Have you ever read a book on US history? Even though these works are often avoided because of boring readers with lots of dry facts, there are engaging books and textbooks that one can enjoy.
This fascinating topic can be fun to explore as long as it doesn’t include much academic discussion. Some textbooks are predominantly used as educational tools for middle schoolers and college students. Others address hard topics and are better suited for adults.
Have a look at this choice of top seven American and US history books.
American History, Combined Edition
Thomas Kidd’s textbook is a combination of two volumes, the first of which dates back to 1492 when Columbus explored the Native American cultures. The second lists the events after Columbus until modern times. The author uses clear prose to discuss the founders and all the other individuals who had an impact on the events in history. Find out more about the life and the first voyage of Christopher Columbus.
Students showing an interest in learning about the past of their nation would find this textbook ideal. Also, it can take the role of an educational tool for individuals of older age who wish to remind themselves of the history lessons they had in school. It’s considered an excellent textbook for beginners and intermediate students. The academic character of the textbook makes it unsuitable for people looking for non-academic information.
Everything You Need to Ace American History
This book serves the purpose of a study guide for middle school students, as it contains all the necessary information they need to study at school. It contains numerous units to facilitate the process of information digesting. Colonial America is where the book starts and takes readers through the war for the purpose of explaining the Western expansion.
Moreover, this study guide covers 1900s events, including the Civil Rights Movement, the First and Second World War, etc. While it’s an excellent study tool for middle schoolers, it’s not appropriate for adults.
The US. History
US history is an excellent academic textbook covering a vast number of topics. It discusses ideas and events that played a role in the development of the country. A part of the book is focused on politics, diplomatic relations, and economics, which are known as concepts of great importance. There is a list of American history books for readers to check out before making a choice. Each one describes the nation’s history in a different manner.
Apart from political and economic concepts, US History includes people’s experiences, which make the text easy to read. Most importantly, the textbook puts an emphasis on class, race, and gender, affecting the treatment of individuals in society. The ultimate point is to teach readers that treatment depends on skin color and wealth. Nevertheless, the concept of the book is meant for a classroom setting not to be read at home. Consequently, people reading this work at home won’t consider it very pleasant to read.
A History of US
This piece of work isn’t just one tome but includes eleven paperback books. All of them provide a comprehensive historical portrait. Each volume covers a different topic, such as war horrors, terror attacks, etc. For instance, terror attacks are described in the book Or All the People. Although it’s written for kids, plenty of adults find it equally riveting.
Since it’s designed for kids, the book excludes brutal details of events. A large number of critics think of the book as one of the best non-fiction series in the market for children. The only disadvantage of this work would be the high price, which is normal, as the set contains eleven books.
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
The voices of Native Americans aren’t exactly present in US history literature. Therefore, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz wrote this masterpiece to give voice to ingenious people. It covers a period of 400 years, during which Natives struggled under imperialism.
Being a right activist has helped Roxanne to write a riveting book on genocide and colonialism. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how colonialism influenced the nation. It’s designed for adolescents, but it doesn’t mean adults cannot enjoy the read. Anyhow, this text isn’t recommended to individuals who don’t like reading hard topics. The following link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism, explains the age, theories, issues, and justification of imperialism.
Advanced Placement United States History
This book is used as a textbook in AP US history courses, specially designed for this purpose. It includes all the necessary material for the college-level AP course along with review questions and study tools to help students remember the information much better.
Besides providing educational information, this book discusses the structure of AP tests and the grading criteria. Also, it provides students with essay prompts, which are similar to those they’ll receive at the exam. There are sample questions as well, offering indispensable practice for students before taking the exam. Nevertheless, apart from AP students, no other person would stand to gain from reading this reference manual.
Runaway Slaves
John Hope Franklin and Loren Scheweninger join their forces to create a masterpiece called Runaway Slaves. The title of this work contradicts the traditional depiction of slaves as obedient people who had their fate determined by their owners. The authors, however, use newspapers, court records, and letters to show that slaves resisted their owners both directly and indirectly.
While slaves are usually portrayed as passive victims, the authors create another image for these people by describing them as rebels. They analyze different aspects of slave resistance, such as runaway motives, passive resistance, racial violence on plantations, runaway opportunities, etc. The authors also describe the obstacles slaves faced by deciding to run away, like traveling hundreds of miles to freedom, getting drastic penalties, physical punishment, etc.
To sum up
History can be fun and engaging as long as it’s presented properly.
Make the right choice of a textbook or other work to enjoy reading!
