United States Books

Jack Kerouac—drifter, drinker, giant of American literature—became a Beat Generation icon after the publication of On the Road in 1957. But his experimental, improvisatory prose is often misinterpreted as artless "typing," as Howard Cunnell, Kerouac scholar and author of new memoir Sun Country, explains. Here he recommends five books that offer a better understanding of Kerouac's ambition and range as a writer.

For all its rugged individualism, frontier violence, and capitalist churn, there’s always a search for grace in America, argues Don Watson, author of the excellent The Shortest History of the United States of America. As the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, we asked him for books to read to learn more about it.

While often associated with populism and economic dissatisfaction, the success of the MAGA movement in the United States is also rooted in a distinctive set of ideas about culture, identity, authority, and national renewal. Political theorist Laura Field recommends five books that explore the movement's intellectual challenge to liberal democracy, from the work of Carl Schmitt in 1930s Germany to cultural shifts in evangelical Christianity today.

Taiwan is a crucial lynchpin of the high-tech global economy, but its international political position is far from stable. China has explicit ambitions to incorporate it into the Chinese state and seems intent on building the military capacity to do this by force. The US is committed to preserving its de facto independence. For the moment, there is a stand-off, but a crisis over Taiwan would be a crisis for the world, politically and economically. Eyck Freymann, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, recommends five books to help understand the dynamics of the situation and the possible outcomes.

Every era has its monuments. What architectural legacy has the Industrial Revolution left behind? Jeff Brouws is a photographer whose work explores the American cultural landscape through a typological lens. His latest book, Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project, documents concrete coaling towers that once fueled steam locomotives across North America. He talks us through five essential books on industrial photography—from the Bechers' rigorous documentation to intimate portraits of displaced steelworkers—and explores what we preserve when structures themselves vanish.

'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.

Many well-loved American detective novels feature cynical private investigator protagonists facing down hardened criminals and deep-set corruption. We asked Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes, to recommend five brilliant books from this popular genre, from a 1920s small town murder mystery to a 1980s postmodern trilogy.

Horror is entertaining, but also a great way of shining a light on painful subjects people don't want to talk about, says Mexican American horror writer V. Castro. As American horror has opened up to a much greater diversity of writers, she talks us through some of the classics—books that continue to inspire and form the bedrock of the genre.  

Conspiracy theories are not just harmless speculation but a dangerous form of belief that can have terrible consequences in the real world, says writer and critic David Free, creator of the Ghosts of Dallas podcast. He recommends books to understand conspiracy theories, from the assassination of JFK to the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'

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.