America at 250: Books for Adults

Reflect on American history and the founding of the United States with these books for the semiquincentennial.

Updated June 30, 2026
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American inheritance : liberty and slavery in the birth of a nation, 1765-1795
Larson, Edward J.
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023 From a Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful history that reveals how the twin strands of liberty and slavery were joined in the nation's founding. New attention...
The last king of America : the misunderstood reign of George III
Roberts, Andrew
Ebook
From the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill and Napoleon The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating--and...
The American Revolution : an intimate history
Ward, Geoffrey C.
Ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts, and others: a richly illustrated, human-centered history of America's founding struggle--expanding on the landmark, six-part PBS series ...
Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction "A fascinating and moving account of a courageous and resourceful woman. Beautifully written and utilizing previously untapped sources it sheds new light both on the father of our country and on the intersections of slavery and...
The Indian world of George Washington : the first President, the first Americans, and the birth of the nation
Calloway, Colin G.
Paper Book
A biography of America's founding father and those on whose land he based the nation's future George Washington dominates the narrative of the nation's birth, yet American history has largely forgotten what he knew: that the country's fate depended less on grand rhetorical statements of independence...
The American Revolution and the fate of the world
Bell, Richard
Ebook
"American history as if from a barstool, not a lecture podium. Giddy, rollicking, and bold." -Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master Slave Husband Wife "Accessible and impassioned entry to anyone interested in understanding the nation's founding from a dazzling,...

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