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World » Americas » United States

Most Recommended Books

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

“Reading this one book gives you an excellent grasp of the human story and the context from which al-Qaeda emerged.”

Audrey Kurth Cronin, Political Scientist

Read more

Winner-Take-All Politics by Jacob S Hacker and Paul Pierson

” The top tenth of a per cent of the top hundredth of a per cent of the population is getting wealthy very fast.”

Robert Shiller, Economist

Read more

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This Time Is Different by Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff

“They…took an enormous amount of time to put together datasets that allow us to look back eight centuries and ask, quantitatively, whether there are any common denominators to financial crises. And the not-surprising answer is, ‘Yes, absolutely.’”

Andrew W Lo, Economist

Read more

A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz

“It’s clear that a lot of the policies that were put into place were negative, but as to sorting out how important they were, that’s much more challenging.”

Robert Barro, Economist

Read more

Browse book recommendations:

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    The best books on The US Constitution, recommended by Jack Rakove

  • Read

    1

    Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
    by Gordon S Wood

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    2

    Novus Ordo Seclorum
    by Forrest McDonald

  • Read

    3

    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
    by Richard Beeman

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    4

    A Revolution in Favor of Government
    by Max M Edling

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    5

    Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
    by Pauline Maier

The best books on The US Constitution, recommended by Jack Rakove

The Pulitzer prize-winning history professor tells us how the Constitution came to be written and ratified and explains why, after more than 200 years, Americans are still so deeply wedded to it.

    The best books on Boston, recommended by Jane Kamensky

  • Read

    1

    The Journal of John Winthrop
    by John Winthrop

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    2

    Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North
    by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton

  • Read

    3

    Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families
    by J. Anthony Lukas

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    4

    Interpreter of Maladies
    by Jhumpa Lahiri

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    5

    Mapping Boston
    by Alex Krieger and David Cobb (editors)

The best books on Boston, recommended by Jane Kamensky

The idea of Boston as “a place of revolutionary fervour because liberty is somehow baked into its bones” is loaded with a “very heavy dose of self-mythologizing,” says American historian Jane Kamensky. Here, the Harvard professor lifts the veil on this quintessential New England city and recommends five books for understanding its history

    The best books on American History, recommended by Brent Glass

  • Read

    1

    The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
    by David McCullough

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    2

    Wilderness At Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent
    by Ted Morgan

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    3

    The Story of American Freedom
    by Eric Foner

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    4

    This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
    by Drew Gilpin Faust

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    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

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.

    Hermione Hoby on New York Novels

  • Read

    1

    Dancer from the Dance
    by Andrew Holleran

  • Read

    2

    Underworld
    by Don DeLillo

  • Read

    3

    The Flamethrowers
    by Rachel Kushner

  • Read

    4

    Sleepless Nights
    by Elizabeth Hardwick

  • Read

    5

    Jazz
    by Toni Morrison

Hermione Hoby on New York Novels

The writer and journalist Hermione Hoby’s highly acclaimed first novel is set during a New York heatwave. Here she picks five books inspired by this capacious, overstated, indomitable city and discusses how it shaped her as a writer.

    The best books on American Education, recommended by Michelle Rhee

  • Read

    1

    A Hope in the Unseen
    by Ron Suskind

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    2

    Other People’s Children
    by Lisa Delpit

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    3

    Why Boys Fail
    by Richard Whitmire

  • Read

    4

    Understanding by Design
    by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

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    5

    Special Interest
    by Terry Moe

The best books on American Education, recommended by Michelle Rhee

The educationalist tells us about her experience as head of Washington DC’s public school system and explains how poorly performing children, and institutions, can be helped to improve

    The best books on Immigration, recommended by Ana Minian

  • Read

    1

    Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race
    by Matthew Frye Jacobson

  • Read

    2

    Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America
    by Mae M. Ngai

  • Read

    3

    Between Two Empires: Race, History, and Transnationalism in Japanese America
    by Eiichiro Azuma

  • Read

    4

    Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity
    by David G. Gutiérrez

  • Read

    5

    Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959-1994
    by María Cristina García

The best books on Immigration, recommended by Ana Minian

How did the concept of United States immigration being a ‘melting pot’ of diverse nationalities come to be? In this interview, Stanford historian Ana Raquel Minian explores America’s complex, highly racialized history of immigration and recommends five of the books on the subject that have most influenced her.

    The best books on US Supreme Court Justices, recommended by Dahlia Lithwick

  • Read

    1

    Supreme Power
    by Jeff Shesol

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    2

    Justice Brennan
    by Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel

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    3

    Becoming Justice Blackmun
    by Linda Greenhouse

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    4

    American Original
    by Joan Biskupic

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    5

    My Grandfather’s Son
    by Clarence Thomas

The best books on US Supreme Court Justices, recommended by Dahlia Lithwick

Who are the men and women in black robes who sit on America’s highest judicial bench? Legal correspondent Dahlia Lithwick recommends the best books on the Supreme Court justices of the United States.

    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression, recommended by Robert Barro

  • Read

    1

    A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960
    by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz

  • 2

    Macroeconomic Effects from Government Purchases and Taxes
    by Robert Barro

  • 3

    Identifying Government Spending Shocks
    by Valerie Ramey

  • Read

    4

    Essays on the Great Depression
    by Ben Bernanke

  • 5

    The Great Depression in the United States from a Neoclassical Perspective
    by Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian

The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression, recommended by Robert Barro

Harvard macroeconomist Robert Barro takes issue with some common assumptions about the Great Depression, and how America got out of it.

    Armistead Maupin recommends the best San Francisco Novels

  • Read

    1

    McTeague
    by Frank Norris

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    2

    The Confessions of Max Tivoli
    by Andrew Sean Greer

  • Read

    3

    The Maltese Falcon
    by Dashiell Hammett

  • Read

    4

    The Golden Gate
    by Vikram Seth

  • Read

    5

    The Joy Luck Club
    by Amy Tan

Armistead Maupin recommends the best San Francisco Novels

The author of the wonderful Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin, tells us about San Francisco’s spirit of place, and the books that best capture the city’s sense of possibility and noirish feel.

    Francis Fukuyama recommends the best books on the The Financial Crisis

  • Read

    1

    This Time Is Different
    by Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff

  • Read

    2

    The Big Short
    by Michael Lewis

  • Read

    3

    Fault Lines
    by Raghuram G Rajan

  • Read

    4

    13 Bankers
    by Simon Johnson & Simon Johnson and James Kwak

  • Read

    5

    The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report
    by FCIC

Francis Fukuyama recommends the best books on the The Financial Crisis

The author of “The End of History” says the financial crisis revealed a great deal about the nature of America’s political and economic system. The shame, he says, is that opportunities to change it are now being ignored.

    The best books on American Imperialism, recommended by A G Hopkins

  • Read

    1

    Expansionists of 1898: The Acquisition of Hawaiʻi and the Spanish Islands
    by Julius William Pratt

  • Read

    2

    Denial of Empire: The United States and Its Dependencies
    by Whitney T Perkins

  • Read

    3

    The Tragedy of American Diplomacy
    by William Appleman Williams

  • Read

    4

    The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion 1860-1898
    by Walter LaFeber

  • Read

    5

    Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos
    by Louis A Pérez

The best books on American Imperialism, recommended by A G Hopkins

When George W Bush declared that America “has never been an empire,” he elided a half century of colonial rule over its overseas dependencies. But American expansionism has manifested in other forms too, says A G Hopkins, imperial historian and author of a panoramic new work of American history.

    The best books on The Politics of Policymaking, recommended by Jamila Michener

  • Read

    1

    Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making
    by Deborah Stone

  • Read

    2

    Regulating the Poor: The Public Functions of Welfare
    by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward

  • Read

    3

    The Submerged State: How Invisible Government Policies Undermine American Democracy
    by Suzanne Mettler

  • Read

    4

    Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality
    by (ed.) Jacob Hacker, Joe Soss & Suzanne Mettler

  • Read

    5

    Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences Of American Crime Control
    by Amy E Lerman and Vesla M Weaver

The best books on The Politics of Policymaking, recommended by Jamila Michener

Inequality is coming not just from the economy; it is coming from politics and policy, says Jamila Michener, assistant professor of government at Cornell University. Here she chooses five books that showcase some of the best, most thought-provoking writing on the politics and consequences of policy.

    The Best Transnational Literature, recommended by Mohsin Hamid

  • Read

    1

    No Longer at Ease
    by Chinua Achebe

  • Read

    2

    A Moveable Feast
    by Ernest Hemingway

  • Read

    3

    Meatless Days: A Memoir
    by Sara Suleri

  • Read

    4

    The Buddha in the Attic
    by Julie Otsuka

  • Read

    5

    Fictions
    by Jorge Luis Borges

The Best Transnational Literature, recommended by Mohsin Hamid

Beleaguered ‘citizens of nowhere’ will be pleased to know they have their own literary genre. For anyone who has ever wondered where they belong, or why, when you leave your home country, it’s never the same when you return, here are the best five books to read—including some by the greatest authors of the 20th century.

    The best books on US Foreign Policy, recommended by Gideon Rose

  • Read

    1

    History of the Peloponnesian War
    by Thucydides

  • Read

    2

    American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony
    by Samuel P Huntington

  • Read

    3

    Duties Beyond Borders
    by Stanley Hoffmann

  • Read

    4

    The Post-American World
    by Fareed Zakaria

  • Read

    5

    The Frugal Superpower
    by Michael Mandelbaum

The best books on US Foreign Policy, recommended by Gideon Rose

Should America have intervened in Libya? Done more? Done less? Done it differently? The editor of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Rose, explains the tension that lies at the heart of every American foreign policy decision.

    Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney

  • Read

    1

    The House of Mirth
    by Edith Wharton

  • Read

    2

    The Catcher in the Rye
    by J D Salinger

  • Read

    3

    The Wicked Pavilion
    by Dawn Powell

  • Read

    4

    American Psycho
    by Bret Easton Ellis

  • Read

    5

    The Fortress of Solitude
    by Jonathan Lethem

Essential New York Novels, recommended by Jay McInerney

The author of Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney, tells us what changed after 9/11 and which books best capture the ambition, romance and creativity of New York. He chooses his list of  “essential New York novels”

    The best books on US Intervention, recommended by Lawrence Kaplan

  • Read

    1

    Promised Land, Crusader State
    by Walter McDougall

  • Read

    2

    Ordinary Men
    by Christopher Browning

  • Read

    3

    Strategies of Containment
    by John Gaddis

  • Read

    4

    Dispatches
    by Michael Herr

  • Read

    5

    American Pastoral
    by Philip Roth

The best books on US Intervention, recommended by Lawrence Kaplan

The foreign affairs commentator explains why US presidents have less room to manoeuvre on foreign policy than they think, and why President Obama had to set aside his “minimalist” inclinations.

    The best books on America’s Increasingly Challenged Position in World Affairs, recommended by Ali Wyne

  • Read

    1

    Is the American Century Over?
    by Joseph Nye

  • Read

    2

    The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World
    by Anne-Marie Slaughter

  • Read

    3

    The Sovereignty Wars: Reconciling America with the World
    by Stewart Patrick

  • Read

    4

    Psychology of a Superpower: Security and Dominance in U.S. Foreign Policy
    by Christopher Fettweis

  • Read

    5

    Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
    by Deborah Fallows & James Fallows

The best books on America’s Increasingly Challenged Position in World Affairs, recommended by Ali Wyne

Reports of the death of the world’s only superpower may have been exaggerated, but America’s inward turn is threatening the world order it created after World War II. Foreign policy analyst Ali Wyne talks us through books to better understand America’s current role in the world.

    The best books on Emerging Markets, recommended by George Magnus

  • Read

    1

    Why The West Rules - For Now: The Patterns of History and what they reveal about the Future
    by Ian Morris

  • Read

    2

    Why Nations Fail
    by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

  • Read

    3

    China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative Society
    by Development Research Center of the State Council & World Bank

  • Read

    4

    The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World
    by Ruchir Sharma

  • Read

    5

    Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy?
    by George Magnus

The best books on Emerging Markets, recommended by George Magnus

What determines whether a country goes backwards or forwards? Why have so few developing countries joined the ranks of rich nations? George Magnus, former chief economist of UBS, chooses books to help us reflect on what it is that societies need in order to be successful.

    The best books on Saving Capitalism and Democracy, recommended by Robert Reich

  • Read

    1

    The Promise of American Life
    by Herbert Croly

  • Read

    2

    The New Industrial State
    by John Kenneth Galbraith

  • Read

    3

    The Wheels of Commerce
    by Fernand Braudel

  • Read

    4

    Democracy in America
    by Alexis de Tocqueville

  • Read

    5

    The Theory of the Leisure Class
    by Thorstein Veblen

The best books on Saving Capitalism and Democracy, recommended by Robert Reich

It’s not the first period in history that American society has suffered from a crisis of inequality. Former labour secretary, Robert Reich, recommends books to help us understand the response of previous generations to the same kinds of challenges we now face.

    The best books on Drone Warfare, recommended by Hugh Gusterson

  • Read

    1

    A Theory of the Drone
    by Gregoire Chamayou

  • Read

    2

    Predator
    by Matt Martin

  • Read

    3

    Sudden Justice
    by Chris Woods

  • Read

    4

    Kill Chain
    by Andrew Cockburn

  • Read

    5

    Drone Warfare
    by John Kaag & Sarah Kreps

The best books on Drone Warfare, recommended by Hugh Gusterson

The introduction of drones “makes possible perpetual war without costs”, warns the anthropology professor and security expert Hugh Gusterson. Here he selects the best books that examine their ethical, psychological and political impact upon 21st century warfare.

    Stephanie Burt on Contemporary American Poetry

  • Read

    1

    The Infinitesimals
    by Laura Kasischke

  • Read

    2

    Steal Away: Selected and New Poems
    by C D Wright

  • Read

    3

    Chronic
    by D A Powell

  • Read

    4

    Wind in a Box
    by Terrance Hayes

  • Read

    5

    The Tribute Horse
    by Brandon Som

Stephanie Burt on Contemporary American Poetry

As distinctions between traditional and avant-garde, central and marginal dissolve, poet and critic Stephanie Burt discusses some of America’s most exciting contemporary poets, who are speaking to and from diverse experiences and backgrounds – sometimes with a disco beat

    The best books on Race and American Policing, recommended by Joe Domanick

  • Read

    1

    The Wire
    by David Simon

  • Read

    2

    Cruel Justice
    by Joe Domanick

  • Read

    3

    Mean Justice
    by Edward Humes

  • Read

    4

    Serpico
    by Peter Maas

  • Read

    5

    Between the World and Me
    by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The best books on Race and American Policing, recommended by Joe Domanick

The author and journalist describes how racism, violence, and corruption became entrenched in police departments across America. He picks five books describing a stark reality, and suggests a blueprint for change

    The best books on Hurricane Katrina, recommended by Gary Rivlin

  • Read

    1

    City of Refuge
    by Tom Piazza

  • Read

    2

    The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
    by Douglas Brinkley

  • Read

    3

    Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City
    by Jed Horne

  • Read

    4

    Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security
    by Christopher Cooper and Robert Block

  • Read

    5

    New Orleans: The Making of an Urban Landscape
    by Peirce F. Lewis

The best books on Hurricane Katrina, recommended by Gary Rivlin

Katrina was not a natural disaster but an engineering one, says the journalist and author. He chooses the best books on Hurricane Katrina, ranging from a novel to a geographical biography of New Orleans. 

    The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari

  • Read

    1

    Drug Addicts are Human Beings
    by Henry Smith Williams

  • Read

    2

    The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotic Gangs
    by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler

  • Read

    3

    Murder City
    by Charles Bowden

  • Read

    4

    The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit
    by Bruce Alexander

  • Read

    5

    In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
    by Gabor Maté

The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari

Everything we have been told about drugs and drug addiction and how society should deal with them is wrong, says the British author and journalist Johann Hari. He chooses the best books on the War on Drugs.

    The best books on The Roots of the Occupy Movement, recommended by Michael Kazin

  • Read

    1

    The Communist Manifesto
    by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

  • Read

    2

    A People’s History of the United States
    by Howard Zinn

  • Read

    3

    Democracy Is in the Streets
    by James Miller

  • Read

    4

    Winner-Take-All Politics
    by Jacob S Hacker and Paul Pierson

  • Read

    5

    Waging Nonviolent Struggle
    by Gene Sharp

The best books on The Roots of the Occupy Movement, recommended by Michael Kazin

History professor and co-editor of Dissent magazine, Michael Kazin, looks back at US leftist movements from abolitionism to Vietnam to see where OWS came from and what it can learn from the past.

    The best books on The Reagan Era, recommended by Doug Rossinow

  • Read

    1

    The Massacre at El Mozote
    by Mark Danner

  • Read

    2

    Which Side Are You on?: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back
    by Thomas Geoghegan

  • Read

    3

    Den of Thieves
    by James B. Stewart

  • Read

    4

    Can't Stop Won't Stop
    by Jeff Chang

  • Read

    5

    Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
    by Susan Faludi

The best books on The Reagan Era, recommended by Doug Rossinow

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 best books on US Militarism, recommended by Stephen Glain

  • Read

    1

    The Best and the Brightest
    by David Halberstam

  • Read

    2

    House of War
    by James Carroll

  • Read

    3

    Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
    by Tim Weiner

  • Read

    4

    American Rasputin
    by David Milne

  • Read

    5

    Perils of Dominance
    by Gareth Porter

The best books on US Militarism, recommended by Stephen Glain

American presidents may not want to send troops into battle or militarise foreign policy but, in the end, most of them do. The author and journalist explains how this happens, and why it’s not even the military that’s to blame. He picks the best books on American militarism.

    The best books on American Food, recommended by Ruth Reichl

  • Read

    1

    The Art of Eating
    by MFK Fisher

  • Read

    2

    Between Meals
    by AJ Liebling

  • Read

    3

    Diet for a Small Planet
    by Frances Moore Lappé

  • Read

    4

    The Alice B Toklas Cookbook
    by Alice B Toklas

  • Read

    5

    An Unprejudiced Palate
    by Angelo Pellegrini

The best books on American Food, recommended by Ruth Reichl

The Puritans got modern American cuisine off to a bad start. But the food writer and critic says subsequent immigrants have helped create a culture where food is appreciated.

    The best books on How Americans Vote, recommended by Andrew Gelman

  • Read

    1

    The Almanac of American Politics
    by Michael Barone and Chuck McCutcheon

  • Read

    2

    The 480
    by Eugene Burdick

  • Read

    3

    The Rational Public
    by Benjamin I Page and Robert Y Shapiro

  • Read

    4

    Fire on the Prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago Politics, and the Roots of the Obama Presidency
    by Gary Rivlin

  • Read

    5

    The Emerging Republican Majority
    by Kevin P Phillips

The best books on How Americans Vote, recommended by Andrew Gelman

As Romney vs Obama enters the final stretch, the statistician and author of Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State uncovers the (often surprising) realities of how Americans of different backgrounds vote

    The best books on Americans Abroad, recommended by Charles Glass

  • Read

    1

    Innocents Abroad
    by Mark Twain

  • Read

    2

    Daisy Miller
    by Henry James

  • Read

    3

    Catch 22
    by Joseph Heller

  • Read

    4

    Horn of Africa
    by Philip Caputo

  • Read

    5

    The Quiet American
    by Graham Greene

The best books on Americans Abroad, recommended by Charles Glass

The much-travelled writer and broadcaster tells us about misunderstandings and misadventures of Americans in foreign lands

    The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn

  • Read

    1

    Atlantic History
    by Bernard Bailyn

  • Read

    2

    Empires of the Atlantic World
    by JH Elliott

  • Read

    3

    Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
    by David Eltis and David Richardson

  • Read

    4

    The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800
    by David Armitage and Michael J Braddick (editors)

  • Read

    5

    Soundings in Atlantic History
    by Bernard Bailyn (editor)

The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn

Harvard professor and Pulitzer prize-winning historian Bernard Bailyn recommends reading on three centuries of empire, conflict and slave trading between the Americas, Europe and Africa

    The best books on Islam in the West, recommended by Tariq Ramadan

  • Read

    1

    Muslims in the West
    by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (editor)

  • Read

    2

    Islam in America
    by Jane I Smith

  • Read

    3

    Islam and the Blackamerican
    by Sherman A Jackson

  • Read

    4

    Young, British and Muslim
    by Philip Lewis

  • Read

    5

    British Muslims
    by Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain and Nadeem Malik (editors)

The best books on Islam in the West, recommended by Tariq Ramadan

The Islamic scholar and commentator tells us what it means to be Muslim and Western, and explains how mainstream views get trapped between noisy extremism and a sensation-seeking media

    The best books on American Economic History, recommended by Michael Lind

  • Read

    1

    The Elusive Republic
    by Drew R McCoy

  • Read

    2

    From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932
    by David A Hounshell

  • Read

    3

    Technology and American Society
    by Gary Cross and Rick Szostak

  • Read

    4

    The Past and Future of America’s Economy
    by Robert D Atkinson

  • Read

    5

    Bad Samaritans
    by Ha-Joon Chang

The best books on American Economic History, recommended by Michael Lind

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

    The best books on Los Angeles, recommended by Dennis McDougal

  • Read

    1

    Southern California
    by Carey McWilliams

  • Read

    2

    Thinking Big
    by Bob Gottlieb and Irene Wolt

  • Read

    3

    Farewell, My Lovely
    by Raymond Chandler

  • Read

    4

    The Real and the Unreal
    by Bill Davidson

  • Read

    5

    City of Quartz
    by Mike Davis

The best books on Los Angeles, recommended by Dennis McDougal

The writer dubbed “LA’s number one muckraker” peels away the phoney baloney to tell us about power, pollution and pulp fiction in the City of Angels.

    The best books on The US Intelligence Services, recommended by Tim Weiner

  • Read

    1

    The Art of War
    by Sun Tzu & Sun Zi

  • Read

    2

    The Invisible Government
    by David Wise and Thomas B Ross

  • Read

    3

    From the Shadows
    by Robert M Gates

  • Read

    4

    The March of Folly
    by Barbara W Tuchman

  • Read

    5

    Nineteen Eighty-Four
    by George Orwell

The best books on The US Intelligence Services, recommended by Tim Weiner

The job of the intelligence services is to understand others and help leaders act more wisely, says the author of a new history of the FBI. There’s a balance to be struck between liberty and security but when the CIA and FBI do not harmonise their intelligence missions, people die.

    The best books on The American West, recommended by Jonathan Evison

  • Read

    1

    Angle of Repose
    by Wallace Stegner

  • Read

    2

    Ask the Dust
    by John Fante

  • Read

    3

    The Day of the Locust
    by Nathanael West

  • Read

    4

    The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Steinbeck

  • Read

    5

    Trout Fishing in America
    by Richard Brautigan

The best books on The American West, recommended by Jonathan Evison

Novelist Jonathan Evison recommends books that capture a sense of the rugged landscape and people of the American West.

    The best books on French Attitudes to America, recommended by Richard Kuisel

  • Read

    1

    The American Enemy
    by Philippe Roger

  • Read

    2

    America: The Menace
    by Georges Duhamel

  • Read

    3

    De Gaulle
    by Jean Lacouture

  • Read

    4

    Jean Monnet
    by Sherrill Brown Wells

  • Read

    5

    France in an Age of Globalization
    by Hubert Védrine

The best books on French Attitudes to America, recommended by Richard Kuisel

The historian tells us how French condescension towards America goes back to the 18th century, but more recent antagonisms can be traced to the Second World War

    The best books on American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

  • Read

    1

    O Pioneers!
    by Willa Cather

  • Read

    2

    Stoner
    by John Williams

  • Read

    3

    Crossing to Safety
    by Wallace Stegner

  • Read

    4

    Winesburg, Ohio
    by Sherwood Anderson

  • Read

    5

    Sister Carrie
    by Theodore Dreiser

The best books on American Stories, recommended by Simon Winchester

Modern America is a story of expanding frontiers, says the bestselling author. He tells us about five novels that shed light on the social history of his adopted homeland, from the late 19th century to the Great Depression

    The best books on Las Vegas, recommended by Matthew O’Brien

  • Read

    1

    How I Got Cultured
    by Phyllis Barber

  • Read

    2

    The Green Felt Jungle
    by Ed Reid and Ovid Demaris

  • Read

    3

    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
    by Hunter S Thompson

  • Read

    4

    Leaving Las Vegas
    by John O’Brien

  • Read

    5

    Lay the Favorite
    by Beth Raymer

The best books on Las Vegas, recommended by Matthew O’Brien

Vegas tugs on the imagination like few other places. A sin city journalist tells us about innocent beginnings, muckraking and mobsters, and how Vegas has changed through boom and bust

    The best books on China and the US, recommended by Orville Schell

  • Read

    1

    To Change China
    by Jonathan D Spence

  • Read

    2

    In Search of Wealth of Power
    by Benjamin Schwartz

  • Read

    3

    Hermit of Peking
    by Hugh Trevor-Roper

  • Read

    4

    Thunder Out of China
    by Theodore H White and Annalee Jacoby

  • Read

    5

    Chinese Shadows
    by Simon Leys

The best books on China and the US, recommended by Orville Schell

The changing relationship between China and America will be one of the defining foreign policy issues of our times. To understand its dynamic, says the sinologist, we must take account of China’s lingering sense of victimhood

    The best books on Native Americans and Colonisers, recommended by Colin Calloway

  • Read

    1

    1491
    by Charles C Mann

  • Read

    2

    The Columbian Exchange
    by Alfred W Crosby Jr

  • Read

    3

    Custer Died for Your Sins
    by Vine Deloria Jr

  • Read

    4

    The Invasion of America
    by Francis Jennings

  • Read

    5

    The Middle Ground
    by Richard White

The best books on Native Americans and Colonisers, recommended by Colin Calloway

There's a lot more to the story of colonists and Native Americans than the tale of the first Thanksgiving taught in school, says history professor Colin Calloway.

    The best books on America’s Undocumented Workers, recommended by Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz

  • Read

    1

    The Mobility of Labor and Capital
    by Saskia Sassen

  • Read

    2

    For We Are Sold, I and My People
    by María Patricia Fernández-Kelly

  • Read

    3

    Coyotes
    by Ted Conover

  • Read

    4

    Shadowed Lives
    by Leo R Chavez

  • Read

    5

    Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists
    by Christian Zlolniski

The best books on America’s Undocumented Workers, recommended by Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz

The anthropologist tells us about books that give voice to low-wage migrant labourers and explains the mutual dependence of slums and “urban glamour zones”

    The best books on Healthcare Reform, recommended by Austin Frakt

  • Read

    1

    Inside National Health Reform
    by John McDonough

  • Read

    2

    The Social Transformation of American Medicine
    by Paul Starr

  • Read

    3

    Remedy and Reaction
    by Paul Starr

  • Read

    4

    Bring Market Prices to Medicare
    by Robert Coulam, Roger Feldman and Bryan Dowd

  • Read

    5

    Your Money or Your Life
    by David Cutler

The best books on Healthcare Reform, recommended by Austin Frakt

If you were starting from scratch, no one would design a healthcare system like America’s. The health economist tells us how it evolved and what needs to change. He picks the best books on US healthcare reform.

    Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers

  • Read

    1

    The Portable Dorothy Parker
    by Dorothy Parker

  • Read

    2

    The Diaries of Dawn Powell: 1931-1965
    by Dawn Powell

  • Read

    3

    Queer Street
    by James McCourt

  • Read

    4

    Instant Lives And More
    by Howard Moss, drawings by Edward Gorey

  • Read

    5

    Cheap Novelties
    by Ben Katchor

Fran Lebowitz on New York Writers

‘The authors of these five books are people who came to New York for freedom – not so they could get rich, but so they could be free to pursue their interests and live their lives the way they wanted.’ New Yorker par excellence Fran Lebowitz recommends the writers who best capture her immutably mutable city.

    The best books on 9/11 Literature, recommended by Amy Waldman

  • Read

    1

    Strong is Your Hold
    by Galway Kinnell

  • Read

    2

    A Widow’s Walk
    by Marian Fontana

  • Read

    3

    Harbor
    by Lorraine Adams

  • Read

    4

    The Reluctant Fundamentalist
    by Mohsin Hamid

  • Read

    5

    Open City
    by Teju Cole

The best books on 9/11 Literature, recommended by Amy Waldman

“Making art of tragedy is tricky. How do you do it? Is it unseemly?” The author of one of the best works of creative writing to come out of 9/11 answers her own question

    The best books on Egypt and America, recommended by Lloyd Gardner

  • Read

    1

    American Orientalism
    by Douglas Little

  • Read

    2

    Quicksand
    by Geoffrey Wawro

  • Read

    3

    The Looming Tower
    by Lawrence Wright

  • Read

    4

    The Far Enemy
    by Fawaz A Gerges

  • Read

    5

    Nasser: The Last Arab
    by Saïd K Aburish

The best books on Egypt and America, recommended by Lloyd Gardner

The historian reflects on the past 60 years of American involvement in Egypt and tells us, after the Arab Spring, what may make the coming years different

    Andrew Exum recommends the best books for Understanding the War in Afghanistan

  • Read

    1

    Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History
    by Thomas Barfield & Thomas Barfield

  • Read

    2

    Heroes of the Age
    by David B Edwards

  • Read

    3

    Before Taliban
    by David B Edwards

  • Read

    4

    The Logic of Violence in Civil War
    by Stathis N Kalyvas

  • Read

    5

    On War
    by Carl von Clausewitz

Andrew Exum recommends the best books for Understanding the War in Afghanistan

The US has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in Afghanistan. Former soldier, Andrew Exum, tells us about flawed policy, unhappy outcomes and what could and should have been different.

    The best books on Texas, recommended by Attica Locke

  • Read

    1

    The Wake of the Wind
    by J California Cooper

  • Read

    2

    The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
    by Bryan Burrough

  • Read

    3

    The Last Picture Show
    by Larry McMurtry

  • Read

    4

    The Liars’ Club
    by Mary Karr

  • Read

    5

    Galveston
    by Nic Pizzolatto

The best books on Texas, recommended by Attica Locke

The author of the acclaimed noir novels Black Water Rising and The Cutting Season, Attica Locke, tells us about stories of freed slaves, oil barons and gangsters on the run – books that capture the outlaw spirit of her home state.

    The best books on Progressive America, recommended by Antonio Villaraigosa

  • Read

    1

    The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Steinbeck

  • Read

    2

    A Tale of Two Cities
    by Charles Dickens

  • Read

    3

    To Kill a Mockingbird
    by Harper Lee

  • Read

    4

    Team of Rivals
    by Doris Kearns Goodwin

  • Read

    5

    John Adams
    by David McCullough

The best books on Progressive America, recommended by Antonio Villaraigosa

In the last of our series of interviews on American progressivism, the mayor of Los Angeles chooses five novels and biographies that provide lessons from the past and show what a democratic society should aspire to be

    The best books on The Iraq War, recommended by Patrick Cockburn

  • Read

    1

    The Occupation of Iraq
    by Ali A Allawi

  • Read

    2

    Fiasco
    by Thomas E Ricks

  • Read

    3

    The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movement in Iraq
    by Hanna Batatu

  • Read

    4

    Aftermath
    by Nir Rosen

  • Read

    5

    After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness?
    by Jonathan Randal

The best books on The Iraq War, recommended by Patrick Cockburn

The veteran Middle East correspondent gives us his tips for the best reading about the US-led invasion and occupation, and explains why the West shouldn’t have intervened in Iraq in the first place

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