United States (Overview) - Further Reading

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United States (Overview)

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Exploration and expansion of the United States

Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. Simon & Schuster, 1996. Account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Bartlett, Richard A. New Country: A Social History of the American Frontier, 1776-1890. Oxford University Press, 1974, 1986. Territorial expansion during the 1800s.

Goetzmann, William H. Exploration and Empire. Texas State Historical Association, 1993. Pulitzer Prize-winning account of exploration of American West; first published in 1966.

Herb, Angela M. Beyond the Mississippi: Early Westward Expansion of the United States. Lodestar, 1996. A personal perspective on the westward movement.

Jones, Howard, and Donald A. Rakestraw. Prologue to Manifest Destiny: Anglo-American Relations in the 1840s. Scholarly Resources, 1997. History of boundary disputes in the early 1800s.

Maddow, Ben. A Sunday Between Wars: The Building of American Life from 1865 to 1917. Norton, 1979. Primary sources reveal major social issues.

Morrison, Michael A. Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War. University of North Carolina Press, 1997. History of the growth of sectionalism prior to the Civil War.

Nobles, Gregory H. American Frontiers: Cultural Encounters and Continental Conquest. Hill & Wang, 1997. History of continental expansion in the United States.

Smith, Page. The Rise of Industrial Democracy: A People's History of the Post-Reconstruction Era. McGraw-Hill, 1984. Emphasis on the battle between labor and capital in the late 19th century.

Stephanson, Anders. Manifest Destiny: American Expansionism and the Empire of Right. Hill & Wang, 1995. Broad history of expansionism from colonial times through the 20th century.

Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. HarperCollins, 1988. Frenchman's keen observations on America during presidency of Andrew Jackson; originally published in 2 volumes, 1835-1840.

Trask, David F. The War with Spain in 1898. Macmillan, 1981, 1996. History and consequences.

Turner, Frederick Jackson, and John Mack Faragher. Rereading Frederick Jackson Turner: “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” and Other Essays. Holt, 1994. Ten of Turner's essays with introductions and a concluding essay.

Wexler, Alan, and Carl Waldman, eds. Atlas of Westward Expansion. Facts on File, 1995. Numerous maps, photographs, and drawings with accompanying text.

United States (Culture)

Baym, Nina, and others, eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Norton, 1998. Selection of American fiction and critical essays.

Berman, Morris. The Twilight of American Culture. Norton, 2000. Argues that America is rapidly approaching a period of increased social chaos.

Bordman, Gerald, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press, 1992. Comprehensive reference work.

Bryson, Bill. Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. Avon, 1996. A highly readable and entertaining excursion through the history and development of American English.

Denning, Michael. The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century. Verso, 1998. A reassessment of U.S. cultural history with a focus on the 1930s as the catalyst.

Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Norton, 1998. A portrait of America's architectural diversity.

Hart, James David, and Phillip Leininger, eds. The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press, 1995. Comprehensive reference work.

Haskell, Barbara. American Century: Art and Culture, 1900-1950. Norton, 1999. Catalogue for an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art celebrating the millennium.

Hitchcock, H. Wiley, and Stanley Sadie, eds. The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Macmillan, 1986. Standard reference on all aspects of American music; includes classical and popular.

Hughes, Robert. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. Knopf, 1997. Readable, opinionated history of 350 years of art.

Phillips, Lisa. The American Century: Art and Culture, 1950-2000. Norton, 1999. Focuses on those who propelled American art through five turbulent decades.

Sklar, Robert. Movie-Made America. Random House, 1994. Examines the cultural history of movies in the United States.

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United States (Economy)

Anderson, Rolf. Atlas of the American Economy. Congressional Quarterly, 1994. Provides a framework for understanding the U.S. economy today.

Atack, Jeremy, and Peter Passell. A New Economic View of American History from Colonial Times to 1940. Norton, 1994. A clearly written introduction to American economic history for the non-specialist.

Beard, Charles. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. Reprint, Transaction, 1998. A classic work that assesses the economic aims of the framers of the Constitution, first published in 1913.

Cohen, Lizabeth. A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. Knopf, 2003. A professor of American Studies at Harvard University examines the effects of mass consumerism on social, economic, and cultural life in the United States since World War II.

Gordon, John Steele. An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of Economic Power. HarperCollins, 2004. Lively narrative of innovation and invention.

Heilbroner, Robert, and Aaron Singer. The Economic Transformation of America: 1600 to the Present. Harcourt Brace College, 1998. A history of economic conditions and industrialization.

Hughes, Jonathan, and Louis P. Cain. American Economic History. Addison-Wesley, 2002. A textbook history of the U.S. economy.

Stein, Herbert, and Murray Foss. The Illustrated Guide to the American Economy. Rev. 3rd ed. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1999. Helpful guide for those who want to better understand economic news.

United States (Geography)

Jackson, John Brinckerhoff. Ed. Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz. Landscape in Sight: Looking at America. Yale University Press, 1997. A collection of essays in appreciation of American landscapes.

Mattson, Mark T. Color Atlas of the States. Macmillan, 1996. Information on the physical, economic, and human geography of each state.

McKnight, Tom L. Regional Geography of the United States and Canada. Prentice Hall, 2000. Description and development of North American landscapes.

National Geographic Society. Heart of a Nation: Writers and Photographers Inspired by the American Landscape. National Geographic Society, 2000. Seventeen well-known writers and photographers look at America's natural beauty.

Shelley, Fred M., and others, eds. Political Geography of the United States. Guilford, 1996. The influence of geography on politics in U.S. history.

Wexler, Alan, and Carl Waldman. The Atlas of Westward Expansion. Facts on File, 1995. Maps the growth of the United States from the 1750s to the early 1900s.

United States (Government)

Barone, Michael, and Grant Ujifusa. The Almanac of American Politics 2000. National Journal Group, 1999. Information about national, state, and local governments, including profiles of members of Congress and governors.

Burns, James MacGregor and others. Government by the People. Prentice-Hall, 1997. Excellent introduction to the American political system.

Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. Knopf, 1987. A classic by a respected historian.

LaFeber, Walter. The American Age: United States Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad since 1750. Norton, 1994, 1996. A comprehensive look at American foreign policy.

Pious, Richard M., and Donald A. Ritchie. The Oxford Essential Guide to the U.S. Government. Berkley, 2000. A thorough guide to the branches and workings of the U.S. government.

Reichley, James. The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Traces the development of political parties from Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson to contemporary politics.

Rossiter, Clinton. The American Presidency. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. A classic view of the evolution of presidential powers and assessments of the men who held the office.

Wetterau, Bruce. Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on American Government. Congressional Quarterly, 1997. Answers to common questions about the U.S. government.

Wilson, James Q., and John J. Dilulio. American Government: The Essentials. Houghton Mifflin, 1995. A respected textbook.

United States (History)

Adams, James Truslow, and others, eds. Dictionary of American History. Scribner, 1976-1978. 1996. Articles by experts; concise edition published in 1983.

Boorstin, Daniel J. The Americans. Random House, 1958-1973, 1984-1985. How Europeans became Americans.

Bruun, Erik, and Jay Crosby, eds. Our Nation's Archive: The History of the United States in Documents. Black Dog & Leventhal, 1999. More than 1,000 primary sources and documents.

Faragher, John Mack, ed. The American Heritage Encyclopedia of American History. Holt, 1998. Current source with almost 3,000 entries and numerous photos.

Foner, Eric, and John A. Garraty, eds. The Reader's Companion to American History. Houghton, 1991. Substantial alphabetical entries on full range of topics.

Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition, and the Men Who Made It. Knopf, Reprint Vintage, 1973. 1989. Analyzes the careers of Jefferson, Jackson, Calhoun, Bryan, the Roosevelts, Wilson, Hoover, and others.

Jenkins, Philip. A History of the United States. St. Martin's, 1997. General survey with emphasis on culture and religion.

McPherson, James, ed. To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents. Dorling Kindersley, 2000. A comprehensive survey.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Growth of the American Republic. Oxford University Press, 1980. Classic work on American history.

Morris, Richard B., and Jeffrey B. Morris, eds. Encyclopedia of American History. HarperCollins, 1996. Chronological, topical, biographical.

Pohanka, Brian C. An Illustrated History of the Civil War: Images of an American Tragedy. Time-Life Education, 2000. Photographs from the finest archival collections.

Sandler, Martin W. America! A Celebration. Dorling Kindersley, 2000. A historical tribute to America with more than 1,000 photographs.

Virga, Vincent, and Alan Brinkley. Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States. Knopf, 1997. Numerous photos and illustrations.

Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. W. W. Norton., 2005. A lengthy and detailed account of the growth of democracy in the United States, culminating with the debate over slavery and the subsequent Civil War.

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. HarperCollins, 1999. History from the perspective of the poor and disadvantaged.

United States (People)

Anderson, Margo J. The American Census: A Social History. Yale University Press, 1990, 1993. Detailed history of the U.S. census and its uses.

Bailyn, Bernard. The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction. Knopf, 1986. Immigration prior to the American Revolution.

Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. Random House, 1998. A tribute to those who lived through the Great Depression and World War II.

Brooks, David. Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. Simon & Schuster, 2000. An irreverent and insightful critique of American's growing class of the newly rich.

Cayton, Mary Kupiec, and others, eds. Encyclopedia of American Social History. Gale, 1993. Essays of many aspects of American life and customs, for high school readers and up.

Daniels, Roger. Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. HarperCollins, 1991. Traces immigration to America by nationality.

Flanders, Stephen A. Facts on File, 1998. From pre-Columbian migrations to the present.

Hakim, Joy. A History of US. Oxford University Press, 1998. Tells the story of America, starting with Native American settlements; written for younger readers, but enjoyable for adults as well.

Hoxie, Frederick E. Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Reprint Diane Publishing, 1999. Includes 400 entries on Native American groups, individuals, rituals and beliefs, and present-day issues.

Mattson, Mark, and Molefi K. Asante. The African-American Atlas: Black History and Culture. Macmillan, 1998. An illustrated history of the African American people and culture.

USA: 20th-century history

Allen, Frederick Lewis. The Big Change: America Transforms Itself, 1900-1950. Harper, Reprint, Transaction, 1952. 1993. Panorama of individuals, events, trends, and ideas.

Associated Press. Twentieth-Century America: A Primary Source Collection from the Associated Press. Grolier, 1995. Primary source tool for high school readers.

Cooke, Alistair. America Observed: From the 1940s to the 1980s. Knopf, 1988. Fifty-eight brief essays on American life and customs.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed. Pantheon, 1990. A lively critique of excesses during the presidencies of Reagan and Bush.

Evans, Harold. The American Century. Knopf, 1998. A lively look at personalities and events.

Farber, David R., ed. The Sixties: From Memory to History. University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Anthology of essays about changes.

Gates, Henry Louis, and Cornel West. The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century. Free Press, 2000. The historical impact of black culture in American society.

Gitlin, Todd. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. Bantam, 1987. A look back at a turbulent decade of change and activism.

Gordon, Lois, and Alan Gordon. American Chronicle: Seven Decades in American Life, 1920-1989. Crown, 1990. A year-by-year examination of popular culture.

Grossman, James R. A Chance to Make Good: African Americans, 1900-1929. Oxford University Press, 1997. History for middle school to adult readers.

Grunwald, Lisa, and Stephen J. Adler, eds. Letters of the Century: America, 1900-1999. Dell, 1999. A compilation of more than 400 letters depicting life in the 1900s.

Kutler, Stanley I., ed. Encyclopedia of America in the Twentieth Century. Scribner, 1995. General reference source.

Link, William A., and Arthur S. Link. American Epoch. McGraw-Hill, 1993. History from 1900.

Macedo, Stephen, ed. Reassessing the Sixties: Debating the Political and Cultural Legacy. Norton, 1997. Ten essays evaluating the lasting impact of the decade.

Morgan, Iwan W., and Neil A. Wynn, eds. America's Century: Perspectives on U.S. History Since 1900. Holmes & Meier, 1993. Collection of essays addressing major events and issues.

Stolley, Richard B., and Tony Chiu, eds. Life: Century of Change: American in Pictures, 1900-2000. Bulfinch, 2000. Concentrates on the cultural, social, and artistic aspects of 20th-century America.

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