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 Johnstown Flood

by David McCullough

Publication year 1968

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Social Class, Grief

Tags US History, Natural Disaster, Industrial Revolution, American Literature, World History

American author and historian David McCullough’s debut book, The Johnstown Flood (1968), is a work of social history that chronicles the Johnstown Flood of 1889, a deluge of water and debris that tore through a steel community in Central Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,000 people and causing millions of dollars in damage. The flood resulted from a dam bursting in the mountains above Johnstown. The dam had been somewhat hurriedly built to create a lake... Read The Johnstown Flood Summary

The Kingdom Of Matthias

by Paul E. Johnson, Sean Wilentz

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage

Tags US History, Religion & Spirituality, Crime & Law, Education, Education, World History, Biography

The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th Century America is a work of non-fiction published in 1994 by Oxford University Press. Historians Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz tell the little-known story of Matthias the Prophet in a dramatic and well-documented account that blends biography with true crime. The authors recount events that occurred during the Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival in the United States that reached its peak... Read The Kingdom Of Matthias Summary

The Lakota Way

by Joseph M. Marshall III

Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Aging, Indigenous Identity

Tags US History, Philosophy, Philosophy, World History, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

Joseph M. Marshall III, who is from the Sicangu Oglala tribe, grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, who told him stories about Lakota traditions and culture. These stories transmit the virtues of Lakota culture, including humility, perseverance, respect, honor, love, sacrifice, truth, compassion, bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. He dedicates a chapter to each of these virtues, which are at the foundation of Lakota culture. The... Read The Lakota Way Summary

The Library Book

by Susan Orlean

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Literature

Tags US History, Crime & Law, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History

Susan Orlean, longtime staff writer at The New Yorker and best-selling author of The Orchid Thief, returned to narrative nonfiction with The Library Book (2018). Through the story of the Los Angeles Central Library, Orlean provides a history of libraries, examining what we stand to lose as the world’s base of knowledge transitions into the digital realm. Orlean received a Goodreads Choice Awards nomination for Best Nonfiction and a place on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine... Read The Library Book Summary

The Light We Carry

by Michelle Obama

Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Self Discovery, Friendship, Family, Marriage, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Conflict, Gratitude

Tags Politics & Government, Social Justice, Self-Improvement, US History, Race & Racism, Diversity, Parenting, Relationships, Inspirational, Biography

... Read The Light We Carry Summary

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

... Read The Magic Barrel Summary

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