#American History

Team of Rivals

by Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Brethren

by Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong

Law & Legal History

The Warmth of Other Suns

by Isabel Wilkerson

1776

by David McCullough

History Memoir & Biography

A People's History of the United States

by Howard Zinn

A Promised Land

by Barack Obama

Memoir & Biography

The Federalist Papers

by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

History Law & Legal

The Wright Brothers

by David McCullough

Democracy in America

by Alexis de Tocqueville

A young French aristocrat travels to America in the 1830s and produces the most perceptive analysis of American democracy ever written. Tocqueville examines the strengths and dangers of democratic society, from the tyranny of the majority to the power of civil associations, with insights that remain startlingly relevant.

Team of Rivals

by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin's masterful portrait of Abraham Lincoln's political genius, focusing on how he assembled his cabinet from his fiercest rivals and transformed them into allies who helped save the Union during the Civil War.

The Brethren

by Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong

Law & Legal History Memoir & Biography

Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong's 1979 inside account of the Burger Court was the first time anyone had successfully reported the Supreme Court from inside, using clerks, justices, and internal memoranda. The book is part of the canon of American legal journalism.

The Warmth of Other Suns

by Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the Great Migration — the decades-long exodus of six million Black Americans from the Jim Crow South to northern and western cities. Through three extraordinary personal stories, she reveals one of the most transformative events in American history.

1776

by David McCullough

History Memoir & Biography

David McCullough tells the gripping story of the year that decided America's fate, focusing on both George Washington and the British forces. Drawing on diaries, letters, and firsthand accounts, McCullough reveals just how close the revolution came to failing before it truly began.

A People's History of the United States

by Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn's radical retelling of American history from the perspective of the people who are typically left out — Indigenous Americans, enslaved Africans, women, laborers, and immigrants. A provocative counter-narrative that challenges the traditional textbook version of the American story.

A Promised Land

by Barack Obama

The first volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoirs covers his early political life through the first two and a half years of his presidency, including the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the mission to kill Osama bin Laden. An intimate, reflective account of history in the making.

Memoir & Biography

The Federalist Papers

by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

History Law & Legal Philosophy

The 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to persuade New York voters to ratify the U.S. Constitution. A foundational document of American political thought that lays out the philosophical framework for federalism, separation of powers, and representative government.

The Wright Brothers

by David McCullough

David McCullough tells the dramatic story of Wilbur and Orville Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio who taught the world to fly. Drawing on personal diaries, letters, and papers, McCullough brings their determination and genius vividly to life.