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.

The Lost City of the Monkey God

by Douglas Preston

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Safety & Danger

Tags US History, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science & Nature, World History, Travel Literature, Action & Adventure

The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story is a New York Times best-selling nonfiction book written by journalist and novelist Douglas Preston and published by Grand Central Publishing in 2017. Preston’s book follows the history of various expeditions in search of the legendary Lost City of the Monkey God in the La Mosquitia region of Honduras. Most of the book covers an aerial lidar survey and a ground expedition organized and led... Read The Lost City of the Monkey God Summary

The Magic Barrel

by Bernard Malamud

Publication year 1958

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Race, Regret, Self Discovery

Tags Jewish Literature, Immigration & Refugeeism, Magical Realism, US History, American Literature, Classic Fiction

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The Making of the Atomic Bomb

by Richard Rhodes

Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Military & War, World War II, Science & Nature, World History, Politics & Government

Recognized for its depth of research into history’s most powerful device of war, historian Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1987) documents the development of the atomic bomb in the 1930s and 1940s, from its conception to its deployment as part of an atrocity committed by the United States against Japan. Rhodes provides extensive background on the personal histories and scientific achievements of the group of international scientists who collectively brought the atomic... Read The Making of the Atomic Bomb Summary

The Message

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Publication year 2024

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Guilt, Hope, Race, Colonialism, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Literature, Truth & Lies

Tags US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Biography

... Read The Message Summary

The Minutemen and Their World

by Robert A. Gross

Publication year 1976

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Daughters & Sons

Tags US History, American Revolution, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

The Minutemen and their World is a history of 18th-century Concord, a Massachusetts town located approximately twenty miles west of Boston. The town is famous for the Transcendentalist writers who produced their works there, but it is perhaps even more famous as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution, when the famed “shot heard round the world” was fired at the town’s North Bridge (xvi). The book’s author, Robert A. Gross, describes... Read The Minutemen and Their World Summary

The Mis-Education of the Negro

by Carter Woodson

Publication year 1933

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Black Lives Matter, Race & Racism, Education, Education, US History, Sociology, World History, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Carter Godwin Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro is a social critique that addresses the inherent structural and institutional racism represented by the United States education system. Originally written and published in 1933, this study guide refers to a republication of the text from 2010 by IAP (Las Vegas, Nevada). The book traces Woodson’s arguments regarding how the United States education system reproduces White supremacy and fails to educate Black students; this failure, Woodson contends... Read The Mis-Education of the Negro Summary

The Name of War

by Jill Lepore

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Trust & Doubt, Indigenous Identity

Tags US History, Military & War, American Literature, World History

The Name of War, by Harvard historian Jill Lepore, tells the story of King Philip’s War, the first major battle between American colonists and Native Americans, and its aftermath in historical commentary. It is a conflict the settlers barely win on the ground, but one in which they prevail decisively on the battlefield of the written word. Published in 1998, The Name of War gathers multiple awards, including the Bancroft Prize.After decades of peace between... Read The Name of War Summary

The Night of the Iguana

by Tennessee Williams

Publication year 1961

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Mental Health, Animals, Environment, Place, War, Religion & Spirituality, Death

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

The Night of the Iguana, a play by Tennessee Williams, debuted on Broadway in 1961 and went on to run for a respectable 316 performances. It was also nominated for the Best Play Tony Award and marked Williams’s fourth New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award win for Best American Play. The play was first adapted from some elements of a short story by the same title, which Williams published in 1948 as part of a... Read The Night of the Iguana Summary

The Night Watchman

by Louise Erdrich

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Indigenous Identity

Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, US History, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Politics & Government, American Literature, World History

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The Nine

by Jeffrey Toobin

Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, US History, World History, Biography

In The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, author Jeffrey Toobin begins the Prologue near the end of the story with the funeral of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 2005. This is a nonfiction book about the transformation of the Supreme Court from liberal to conservative over a period of roughly 35 years, and the transformation was complete upon the death of Rehnquist. Toobin, an American lawyer and legal analyst, published The... Read The Nine Summary

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

by Steve Sheinkin

Publication year 2010

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags US History, American Revolution, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Biography

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery, written by Steven Sheinkin and published in 2010, is a biography for young readers about one of America's notable war heroes who was also her most famous traitor—Benedict Arnold. How this startling reversal came about is traced in the book, which is rigorously researched yet presented in the manner of an adventure novel. Sheinkin confronts the moral ambiguities that lie at the heart... Read The Notorious Benedict Arnold Summary

The Only Plane in the Sky

by Garrett M. Graff

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Race, Death, Family, Teamwork, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags US History, Crime & Law, 9/11, World History, Biography, Politics & Government

... Read The Only Plane in the Sky Summary