Listopia


Best American History books
Books about the history of the United States.
Tags: america, american, best, and history

1
John Adams
John Adams
by David McCullough 62 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
2
1776
1776
by David McCullough 58 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
4
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
A People's History of the United States: 1492 t...
by Howard Zinn 46 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
5
The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara 38 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
6
Truman
Truman
by David McCullough 29 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
8
Undaunted Courage
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen E. Ambrose 25 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
10
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your Americ...
by James W. Loewen 18 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
11
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those ...
by Timothy Egan 18 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
13
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
14
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
by Edmund Morris 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
15
Washington's Crossing
Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
16
His Excellency: George Washington
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
18
Assassination Vacation
Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
19
Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward (Illustrator) 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
20
A History of the American People
A History of the American People
by Paul Bede Johnson 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
22
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the ...
by Taylor Branch 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
24
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
by James L. Swanson 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
26
The Oxford History of the American People
The Oxford History of the American People
by Samuel Eliot Morison 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
29
The Path to Power
The Path to Power
by Robert A. Caro 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
30
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian Histor...
by Dee Brown 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
31
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
by Cokie Roberts 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
32
Theodore Rex
Theodore Rex
by Edmund Morris 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
34
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
The First American: The Life and Times of Benja...
by H.W. Brands 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
36
The Mind of the South
The Mind of the South
by W.J. Cash 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
37
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America
by Jon Stewart 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
38
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disa...
by Marc Reisner 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
39
The Metaphysical Club
The Metaphysical Club
by Louis Menand 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and Americ...
by Neil Sheehan 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
41
With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
by Stephen B. Oates 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
42
Thomas Jefferson: A Life
Thomas Jefferson: A Life
by Willard Sterne Randall 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
43
The Age of Jackson
The Age of Jackson
by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
44
Democracy in America
Democracy in America
by Alexis de Tocqueville 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
47
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers
by Alexander Hamilton 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
49
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change f...
by Stephen Kinzer 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
49
Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and th...
by Craig Nelson 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
51
The Frontiersmen
The Frontiersmen
by Allan W. Eckert 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
53
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare...
by David Hajdu 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
55
The Life of Andrew Jackson
The Life of Andrew Jackson
by Robert V. Remini 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
by Gordon S. Wood 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
Day Lincoln Was Shot
Day Lincoln Was Shot
by Jim Bishop 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
59
American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture
American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and t...
by Joane Nagel 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
60
The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams
The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Corre...
by John Adams 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
61
The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the...
by Jonathan Alter 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
63
General of the Army: George C. Marshall, Soldier and Statesman
General of the Army: George C. Marshall, Soldie...
by Ed Cray 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
64
The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America
The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Ear...
by John Demos 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
The Second World War
The Second World War
by John Keegan 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
All the President's Men
All the President's Men
by Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
Civil War, The - A Narrative, Vol I, Fort Sumter to Perryville - on Playaway
Civil War, The - A Narrative, Vol I, Fort Sumte...
by Shelby Foote, Grover Gardner (Narrator) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and...
by Erik Larson, Tony Goldwyn (Narrator) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
70
Civil War, The - A Narrative, Vol II, Fredericksburg to Meridian - on Playaway
Civil War, The - A Narrative, Vol II, Frederick...
by Shelby Foote, Grover Gardner (Narrator) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
71
Franklin: Writings
Franklin: Writings
by Benjamin Franklin 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
The Age of Reform
The Age of Reform
by Richard Hofstadter 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
73
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,
by Robert A. Caro 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
That Dark and Bloody River
That Dark and Bloody River
by Allan W. Eckert 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide
Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian G...
by Andrea Lee Smith 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
77
American Indian Activism: ALCATRAZ TO THE LONGEST WALK
American Indian Activism: ALCATRAZ TO THE LONGE...
by Duane Champagne 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
78
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great D...
by Amity Shlaes 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
79
Red Power: The American Indians' Fight for Freedom, Second Edition
Red Power: The American Indians' Fight for Free...
by Joane Nagel 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
80
The War Of American Independence
The War Of American Independence
by Don Higginbotham 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
81
The Broken Circle
The Broken Circle
by Rodney Barker 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
82
Fredericksburg To Meridian,  Part 2 Of 3
Fredericksburg To Meridian, Part 2 Of 3
by Shelby Foote 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Iron-Jawed Angels
Iron-Jawed Angels
by Linda G. Ford 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
by Gordon S. Wood 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
87
In Search of History
In Search of History
by Theodore H. White 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
87
The Great Plains
The Great Plains
by Walter Prescott Webb 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
90
Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story
Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story
by Mark L. Shurtleff 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
91
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
93
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
by Richard Rhodes 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
95
Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop
Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop
by Edmund S. Morgan 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
W.E.B. Dubois: Biography of a Race
W.E.B. Dubois: Biography of a Race
by David Levering Lewis 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
98
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and R...
by H.W. Brands 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
99
Turner and the Sociology of the Frontier
Turner and the Sociology of the Frontier
by Richard Hofstadter 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
100
America at 1750: A Social Portrait
America at 1750: A Social Portrait
by Richard Hofstadter 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
List started by: Cindy (votes)
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comments (showing 1-7 of 7) (7 new)

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message 1: by Mackay (new)

Nophoto-f-25x33 Cincinnatus: by Garry Wills.

That's the best American History book.


message 2: by Travis (new)

1729891 So why isn't it up there? I mean, if you think it's the best then it should have at least one vote right?


message 3: by Susanna (new)

1109068 How is The Rape of Nanking about American history?


message 4: by Ann (new)

1633799 Who on earth selected these books? These are supposed to be the BEST of American History Books? Where is Shelby Foote or Bruce Catton? Where is a decent history of the American Revolution? Where is there a history of Political Parties in the US?
Some of these authors are inferior in writing on the subject matter. It is not only important to learn about our history, but to learn about it from leaders in the field of the subject matter. Where is the Viet Nam War?


message 5: by Ann (new)

1633799 How are books by Mc Cain, Hillary & Bill Clinton insightful into our American History?


message 6: by Susanna (new)

1109068 It's pretty easy to add books, over at the right side of the page.


message 7: by Susanna (new)

1109068 A Bright Shining Lie is about Vietnam, as is Dispatches.

Shelby Foote is on the list, on page two.

There are plenty of books on the list that are either about the American Revolution, or are biographies of the people involved in it.

And the books were selected by the people who have chosen to vote on this list.


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