History / United States Books

This large, lavishly illustrated, single-volume history of the United States has been a standard for years. From the Native American experience before Columbus to the Clinton Administration, Tindall and Shi provide a narrative that includes major events and personalities while paying attention to the culture of everyday life. With over a hundred maps and illustrations.

The 1893 Chicago World's Fair is the setting for this true account of two very different men: the celebrated architect Daniel H. Burnham who designed and supervised the construction of the "White City" around which the fair was built, and H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett), a fiendishly clever serial killer posing as a doctor who murdered scores of people, mostly young women, in his World's Fair Hotel, which contained a gas chamber and a handy crematorium for disposing of his victims. Telling their entwined stories in alternating points of view, Erik Larson illuminates the lives of these two men, but provides insightful commentary on the changes that were taking place in American society that allowed both phenomena--a grandiose World's Fair and a string of unsolved murders--to take place. The book contains cameo appearances by such late-19th-century celebrities as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.

David McCullough is known for his scholarly yet readable accounts of historical events and people's lives. Fans of his biography of John Adams will find the same narrative skill in 1776, his history of the first year of the America's war for independence from Britain. General Washington is at the center of this history, but important too are the citizen-soldiers of the Continental Army, who seemed at first to be at a disadvantage compared to the well-trained and equipped British led by General Howe. Luck and pluck and good old American know-how helped even the odds, but the first year was a struggle. The difficult terrain and the weather affected all the troops, and there were victories and defeats on both sides. In his compellingly fresh accounts of important battles such as the Siege of Boston and the Battle for Brooklyn, McCullough takes familiar events of classroom history and makes them new. Includes maps, drawings, letters, and portraits in black-and-white and in color. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2005.

This group portrait of the Founding Fathers emphasizes the sometimes intense associations and rivalries among Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and Washington.The author examines six defining moments when the personal and the political collided, and shows how their distinctive styles and visions forged a new nation. A New York Times Notable Book for 2001.

This biography of the second President of the United States is by the esteemed historian whose biography TRUMAN won a Pulitzer Prize. McCullough tells of Adams's life as a farmer and lawyer, his relationship with his beloved Abigail, and the role he played in the turbulent events which led to the founding of a nation. He explores his relationships with the other Founding Fathers, especially the important differences with his rival, Thomas Jefferson. A New York Times Editors' Choice selection for 2001.

In 1860, in Chicago, Illinois, the Republican Party made a historic choice when it selected Abraham Lincoln to be its candidate for the presidency. The choice stunned each of Lincoln's three rival candidates--William Henry Seward of New York; Salmon P. Chase of Ohio; and Edward Bates of Missouri--all of whom were better known nationally and better connected politically--and each of whom thought he himself would win. Even more surprising, but indicative of his character, is that Lincoln asked these three rivals to join his cabinet, which they did--and they made it work. In a rich historical narrative, Doris Kearns Goodwin brings to life each of these figures, showing their significant individual contributions as well as how they challenged the president and sometimes stung him. What come across is a deep psychological portrait of Lincoln as a great conciliator and man of vision, always putting the greater good before expediency. And while much has been made of Lincoln's melancholy, it is also true that he was good in company, a born storyteller and jokester. Lincoln is perhaps the most written-about president in history, but in this group biography, Goodwin manages to find some new perspectives on Lincoln and his times. A New York Times Notable Book for the year 2005.

The Nebraskan town of North Platte, now dotted with stripmalls and fast food restaurants, lies on the rail line where, sixty years ago, American soldiers preparing to head off to World War II would stop. The hospitality they received there was a homegrown sort, volunteered by the citizens of North Platte and topped off with hot coffee. Chicago Tribune columnist Green takes a look back at what made North Platte such an exceptional town.

THE PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES presents what has come to be called "history from the bottom up," as it tells America's national narrative in a way that is inclusive of those previously left out of, or marginalized by, standard histories.

This classic in African American studies was first published in 1947; it has been a standard text ever since, and has been revised several times. Professors Franklin and Moss provide a comprehensive survey of the African American experience--including slavery, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights movement--and highlight movements of self-determination and the struggle for equality.

Stephen Ambrose's long fascination with the journey of Lewis and Clark led him to write this book. He chronicles the expedition and shares his knowledge of and passion for the landscape of the trail followed by the two captains, and he also tells the story of Meriwether Lewis's life after the expedition. Captain Lewis was a celebrity in the first decade of the nineteenth century, but despite the patronage of his mentor, President Thomas Jefferson, and the admiration inspired by his trailblazing journey, he was unable to parley his fame into any successful career, and his life ended violently while he was still in his thirties.

Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for having been one of the more active and robust of the presidents; the former Rough Rider boxed, hiked, and went on safari. He was also interested in nature, science, and exploration. Following his ignominious defeat in the 1912 election, Roosevelt went on safari in Brazil with the famous explorer Candido Rondon. In THE RIVER OF DOUBT, National Geographic writer Candice Millard recounts their journey, which was filled with adventure as well as danger, as she tells how Roosevelt, Rondon, and their party discovered and charted The River of Doubt, a hitherto unexplored branch of the Amazon River. Roosevelt wrote about this trip in his THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS, and Millard places the events in historical context. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2005.

Full of dramatic survivor stories and vivid storm descriptions, this fast-paced historical analysis chronicles the events surrounding the devastating 1900 Galveston hurricane, and asserts that the city's Weather Bureau--and its head meteorologist Isaac Cline--grossly underestimated Galveston's vulnerability to storms.

In this second volume of Thompson's Gonzo Papers, the legendary writer and raconteur unloads both barrels squarely between the eyes of the "me" generation of the 1980s, attacking stupidity and weakness in all their guises.

Thomas Paine's classic treatise on government in general, and on life under English rule, was first published in January, 1776, and is one of the primary texts of the revolutionary period. In it, Paine argues for the need for independence from England.