United States History to 1865
Love and Hate in Jamestown : John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Heart of a
New
Nation by David A. Price. 305p (975.5P945j)
Riveting story of the founding of the Virginia colony. "Combining a gift for
storytelling with meticulous scholarship...Price sorts reality from legend
in his splendid new book....it is superbly done." BookPage
The Birth of Black America: The First African Americans and the Pursuit of
Freedom at Jamestown by Tim Hashaw. 329p (305.896 HAS )
Details the history of sixty Africans stolen from a Spanish slave ship and
brought to the young struggling colony of Jamestown in 1619. "Hashaw offers
both an exciting story of crime on the high seas and a fascinating social
history of 17th-century black America." Publishers Weekly
Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream by Thomas Hoobler. 274p (975.5 HOO )
Tells the story behind the swashbuckling Smith who founded the Jamestown
colony, wrote the first book in English in America, and cheated death many
times by a mere hairbreadth. The Jamestown "saga is most engrossing,
painting a grim picture of the struggles of the colonists. . ." Booklist
Mayflower : A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick.
461p (973.22P545)
National Book Award–winner Philbrick examines the history of Plymouth
Colony. He "masterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the
settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony
from certain destruction." Publishers Weekly
New York Burning : Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in
Eighteenth-Century Manhattan by Jill Lepore. 323p (974.7102LEP)
Looks at the events in 1741 Manhattan when 200 slaves were accused of
plotting to burn down the city. "Vivid and provocative; [Lepore] evokes
eighteenth-century New York in all its moral and physical messiness." The New Yorker
American Jezebel : The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson,
the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante.
312p (973.2L316a)
"Declared an American Jezebel by Massachusetts' first governor, John
Winthrop, Hutchinson is portrayed here as a feminist and a fighter for
religious freedom, who eventually was banished to Rhode Island. As LaPlante
paints a fascinating portrait of this complex mother of 15. . .she deftly
depicts the gritty world of colonial New England, too." Booklist
1776 by David McCullough. 386p (973.3M4599s)
"A master story-teller's character driven account of a storied year in the
American Revolution. A sterling account." Kirkus
Samuel Adams : Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls. 273p
(921A211yp)
"A brief, sharply focused biography of the mastermind behind the American
colonies’ break with England, and the drive for independence...Fully
restores Adams to his rightful place as an indispensable provocateur of
American liberty." Kirkus
Founding Brothers : The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis. 304p
(973.4092E460f)
Explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed
individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and
Madison–confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course
for our nation. "A splendid book. .. humane, learned, written with flair and
radiant with a calm intelligence and wit." The New York Times Book Review
Founding Mothers : The Women Who Raised Our Nation Roberts, Cokie. 359p
(973.3ROB)
"Focusing mainly on the wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers of
the Founding Fathers, this lively and engaging title chronicles the
adventures and contributions of numerous women of the era between 1740 and
1797." School Library Journal
His Excellency : George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis. 320p (921W277e)
Biography and character study of the first president. "Beautifully written,
lively, serious, and engaging…" Boston Globe
An Imperfect God : George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of
America by Henry Wiencek. 404p (921W277i)
Examines Washington’s moral struggle with slavery. "Wiencek [is] a
masterful historian . . . His account of Washington's life-long involvement
with slavery is riveting from beginning to end." Boston Globe
John Adams by David McCullough. 751p (921A182m)
Biography reestablishes Adams’ importance in the nation’s founding and
presents a vivid portrait or the man. "A masterwork of storytelling." Time
Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein. 253p (973.46J359b)
"The best short biography of Jefferson ever written...highly recommended for
those who want a brief and historically reliable account of this incredibly
complicated character.... Authoritative, judicious, clearly written and
remarkably complete." The New York Times Book Review
Adams vs. Jefferson : The Tumultuous Election of 1800 by John Ferling. 260p
(324.973F384d)
"The 2004 campaign may seem tame after historian Ferling's riveting account
of the 1800 presidential race." USA Today
Jefferson’s Great Gamble : The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and
the Men Behind the Louisiana Purchase by Charles Cerami. 272p (973.46C334j)
The story of the men and machinations behind the Louisiana Purchase.
Cerami’s "greatest achievement is to bring all of the characters
involved-not only the well-known figures like Napoleon, Jefferson and James
Monroe, but also the less famous but equally significant ones. .
.brilliantly to life." Publishers Weekly
Undaunted courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of
the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose. 511p (917.804A496u)
Ambrose follows the adventure filled Lewis and Clark expedition. "Readers
will. . .be enthralled by Ambrose's well-written account." Library Journal
James Madison by Garry Wills. 184p (973W685j)
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Wills explores the political career of the
Founding Father, looking at his achievements and flaws. "Written with flair,
this clear and balanced account is based on a sure handling of the
material." Library Journal
1812 : The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman. 349p (973.52B645e)
Details the major events and personalities of the War of 1812. "A lively
narrator and explainer of a war fought with muskets and sailing ships." Booklist
John Quincy Adams by Robert Remini. 172p (921Ad19YR)
"John and Abigail Adams's son was arguably the most brilliant man ever to
occupy the White House. He was also probably the least temperamentally fit
to do so. Nevertheless, as this straightforward biography reminds us, John
Quincy Adams (1767- 1848) led one of the longest, most illustrious and most
consequential public careers in the nation's history. . . No one who reads
this fine, short study will fail to place Adams in the pantheon of Great
Neglected Americans which is just what Remini hopes to achieve and does."
Publishers Weekly
Patriotic Fire : Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans
by Winston Groom. 336p
"Groom tells the astonishing story of how a ragtag corps of backwoodsmen,
Louisiana creoles, refugees, pirates, Indians and free African Americans
defeated a large, disciplined, experienced and professional British army at
the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815…lively and interesting." Washington Post’s Book World
Andrew Jackson by Sean Wilentz. 195p (921W676)
Princeton historian Wilentz shows that our complicated seventh president was
a central figure in the development of American democracy. . . "It is rare
that historians manage both Wilentz's deep interpretation and lively
narrative." Publishers Weekly
Andrew Jackson & His Indian Wars by Robert V. Remini. 317p (973.56R284a)
Explores Jackson’s war against Indians which included the expulsion of
Native Americans from the eastern half of the continent to the Indian
Territory beyond the Mississippi River. "Vividly written and often harrowing
. . . Remini recounts Jackson's exploits . . . with riveting narrative
prose." Chicago Tribune
The Trail of Tears by Gloria Jahoda. 356p (973.0497J253t)
Tale of the 1838 forced resettlement of the Cherokee to the western United
States.
The Oregon Trail : An American Saga by David Dary. 432p (978.02D259o)
"This is another lively work from one of our best chroniclers of the Old
West. Dary looks at the men and women who trekked the trouble-strewn paths
to the nation's northwest coast." Publishers Weekly
Blood and Thunder : The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the
American West by Hampton Sides. 460p (978.02 S568)
"Sides's main focus is the virtual decimation of the Navajo nation. . .(he)
depicts the complex role of whites in the subjugation of the Navajos through
his portrait of Kit Carson—an illiterate trapper, soldier and scout who knew
the Native Americans intimately, married two of them and, without blinking,
participated in the Indians' slaughter." Publishers Weekly
American Legend : The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett
by Buddy Levy. 339p (921C872l)
"Crockett was born in 1786 in Tennessee and died at the Alamo in 1836. In
his brief lifetime, he became a folk hero, a three-time congressman, and a
potential presidential contender. In this meticulously researched book, Levy
chronicles Crockett's remarkable rise to fame." Booklist
Sisters : The Lives of America's Suffragists by Jean H. Baker. 277p (324.6BAK)
"This fascinating collective biography features in-depth sketches of five
indispensable leaders of the American suffrage movement. Lucy Stone, Susan
B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, and Alice
Paul--stalwarts in the struggle to extend fundamental rights and freedoms to
females." Booklist
Revolutionary Heart : The Life of Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering
Crusade for Women’s Rights by Diane Eickhoff. 277p (921 N515E)
Although not as well known as Susan B. Anthony, Nichols was a courageous fighter for women’s
rights in the nineteenth century.
Slavery and the Making of America by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton.
256p (973.0496HOR)
The authors "demonstrate the vital role that blacks played in landmarks of
the American record (colonial settlement, the Revolution, westward
expansion, the Civil War, Reconstruction). . . The oft-told tale is made
fresh through up-to-date slavery scholarship, the extensive use of slave
narratives and archival photos and, especially, a focus on individual
experience." Publishers Weekly
Carry Me Back : The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life by Steven Deyle.
398p (381.44DEY)
"Historian Deyle reveals the malignant heart of that most ‘peculiar
institution,’ American slavery. Deyle's focus is the domestic buying and
selling of human beings after the abolition of the international slave trade
in 1808; the economics and unique practices of that macabre local
marketplace; and the varied individuals who engaged in and profited from the
trade." Publishers Weekly
The Rebellious Slave : Nat Turner in American Memory by Scot French. 379p
(975.5F889r)
"French explores the treatment of Nat Turner in popular American culture
from the immediate aftermath of the slave revolt he led, when authorities
were primarily concerned with preventing the spread of the rebellion, to
more contemporary views." Booklist
Frederick Douglass by William S. McFeely. 465p (921D748m)
"This excellent biography fluently tells the life story of Douglass, one of
the 19th century's most famous writers and speakers on abolitionist and
human rights causes. It traces his life from his birth as a slave in
Maryland, through his self-education, escape to freedom, and subsequent
lionization as a renowned orator in England and the United States." School
Library Journal
From Midnight to Dawn : The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad by
Jacqueline Tobin with Hettie Jones. 272p (973.7 TOB)
Tobin tells the story of the journey of slaves from as they traveled to
freedom in Canada via the underground railroad. "This is a fascinating look
at the shared history of the abolitionist movement and development of
freedmen settlements between the U.S and Canada." Booklist
Beyond the River : The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground
Railroad by Ann Hagedorn. 333p (973.7115H120b)
"Hagedorn brings to life lesser-known activists in the abolitionist movement
who led double lives in a small town torn up over the issue of slavery. She
focuses on the Reverend John Rankin, spurred by religious fervor to become a
leading abolitionist, helping escaped slaves travel on to Canada during the
early 1820s." Booklist
Freedom’s Champion--Elijah Lovejoy by Paul Simon. 206p (921L942s)
Story of the abolitionist newspaper editor who was killed by a mob in Alton,
Illinois in 1837. "Simon tells the story crisply and without the burden of a
heavy academic style. . . Highly recommended." Library Journal
War to the Knife : Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861 by Thomas Goodrich.
296p (978.1G625w)
"A history of guerrilla warfare in the western theater of the Civil War,
Goodrich turns to the rehearsal for that warfare: the "Bleeding Kansas"
struggle of 1854-61, when proslavery and free-soil militants slaughtered one
another and innocent bystanders over whether Kansas should be a slave or a
free state." Booklist
The Last Best Hope of Earth : Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America by
Mark E. Neely, Jr. 214p (921L638n)
"Smoothly written and solidly researched biography by Pulitzer- winning
historian Neely that focuses particularly on the moral dilemmas and
accomplishments of Lincoln during his presidency and years in public
office." Kirkus Reviews
Abraham Lincoln, The Man Behind the Myths by Stephen B. Oates. 224p
(921L638o)
"Engaging, informative. . .Oates seeks to separate the real Lincoln from the
myth-encrusted figure he has become in popular thought." Library Journal
The Radical and the Republican : Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and
the Triumph of Antislavery Politics by James Oakes. 328p (973.7 OAK)
"The perennial tension between principle and pragmatism in politics frames
this engaging account of two Civil War Era icons. . .Historian Oakes charts
the course by which Douglass and Lincoln, initially far apart on the
antislavery spectrum, gravitated toward each other." Publishers Weekly
The Civil War by Bruce Catton. 382p (973.7CAT)
Presents an illustrated history of the Civil War. "A glowing companion
volume to the celebrated PBS television series that is informative and
poignant." Publishers Weekly
Uncommon Valor : A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final
Battles of the Civil War by Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls. 231p (921 C582U)
"The terrible, but ultimately victorious, 1864 assault on New Market
Heights, a vital outpost in the defense of Richmond, VA, forms the
centerpiece of Claxton and Puls's Civil War history, which highlights the
bravery and sacrifice of African-American troops." Publishers Weekly
Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns
Goodwin. 916p (973.7092GOO)
"Splendid, beautifully written....Goodwin has brilliantly woven scores of
contemporary accounts...into a fluid narrative....This is the most richly
detailed account of the Civil War presidency to appear in many years." Los Angeles Times
Manhunt : The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. 448p
(364.152SWA)
"The story is shot through with breathless, vivid, even gory detail. With a
deft, probing style and no small amount of swagger, Swanson, a member of the
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, has crafted pure narrative pleasure, sure
to satisfy the casual reader and Civil War aficionado alike." Publishers Weekly
