American history books

How many suffragists can you name? Feminist historian Susan Ware, author of a new history of the American women's suffrage movement, urges us to remember how important suffrage was in the fight for women's rights, on the cusp of its US centennial—and reveals the story of women getting the right to vote didn't just begin at Seneca Falls.

It may be nice to think of America's Supreme Court justices as neutral interpreters of the law, but the reality is that they are a reflection of the cultural and historical moment in which they operate. Legal scholar and author Michael Klarman, Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Harvard Law School, recommends the best books to learn more about the Supreme Court of the United States and its history.

In the 1998 Clinton impeachment proceedings, only one legal scholar was called as a joint witness: Michael J. Gerhardt, now a Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a prolific expert on subjects of constitutional history, the legislative process, and impeachment. With the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump well underway, he recommends five books crucial to understanding the subject.

The feminist historian and author of History of Women in the Americas shares her book choices and explains why abortion will always remain a flashpoint in the United States.

On the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. In its assertion that all men are created equal, the declaration was a milestone in the journey towards the more democratic world we have today. But it was still a product of the 18th century colonial society that created it. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood talks us through five books, including his own, for understanding the history we celebrate on the Fourth of July.

June 19th, or 'Juneteenth,' is a holiday commemorating the final end of slavery in the United States. Professor Barbara Krauthamer, a leading historian of African American slavery and emancipation, talks us through its significance down the decades and which books to read to get a better understanding of what it's all about.

The story and tragedy of the Kennedys is so incredible you don't need to turn to fiction, says the biographer of Joseph P Kennedy, David Nasaw. He talks us through the Kennedy generations.

Americans remember Reagan fondly, but what did the Gipper really stand for? The historian chooses the best books on Ronald Reagan and his time.

The former chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers says we’ve learned that terrible downturns can still occur, but also that the right policy response can make a huge difference to the outcome

The American economy has been driven by waves of technological change and the successful adoption of ideas from elsewhere. The author of Land of Promise tells us how it happened, and what history teaches us about the way ahead