American history books
recommended by historians
Last updated: February 22, 2026
“American history,” President John Kennedy said, “is always alive, always growing, always unfinished.” So is our section on American history books, as we explore themes from U.S. presidents and the country's institutional structures to different periods in the country's history.
American Civil War | Pulitzer Prize | Great Depression Books | Books about the Salem Witch Trials |
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1
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
by David McCullough -
2
Wilderness At Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent
by Ted Morgan -
3
The Story of American Freedom
by Eric Foner -
4
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
by Drew Gilpin Faust -
5
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by Hampton Sides
The best books on American History, recommended by Brent Glass
The best books on American History, recommended by Brent Glass
Which are the best books on American history? Brent Glass, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the world’s largest museum devoted to telling the story of America, chooses five standout books in a crowded field.
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1
Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory
by David Blight -
2
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
by Eric Foner -
3
Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South
by Stephanie McCurry -
4
Absalom, Absalom!
by William Faulkner -
5
The Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
by Ulysses S Grant and Elizabeth Samet (editor), Mark Bramhall (narrator)
The best books on The American Civil War, recommended by Drew Gilpin Faust
The best books on The American Civil War, recommended by Drew Gilpin Faust
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner. Here, Drew Gilpin Faust, a leading historian of the American Civil War and former President of Harvard, recommends the best books to read about the conflict between North and South that tore the United States apart from 1861 till 1865 – and beyond.
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1
Titanic: First Accounts
by Tim Maltin -
2
Sinking of the Titanic: The Greatest Disaster At Sea
by Logan Marshall -
3
Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy
by Charles A. Haas & John P. Eaton -
4
Every Man For Himself
by Beryl Bainbridge -
5
A Night to Remember: The Classic Account of the Final Hours of the Titanic
by Walter Lord
The best books on The Titanic, recommended by Steven Biel
The best books on The Titanic, recommended by Steven Biel
More than a century after it went down, our fascination with the Titanic shows no signs of dimming, its story told in numerous books and movies—both fact and fiction. Steven Biel, a historian at Harvard, recommends books to read about the Titanic, from early first-person accounts of the disaster to a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated reference guide.
The Best Vietnam War Books, recommended by Karl Marlantes
In 1968 Karl Marlantes was a 22-year old Rhodes scholar and did not have to go to Vietnam. He nonetheless joined the US Marine Corps, ending up with multiple medals but also lifelong PTSD. In this interview, he recommends the best Vietnam War books, exploring its moral ambiguities, the warrior mentality and the humanity of ‘the enemy.’
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1
Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 1800–1850
by Andrés Reséndez -
2
Quitting the Nation: Emigrant Rights in North America
by Eric R. Schlereth -
3
Breakaway Americas: The Unmanifest Future of the Jacksonian United States
by Thomas Richards Jr. -
4
A Failed Vision of Empire: The Collapse of Manifest Destiny, 1845–1872
by Daniel J. Burge -
5
The Age of the Borderlands: Indians, Slaves, and the Limits of Manifest Destiny: 1790-1850
by Andrew Isenberg
The best books on Manifest Destiny, recommended by Andrew Isenberg
The best books on Manifest Destiny, recommended by Andrew Isenberg
‘Manifest Destiny’ was an idea brought forward in the United States in the 1830s as a rationalisation for western expansion. But it was always contested, argues Andrew Isenberg, Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas, as he selects five history books that, together, offer insight into what the borderlands of the American West were really like.
Books About the Salem Witch Trials
In 1692-3 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, a widespread moral panic resulted in nearly 200 residents being accused of practicing witchcraft. In the end, 20 of them were executed. Since then, the name Salem has been associated with paranoia, betrayal and religious extremism, and the Salem Witch Trials have served as the inspiration for many books, both fiction and nonfiction.
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Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
by Kathleen DuVal -
Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War
by Edda L. Fields-Black -
No Right to An Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
by Jacqueline Jones -
Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power
by Jefferson Cowie -
Cuba: An American History
by Ada Ferrer
Pulitzer Prize-Winning History Books
Pulitzer Prize-Winning History Books
Every year, the Pulitzer Prize jury awards $15,000 to a “distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States.” We’ve compiled a guide to the winning books since the turn of the millennium.
The Best Novels about the History of the United States, recommended by Bernard T. Joy
An exploration of the history of the United States may require novels that are challenging to read but offer the reward of really making you think about a complex subject. Literary scholar Bernard T. Joy talks us through five novels that explore U.S. history, from colonial times to the end of the 20th century.
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1
Black Reconstruction in America
by W E B Du Bois -
2
Exodus: Religion, Race and Nation in Early Nineteenth-Century Black America
by Eddie S Glaude Jr -
3
Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression
by Robin D G Kelley -
4
Hands on the Freedom of the Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC
Faith S. Holsaert, Martha Prescod, and others (eds.) -
5
Creating Black Americans: African-American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present
by Nell Irvin Painter
African American History Books, recommended by Imani Perry
African American History Books, recommended by Imani Perry
Princeton Professor Imani Perry—a prolific scholar of African American Studies whose biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Looking For Lorraine, won the 2019 PEN Biography Prize—recommends five books she considers essential to an understanding of the history of black life in America.
The best books on Native American history, recommended by Jennifer Graber
That US expansion was predicated on the violent dispossession of Native people is a key aspect of American history that is finally getting the attention it deserves among historians. Here Jennifer Graber, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, highlights books by Native scholars and writers that focus on their experience.
