Recommendations based on The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Familyby Annette Gordon-Reed

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Battle Cry of Freedom

    by James M. McPherson
    A comprehensive history of the American Civil War, focusing on the political and military aspects.

    Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. ... (Goodreads)

  2. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

    by Michelle Alexander
    Exploring the roots and reality of systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system.

    "Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting ... (Goodreads)

  3. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

    by Joseph J. Ellis
    Comprehensive biography of the third president, exploring his character and legacy.

    Following his subject from the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to his retirement in Monticello, Joseph Ellis unravels the contradictions of the Jeffersonian character. A marvel of ... (Goodreads)

  4. 1776

    by David McCullough
    A riveting account of the events leading up to and during the American Revolution.

    In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American ... (Goodreads)

  5. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

    by Joseph J. Ellis
    Examines the lives of key figures of the American Revolution and their political disputes.

    Informs our understanding of American politics–then and now--and gives us a new perspective on the unpredictable forces that shape history. An illuminating study of the intertwined lives of the ... (Goodreads)

  6. Eisenhower: Soldier and President

    by Stephen E. Ambrose
    A comprehensive biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, from his military career to his presidency.

    Stephen E. Ambrose draws upon extensive sources, an unprecedented degree of scholarship, and numerous interviews with Eisenhower himself to offer the fullest, richest, most objective rendering yet of ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Path to Power

    by Robert A. Caro
    The first volume of a biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, tracing his early life and political career in Texas.

    The Years of Lyndon Johnson is the political biography of our time. No president—no era of American politics—has been so intensively and sharply examined at a time when so many prime witnesses to ... (Goodreads)

  8. His Excellency: George Washington

    by Joseph J. Ellis
    Biography of the first President of the United States and the key role he played in the founding of the nation.

    To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the ... (Goodreads)

  9. Twelve Years a Slave

    by Solomon Northup
    A man's journey of survival and resilience after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the antebellum South.

    Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in ... (Goodreads)

  10. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943

    by Rick Atkinson
    An account of the US Army's involvement in North Africa during WWII.

    WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE AND, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER,, In the first volume of his monumental trilogy about the liberation of Europe in WW II, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson tells the ... (Goodreads)

  11. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

    by Tony Horwitz
    Investigative report into the legacy of the American Civil War and its lingering presence in modern culture.

    When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    by Malcolm X
    A gripping account of one man's transformation from criminal to civil rights leader.

    Alternate cover for ISBN 9780345350688 Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his ... (Goodreads)

  13. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

    by Ibram X. Kendi
    Exploration of the history of racism in America, tracing its origins and its effects on society.

    In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti–Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the ... (Goodreads)

  14. John Adams

    by David McCullough
    Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.

    The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)

  15. Washington: A Life

    by Ron Chernow
    Intimate biography of George Washington, the nation's first president.

    A gripping portrait of the first president of the United States from the author of, Alexander Hamilton, the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical., Celebrated biographer Ron ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

    by H.W. Brands
    A comprehensive biography of the controversial seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

    National Bestseller In this, the first major single-volume biography of Andrew Jackson in decades, H.W. Brands reshapes our understanding of this fascinating man, and of the Age of Democracy that he ... (Goodreads)

  17. Master of the Senate

    by Robert A. Caro
    Detailed account of Lyndon Johnson's tenure as the leader of the US Senate, and his rise to power.

    The most riveting political biography of our time, Robert A. Caro’s life of Lyndon B. Johnson, continues. Master of the Senate takes Johnson’s story through one of its most remarkable periods: his ... (Goodreads)

  18. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

    by Walter Isaacson
    Biography of the influential founding father, exploring his life and legacy.

    Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father who winks at us. An ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings, he seems made of flesh ... (Goodreads)

  19. Between the World and Me

    by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.

    “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Guns of August

    by Barbara W. Tuchman
    A riveting account of the events leading up to World War I and its devastating consequences.

    Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmerman Telegram comprise Barbara W. ... (Goodreads)

  21. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

    by Manning Marable
    A biography exploring the life of Malcolm X, civil rights activist and leader.

    Selected by, The New York Times Book Review, as a Notable Book of the Year Years in the making-the definitive biography of the legendary black activist. Of the great figure in twentieth-century ... (Goodreads)

  22. Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier

    by Stephen E. Ambrose
    Epic tale of exploration and adventure as Lewis and Clark traverse the American wilderness.

    'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his ... (Goodreads)

  23. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

    by Doris Kearns Goodwin
    A comprehensive study of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and the unique cabinet he assembled.

    Winner of the Lincoln Prize Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from ... (Goodreads)

  24. Washington's Crossing

    by David Hackett Fischer
    A detailed account of George Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River during the American Revolution, and its impact on the war.

    Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within ... (Goodreads)

  25. Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love

    by Dava Sobel
    A captivating exploration of Galileo's life and times, told through his daughter's letters.

    Dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. ... (Goodreads)

  26. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

    by Doris Kearns Goodwin
    Examines the lives of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during WWII and their impact on the nation.

    Winner of the Pulitzer for History, No Ordinary Time is a chronicle of one of the most vibrant & revolutionary periods in US history. With an extraordinary collection of details, Goodwin weaves ... (Goodreads)

  27. Just Kids

    by Patti Smith
    Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.

    In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)

  28. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

    by Jon Meacham
    Detailed biography of Thomas Jefferson, exploring the man and his unprecedented influence.

    In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The ... (Goodreads)

  29. Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

    by Hampton Sides
    True story of the remarkable rescue of prisoners of war in the Philippines during WWII.

    On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them ... (Goodreads)

  30. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

    by James Comey
    Former FBI Director James Comey's memoir about his career and experiences with President Trump.

    Former FBI Director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ... (Goodreads)