20 Great U.S. History Books for July 4

by Michael Auslin

Welcome reading in this bisesquicentennial year. Full review >

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by H.W. Brands

The one biography of Washington to read in this semiquicentennial year. Full review >

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by Brady J. Crytzer

A fine reminder that a revolution first united our nation, but roads kept it united. Full review >

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by Christa Dierksheide and Nicholas Guyatt

A nuanced history of the giant mote in the eye of the great thinker and revolutionary. Full review >

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by Melvin Patrick Ely

A book with its share of surprises about how enslaved and enslaver found ways to navigate the “curious institution.” Full review >

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by Craig Fehrman

A valuable fresh look at a storied moment in American history. Full review >

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by Beverly Gage

An earnest and gracefully written, if not especially revelatory, tour of America’s contested memory. Full review >

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by Jarvis R. Givens

A necessary and urgent account for this current moment. Full review >

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by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

A charged renunciation of American unfreedom that could not be timelier. Full review >

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by David McKean & M. Todd Bennett

A richly detailed, thought-provoking celebration of American independence. Full review >

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by Jon Meacham

Evocative and impeccably curated—reframing America’s past to inform a more democratic and vigilant future. Full review >

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by Megan Kate Nelson

A useful survey of the “messy, complicated lives of the real people who built the West.” Full review >

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by Norah O'Donnell with Kate Andersen Brower

An inspiring contribution to the 250th celebration of the nation’s founding. Full review >

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by Susan Eva O'Donovan

A novel contribution to the literature of enslavement. Full review >

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by Sarah M.S. Pearsall

A revealing study of the global dimensions of America’s war for independence. Full review >

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