History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Life-Inspired Fiction, Inspirational, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Black Lives Matter, World History, Biography

... Read March Summary