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.

On Juneteenth

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Publication year 2021

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Power & Greed, Fear, Memory, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Conflict

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Education, Politics & Government, World History

... Read On Juneteenth Summary

On the Road

by Jack Kerouac

Publication year 1955

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Forgiveness

Tags The Beat Generation, Action & Adventure, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Absurdism, US History, American Literature, World History, Travel Literature, Classic Fiction

On the Road, published in 1957, is a novel by prominent Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac that recalls his cross-country travels across the US in the late 1940s. It explores concepts of society, freedom, and—most of all—friendship.Sal Paradise (Kerouac’s pseudonym) is the story’s protagonist and narrator, while other key characters stand in for fellow Beat luminaries in his circle, including poet Allen Ginsberg (best known for the revolutionary 1956 poem Howl) and writer William S... Read On the Road Summary

Open

by Andre Agassi

Publication year 2009

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fame, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Teamwork

Tags US History, Sports, Biography

... Read Open Summary

Our Declaration

by Danielle S. Allen

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage

Tags Politics & Government, Education, Education, US History, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy

Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality is a close reading of the Declaration of Independence published in 2014. Its author, Danielle Allen, is a classicist and political philosopher. Earlier in her career she received a prestigious “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. As of 2024, she was a professor at Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study. In this work, Allen combines personal narrative, academic training, historical context, and rigorous... Read Our Declaration Summary

Out of Darkness

by Ashley Hope Pérez

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Fear, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Family, Siblings, Community, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Femininity, Masculinity

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Grief & Death, US History, Love & Sexuality, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, American Literature, Social Class, World History

Out of Darkness is a young adult historical novel written by Ashley Hope Pérez and published in 2015 by Holiday House of New York. Pérez holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, where her research focused on Latin American literature. A professor of World Literatures at Ohio State University, she is also the author of What Can’t Wait (2011), The Knife and The Butterfly (2012), and Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions about... Read Out of Darkness Summary

Out of the Dust

by Karen Hesse

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Death, Social Class, Place, Climate, Coming of Age, Safety & Danger, Disability, Siblings, Community, Forgiveness, Shame & Pride, Daughters & Sons, Economics, Music, Guilt, Mothers, Art, Loneliness, Hope, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Fathers, Grief, Food, Education

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Agriculture, US History, Great Depression, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust is a historical middle-grade novel in verse first published in 1997. Through 110 first-person free verse poems, the narrative tells the story of two years in the life of Billie Jo Kelby, young daughter of a struggling farming family in the Oklahoma Panhandle in the mid-1930s. After a tragic accident results in the death of Billie Jo’s mother and baby brother, she and her father must find a way... Read Out of the Dust Summary

Packing for Mars

by Mary Roach

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Space, Equality, Teamwork, Place, Gender Identity, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Humor, US History, Technology, World History

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is one of several bestselling nonfiction works by science writer and humorist Mary Roach. Published in 2010, the work focuses on the human side of space travel and offers behind-the-scenes accounts of peculiar and taboo topics such as sex, vomit, and toilets in space. Roach writes from a candid, outsider’s point of view and demystifies some of the grandeur of space travel by reporting... Read Packing for Mars Summary

Pale Horse, Pale Rider

by Katherine Anne Porter

Publication year 1939

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Death, Justice, Fate, War, Nation

Tags Historical Fiction, Health, US History, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Pale Horse, Pale Rider is a novella written by Katherine Anne Porter. It was published in 1939, along with two other short novellas, Old Mortality and Noon Wine, under the collective title Pale Horse, Pale Rider. The story portrays two young lovers who are tragically affected by the 1918 influenza epidemic, or Spanish Flu.Other works by this author include The Jilting of Granny Weatherall and Flowering Judas.This guide uses an eBook version of the 2008... Read Pale Horse, Pale Rider Summary

Picture Bride

by Yoshiko Uchida

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Forgiveness, Femininity, Race, Immigration

Tags Historical Fiction, Japanese Literature, Education, Education, US History, Asian Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read Picture Bride Summary

Planet of Slums

by Mike Davis

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Economics, Colonialism, Social Class, Globalization, Nation, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Politics & Government, Business & Economics, Urban Development, Poverty, Finance, Asian History, History: African , European History, US History, Social Justice, Social Class, Science & Nature, Sociology, World History

Planet of Slums is a non-fiction book published in 2006 by American author and urban theorist Mike Davis. It chronicles the spread of poverty in cities around the world at a time when more than a billion people live in what the United Nations (UN) classifies as "slums."SummaryIn 1950, only 86 cities around the world had populations of one million people or more. When Davis wrote this book in 2005, he predicted that by 2015... Read Planet of Slums Summary

Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma

by Camilla Townsend

Publication year 2004

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Indigenous Identity

Tags US History, Education, Education, World History, Biography

Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma (2004) is a history of Pocahontas’s role in the early stages of English colonialism in the Americas. Its author, Camilla Townsend, is a Professor of History at Rutgers University who has earned multiple awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, for her work. This guide refers to the 2005 Hill and Wang paperback edition.In Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, Townsend reconstructs a biography of Pocahontas, a figure so wrapped up in legends... Read Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma Summary

Portnoy's Complaint

by Philip Roth

Publication year 1969

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Shame & Pride

Tags Humor, Love & Sexuality, Psychology, Jewish Literature, US History, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Portnoy’s Complaint is a 1969 novel by American author Philip Roth. The novel is presented as a continuous monologue in which the protagonist Alex Portnoy speaks to his therapist about his difficult relationship with his family, his country, and sex. The novel’s explicit and comedic depiction of sex caused controversy on release though Portnoy’s Complaint was later heralded as one of the greatest English language novels of the 20th century. The novel was adapted into... Read Portnoy's Complaint Summary