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 Organ Thieves

by Chip Jones

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Death, Social Class, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags World History, US History, Science & Nature, Health, Race & Racism, Crime & Law

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The Other Side of the Sky

by Farah Ahmedi, Tamim Ansary

Publication year 2005

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Immigration & Refugeeism

The Other Side of the Sky is the memoir of Farah Ahmedi, written with Tamim Ansary. The following summary and analysis is based on the 2005 paperback edition published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Ahmedi was born in Afghanistan in 1987 at the height of the war with the Soviet Union. She came to the US in 2002, when she was 14. She had only been in the US a... Read The Other Side of the Sky Summary

The Other Slavery

by Andrés Reséndez

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Colonialism, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Justice, Equality, Truth & Lies, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags World History, US History, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Politics & Government, European History, Colonial America

The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (First Mariners Books edition 2017) by Andrés Reséndez, a Mexican historian working at the University of California Davis, won the 2017 Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. In this book, Reséndez dispels the myth that only African slaves faced enslavement in the Americas. He focuses on Indigenous slaves in the Caribbean, central and northern Mexico, and the American Southwest... Read The Other Slavery Summary

The Palace Thief

by Ethan Canin

Publication year 1994

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

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

Ethan Canin is an American novelist and short story writer, born in 1960. He currently holds the F. Wendell Miller Professorship of English at his alma mater, the University of Iowa, as a member of its Writers’ Workshop faculty. Canin’s third book, The Palace Thief (1994), is a collection of short stories, which won the California Book Award in the year of its publication. Some of the stories were also published in illustrious literary journals;... Read The Palace Thief Summary

The People Could Fly

by Virginia Hamilton

Publication year 1985

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Equality, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Perseverance, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Guilt, Revenge, Memory, Death, Animals, Environment, Appearance & Reality, Food, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Fate, Race, Language, Regret, Shame & Pride, Daughters & Sons, Mothers, Teamwork

Tags Fairy Tale & Folklore, Symbolic Narrative, US History, African American Literature, Race & Racism

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The Pioneers

by David McCullough

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Colonialism, Perseverance, Immigration, Nation

Tags US History, Action & Adventure, Colonial America, American Literature, World History, Western, Biography

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The Port Chicago 50

by Steve Sheinkin

Publication year 2014

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes War

Tags Military & War, Social Justice, World War II, Children`s Literature, US History, World History, Arts & Culture

In The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, historian Steve Sheinkin traces the story of the Port Chicago 50, a group of African-American sailors charged with mutiny for disobeying orders during World War II. Sheinkin’s history opens, however, with the story of Dorie Miller, a black mess attendant stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack in 1942. Though not trained for battle, Miller courageously begins fighting with an anti-aircraft... Read The Port Chicago 50 Summary

The Portrait of a Lady

by Henry James

Publication year 1881

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Conflict, Femininity, Marriage, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, US History, British Literature, American Literature, Italian Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, is considered one of the most important novels written in English. It was published first in serial form between 1880 and 1881, and later revised for another edition in 1908. The novel details the experience of a young American woman, Isabel Archer, who travels to Europe. She is committed to her freedom, rejecting two marriage proposals. After she inherits an unexpected fortune, she falls victim to the... Read The Portrait of a Lady Summary

The Power Broker

by Robert A. Caro

Publication year 1974

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags US History, Urban Development, Business & Economics, Politics & Government, World History, Biography

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York is a 1974 biography of American urban planner Robert Moses, written by journalist Robert Caro. The book charts the rise of Moses in the New York political system, illustrating how he came to shape the city according to his own designs. The book was widely praised by critics and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975, though Moses and his associates disagreed with several points... Read The Power Broker Summary

The Proving Ground

by Michael Connelly

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Regret, Disability, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Death, Daughters & Sons, Teamwork, Social Class, Community, Economics, Justice, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Science, Technology, Science/Technology, Gender & Feminism, Biography, US History

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The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop

by Edmund S. Morgan

Publication year 1958

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes The Past, Community, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality

Tags US History, Religion & Spirituality, Colonial America

The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop (1958) is a work of history by Edmund S. Morgan. The Puritan Dilemma is a biographical study of the first governor of colonial Massachusetts, John Winthrop. Morgan examines Winthrop’s work and life, presenting him as a man of high ideals who understood how to lead as a model of moderation and practical flexibility. Though many Puritans chose to withdraw from the world into little cells of self-righteousness... Read The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop Summary

The Radical and the Republican

by James Oakes

Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Education, Education, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Politics & Government, Biography

The Radical and the Republican is a nonfiction book written by James Oakes and published in 2007. While many nonfiction works are centered around a central thesis, hypothesis, or argument, The Radical and the Republican does not follow this pattern; instead, Oakes’s approach is one of compare-and-contrast. He sets up Abraham Lincoln (the Republican) and Frederick Douglass (the Radical) as foils, which allows him to move back and forth from the two historical figures as... Read The Radical and the Republican Summary

The Radicalism of the American Revolution

by Gordon S. Wood

Publication year 1991

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Colonialism, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags US History, American Revolution, Politics & Government, American Literature, World History

The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1991) is a non-fiction book written by American historian and Brown University professor Gordon S. Wood. Most revolutions are an act of violence that result in deaths, property destruction, and a world turned upside down. Americans do not see the American Revolution this way. The American founding fathers were educated men who wrote pamphlets and spoke openly in legislative halls. As the story goes, they were gentlemen, not radicals... Read The Radicalism of the American Revolution Summary