Topic
American History
10 reading guides and book lists curated by the Editors Reads team.
10 posts
Where to Start with Doris Kearns Goodwin: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Doris Kearns Goodwin — whether to begin with Team of Rivals, No Ordinary Time, or Leadership. A complete reading guide to the presidential biographer.
Where to Start with Ron Chernow: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Ron Chernow — whether to begin with Alexander Hamilton, Washington: A Life, or Grant. A complete reading guide to the American presidential biographer.
Best Biography Books: Essential Reading in Life Writing
The best biography books — from The Power Broker and Alexander Hamilton to Educated and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Essential biography and memoir reading.
Best Books About Poverty and Inequality: Essential Non-Fiction and Fiction
The best books about poverty and inequality — from The Grapes of Wrath and Shuggie Bain to The Warmth of Other Suns and The New Jim Crow. Essential reading.
Best Books About American Political History: Essential Presidential Biographies
The best books about American political history — from Team of Rivals and The Power Broker to Alexander Hamilton and The Path to Power. Essential presidential biographies.
Best History Books of All Time: Essential Reading List
The best history books ever written — from Sapiens and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to Why Nations Fail and Team of Rivals. History that changes how you understand the present.
Best Vietnam War Books: Essential Fiction and Non-Fiction
The best Vietnam War books — from The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato to The Quiet American and Tree of Smoke. Essential Vietnam War fiction and history.
Robert Caro Books in Order: Complete Bibliography & Best Starting Points
Robert Caro's complete bibliography in order — from The Power Broker to the Years of Lyndon Johnson series. Best starting points for new readers.
Where to Start with David McCullough: A Reading Guide
Where to start with David McCullough — whether to begin with John Adams, 1776, Truman, or The Wright Brothers. A complete reading guide.
Books Like Lincoln in the Bardo: Grief, the Afterlife, and Experimental Form
George Saunders's novel of Abraham Lincoln grieving his dead son in a graveyard full of ghosts refusing to move on won the Booker Prize and redefined what a novel can be. These books share its formal experimentation, its tenderness toward the dead, and its belief that grief is political.
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