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
A literary landmark: the biggest, most ambitious anthology of Black poetry ever published, gathering 250 poets from the colonial period to the present Across a turbulent history, from such vital centers as Harlem, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, Black...
And there was light : Abraham Lincoln and the American struggle
Meacham, Jon
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . Pulitzer Prize-winning biographerJon 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 given us...
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...
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. ...
An indigenous peoples' history of the United States
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller This American Book Award winning title about Native American struggle and resistance radically reframes more than 400 years of US history   A New York Times Bestseller and the basis for the HBO docu-series Exterminate All the...
Mailman : my wild ride delivering the mail in Appalachia and finally finding home
Grant, Stephen Starring
Paper Book
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...
The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home
Haygood, Wil
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR * Award-winning author and journalist Wil Haygood explores how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans--fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home--and a powerful lens through which to...
We refuse : a forceful history of Black resistance
Jackson, Kellie Carter
Paper Book
An "unsparing, erudite, and incisive" (Jelani Cobb, staff writer, The New Yorker) reframing of the past and present of Black resistance--both nonviolent and violent--to white supremacy Named a Best Book of 2024 by Smithsonian * Kirkus *...
Well of souls : uncovering the banjo's hidden history
Gaddy, K. R.
Paper Book
One of The New Yorker's Best Books of the Year Named one of the Most Memorable Music Books of the Year by No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music An illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music....
The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier
Nelson, Megan Kate
Paper Book
"A uniquely compelling look at the dynamism and conflict that defined the West" (Booklist), shattering the traditional frontier myth that has dominated popular American culture. "A richly layered portrait of the nineteenth-century frontier" (Publishers Weekly,...

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