America 250

Books celebrating the tapestry of American experiences for the Semiquincentennial

Updated May 28, 2026
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African American poetry : 250 years of struggle & song
Young, Kevin
Paper Book
Taking the measure of the tradition in a single indispensable volume, African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song sets a new standard for a genuinely deep engagement with Black poetry and its essential expression of American genius.
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 ...
And there was light : Abraham Lincoln and the American struggle
Meacham, Jon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting how--and why--he confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America. "Meacham has...
Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms
Bennett, Geoff
Paper Book
The award-winning co-anchor of PBS NewsHour presents a sweeping and insightful retrospective on the history of Black comedy in America. Black comedians have long played a pivotal role in shaping the American sense of humor. The 1990s showcased a golden era for Black comedy,...
Book Lovers' New England: A Guide to Literary Landmarks
Moeschen, Sheila
Paper Book
New England is one of the most storied regions of America, home to a host of literary icons. Who were the people behind the pages? Book Lovers' New England answers this question by bringing readers on a fascinating and lively tour of the places and locations that shaped the contributions of...
Changes in the land : Indians, colonists, and the ecology of New England
Cronon, William.
Paper Book
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize Changes in the Land offers an original and persuasive interpretation of the changing circumstances in New England's plant and animal communities that occurred with the shift from Indian to European dominance. With the tools of both...
Cuba : an American history
Ferrer, Ada
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY "Full of...lively insights and lucid prose" (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States--from before the...
The Flag Was Still There: A History of the American Experiment in Five Anniversaries
McKean, David
Paper Book
A clear-eyed yet hopeful history of the United States, revisiting the state of the union every fifty years since America's birth America is the rare country that was founded on an idea, and it was a truly radical idea for its time: the belief that the people of a country could...
History matters
McCullough, David G.
Paper Book
In this posthumous collection of thought-provoking essays--many never published before--Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author David McCullough affirms the value of history, how we can be guided by its lessons, and the enduring legacy of American ideals. ...
Mailman : my wild ride delivering the mail in Appalachia and finally finding home
Grant, Stephen Starring
Paper Book
An exuberant, hilarious, and profound memoir by a mailman in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, who found that working for the post office saved his life, taught him who he was, gave him purpose, and educated him deeply about a country he loves but had lost touch with. ...
The New York game : baseball and the rise of a new city
Baker, Kevin
Audiobook
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * Sports Illustrated #1 Book of 2024 * A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game's beginnings to the end of World War II. "You're going to...
Rush : revolution, madness, and the visionary doctor who became a founding father
Fried, Stephen
Paper Book
The monumental life of Benjamin Rush, medical pioneer and one of our most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers   FINALIST FOR THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BOOK PRIZE * AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR   By the time he was thirty, Dr....
Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History
Fisher, Linford D
Paper Book
Although the first enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619, European slavery in America began more than a century before. In a work distinguished not only by its original research but by its "passionate prose" (James F. Brooks), historian Linford Fisher demonstrates how the enslavement of...
This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark
Fehrman, Craig
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A major revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition: For the first time in a generation, This Vast Enterprise offers a fresh and more accurate account of one of the most important episodes in American history, humanizing forgotten figures and...
We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America
O'Donnell, Norah
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A vivid portrait of the unsung American women from 1776 to today who changed the course of history in their fight for freedom and helped shape a more perfect union "This terrific book reveals the central, though often hidden role that women...
Well of souls : uncovering the banjo's hidden history
Gaddy, K. R.
Paper Book
In an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, Kristina Gaddy uncovers the banjo's key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. Through meticulous research in diaries, letters, archives, and art, she traces the banjo's beginnings from the seventeenth century, when...

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