|
|
Books about the United States for Teens |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
Helen Keller's personal recollections and correspondence reveal her relationship with her beloved teacher, Annie Sullivan, and the problems and obstacles she encountered as she struggled to overcome her disabilities.
|
|
|
|
Profiles in Courage
by John F. Kennedy
An unprecedented illustrated version of the president's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, written in 1956, of eight heroic U.S. senators features more than 150 full-color and black-and-white photographs, paintings, and drawings.
|
|
|
Books about How Economics Works (the Very Practical Side, Not Theory)
|
|
|
|
Girls who Run the World: 31 CEOs who Mean Business
by Diana Kapp
An empowering collection of short biographies introduces 31 leading businesswomen in a range of companies, including Jenn Hyman of Rent the Runway, Emma Mcilroy of Wildfang and Diane Campbell of The Candy Store. A first book.
|
|
|
|
Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives
by Albert Marrin
An introduction to the role of oil as an essential resource that drives the modern world explains its use in everyday products and tools while revealing how oil has influenced every aspect of today's economy, politics and culture. By the author of Sitting Bull and His World.
|
|
|
Books about Voting and the Three Branches of Government
|
|
|
|
Americapedia: Taking the Dumb out of Freedom
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
A primer of critical events in American history and the structure of the U.S. government provides insight into the American electoral system, the world economy, the role religion plays in world conflicts and America's place in world affairs.
|
|
|
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History
by Karen Blumenthal
The author of Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different presents an accessible, carefully researched portrait of the former first lady, senator and secretary of state that traces her unconventional upbringing, political achievements and devotion to activist causes.
|
|
|
|
Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary
by Martha Brockenbrough
A richly illustrated portrait of the Founding Father and first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury describes his experiences as an illegitimate orphan, soldier, friend, philanderer, political firebrand and financial whiz whose groundbreaking policies continue to shape today's American government.
|
|
|
|
Unpresidented: A Biography of Donald Trump
by Martha Brockenbrough
A meticulously researched, provocative portrait of the 45th American president describes his privileged upbringing, education at a military school, lucrative business dealings and unlikely transformation from a reality television personality to a controversial national leader. By the author of Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary.
|
|
|
|
Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot
by Winifred Conkling
The story of the 19th Amendment and the nearly 80-year fight for voting rights for women discusses the politics and private challenges that inspired the achievements of such activists as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth. By the author of Passenger on the Pearl.
|
|
|
|
Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African-American Voting Rights
by Lawrence Goldstone
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote? In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting -- and they were willing to kill to do so. In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America's past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today's creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book.
|
|
|
|
What Are My Rights?: Q&A about Teens and the Law
by Thomas A Jacobs
Provides information to help young readers understand laws, recognize responsibilities, and appreciate their rights, especially in relation to parents, school, job, and personal matters.
|
|
|
|
March. Book Two
by John Lewis
The award-winning, best-selling series returns, as John Lewis' story continues through Freedom Rides and the legendary 1963 March on Washington.
|
|
|
|
FDR and the American Crisis
by Albert Marrin
An accessible portrait of the 32nd president traces his privileged upbringing, the polio that cost him the use of his legs and his leadership during the Great Depression and World War II. By the National Book Award-finalist author of Flesh and Blood So Cheap.
|
|
|
|
Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work
by Victoria Ortiz
Interweaves dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ginsburg's iconic career with stories about her childhood, education, marriage and remarkable legal career, sharing insights into her fierce principles and passionate concerns about gender equality, fairness and constitutional rights.
|
|
|
Success Stories of Great People from the U.S. That Don't Fit in the Categories Above
|
|
|
|
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
by Catherine Clinton
A definitive full-scale biography of the legendary fugitive slave turned "conductor" on the Underground Railroad describes Tubman's youth in the antebellum South, her escape to Philadelphia, her successful efforts to liberate slaves, and her work as a scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War.
|
|
|
|
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
by Maxine Hong Kingston
A first-generation Chinese-American woman recounts growing up in America within a tradition-bound Chinese family, and confronted with Chinese ghosts from the past and non-Chinese ghosts of the present.
|
|
|
|
Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor's Life
by Marilyn Nelson
A powerful biography in poems about Augusta Savage, the trailblazing artist and pillar of the Harlem Renaissance-with an afterword by the curator of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
|
|
|
|
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama
Now adapted for young adults, the #1 New York Times best-selling memoir offers an intimate look at Barack Obama's early days, tracing the future 44th president's odyssey through family, race and identity.
|
|
|
|
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X
A commemorative hardcover edition of the definitive account of this complex, controversial, and charismatic leader of the sixties' black revolution features a probing epilogue by the late Alex Haley.
|
|
|
Bonus! Things You Don't Learn in History Class
|
|
|
|
Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights
by Ann Bausum
The award-winning author of Marching to the Mountaintop presents a history of gay tolerance that traces the progression of civil rights for gay citizens and identifies the prejudices and misconceptions that have criminalized homosexual relationships.
|
|
|
|
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
by Jean Mendoza
Going beyond the story of America as a country "discovered" by a few brave men in the "New World," Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity. The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history.
|
|
|
|
A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919
by Claire Hartfield
A compelling introduction to the Chicago race riot of 1919 documents key events that led to days of urban violence that continue to reverberate a century later, offering insight into contributing factors in race relations, politics, business and culture.
|
|
|
|
A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery
by Albert Marrin
A discussion-provoking assessment of the character and historical influence of the 19th-century radical abolitionist includes coverage of the fanatical religious beliefs that prompted his use of terrorism to combat slavery while assessing his role in the Harper's Ferry arsenal seizure that helped trigger the American Civil War. By the National Book Award finalist author of Flesh & Blood So Cheap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|