Best American Books | Summaries & Audio

American Book Summaries

William Faulkner

by André Bleikasten • 2017

His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.

4.23

📖 Literary Biography 🌳 Southern Literature 🌀 Stream Of Consciousness 🔧 Narrative Technique 🦇 Southern Gothic

William Faulkner

His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.

by André Bleikasten 2017 552 pages

4.23

13 ratings

📖 Literary Biography 🌳 Southern Literature 🌀 Stream Of Consciousness 🔧 Narrative Technique 🦇 Southern Gothic

Most Dangerous

by Steve Sheinkin • 2015

After helping plan the Vietnam War, he leaked 7,000 pages proving every president had lied.

4.20

6k+

🕵️ Whistleblowing 🔒 Government Secrecy 🇻🇳 Vietnam War 🏛️ Watergate Era ⚔️ Cold War

Most Dangerous

After helping plan the Vietnam War, he leaked 7,000 pages proving every president had lied.

by Steve Sheinkin 2015 370 pages

4.20

6k+ ratings

🕵️ Whistleblowing 🔒 Government Secrecy 🇻🇳 Vietnam War 🏛️ Watergate Era ⚔️ Cold War

Moon Palace

by Paul Auster • 1989

As the world watches the moon landing, an orphaned student starves alone in New York.

3.98

29k+

🧒 Orphan Protagonist 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets 🎭 Picaresque Novel 💭 Existential Fiction

Moon Palace

As the world watches the moon landing, an orphaned student starves alone in New York.

by Paul Auster 1989 320 pages

3.98

29k+ ratings

🧒 Orphan Protagonist 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets 🎭 Picaresque Novel 💭 Existential Fiction

The Buccaneers

by Edith Wharton • 1938

Snubbed by New York, Nan St George sails to England to hunt a title, whatever the price.

3.85

8k+

🏙️ Gilded Age 🎭 Social Satire 💍 Marriage Of Convenience 💔 Forbidden Love 🏰 Gilded Cage

The Buccaneers

Snubbed by New York, Nan St George sails to England to hunt a title, whatever the price.

by Edith Wharton 1938 406 pages

3.85

8k+ ratings

🏙️ Gilded Age 🎭 Social Satire 💍 Marriage Of Convenience 💔 Forbidden Love 🏰 Gilded Cage

Miss May Does Not Exist

by Carrie Courogen • 2024

Forty dollars, one audition: American comedy changed forever. Then Elaine May decided to disappear.

3.83

500+

🎬 Hollywood History 🎭 Comedy History 🎥 Women Directors 🎪 Improvisation 🤝 Creative Partnerships

Miss May Does Not Exist

Forty dollars, one audition: American comedy changed forever. Then Elaine May decided to disappear.

by Carrie Courogen 2024 400 pages

3.83

500+ ratings

🎬 Hollywood History 🎭 Comedy History 🎥 Women Directors 🎪 Improvisation 🤝 Creative Partnerships

Whatever Happened to the Metric System?

by John Bemelmans Marciano • 2013

A tale of revolutions, divine measures, and why a global standard stopped at America's shores.

3.62

321

🔬 History Of Science 📏 History Of Measurement 🛡️ Cultural Resistance 🇺🇸 American Exceptionalism 💡 Enlightenment Rationalism

Whatever Happened to the Metric System?

A tale of revolutions, divine measures, and why a global standard stopped at America's shores.

by John Bemelmans Marciano 2013 320 pages

3.62

321 ratings

🔬 History Of Science 📏 History Of Measurement 🛡️ Cultural Resistance 🇺🇸 American Exceptionalism 💡 Enlightenment Rationalism

Yes We (Still) Can

by Dan Pfeiffer • 2018

Obama pioneered a new political playbook. Then Fox News, Twitter, and Trump shredded it. Now what?

4.16

7k+

🗣️ Political Communication 🗳️ Election Campaigns 🌐 Internet Politics 🔊 Media Echo Chambers 🚫 Misinformation Warfare

Yes We (Still) Can

Obama pioneered a new political playbook. Then Fox News, Twitter, and Trump shredded it. Now what?

by Dan Pfeiffer 2018 304 pages

4.16

7k+ ratings

🗣️ Political Communication 🗳️ Election Campaigns 🌐 Internet Politics 🔊 Media Echo Chambers 🚫 Misinformation Warfare

White Rage

by Carol Anderson • 2016

Every time Black Americans advance, a calculated policy backlash rolls it back.

4.46

14k+

🌍 African American History 🔥 Racial Backlash 🏗️ Reconstruction 🚫 Jim Crow 🗳️ Voter Suppression

White Rage

Every time Black Americans advance, a calculated policy backlash rolls it back.

by Carol Anderson 2016 246 pages

4.46

14k+ ratings

🌍 African American History 🔥 Racial Backlash 🏗️ Reconstruction 🚫 Jim Crow 🗳️ Voter Suppression

The Human Cost of Welfare

by Phil Harvey • 2016

Welfare was built to end poverty. Its rules punish work, marriage, and saving instead.

4.45

🏛️ Welfare Reform 📉 Anti-Poverty Policy 💼 Work Incentives 🔗 Welfare Dependency 🪢 Social Safety Net

The Human Cost of Welfare

Welfare was built to end poverty. Its rules punish work, marriage, and saving instead.

by Phil Harvey 2016 206 pages

4.45

20 ratings

🏛️ Welfare Reform 📉 Anti-Poverty Policy 💼 Work Incentives 🔗 Welfare Dependency 🪢 Social Safety Net

White Ivy

by Susie Yang • 2020

An immigrant's daughter schemes into Boston high society, until her past lover demands she confess.

3.55

34k+

🖤 Psychological Suspense 📚 Literary Crime 💎 Social Climbing 🌏 Immigrant Ambition 😰 Woman On The Edge

White Ivy

An immigrant's daughter schemes into Boston high society, until her past lover demands she confess.

by Susie Yang 2020 354 pages

3.55

34k+ ratings

🖤 Psychological Suspense 📚 Literary Crime 💎 Social Climbing 🌏 Immigrant Ambition 😰 Woman On The Edge

The Truce

by Hunter Walker • 2024

Democrats won in 2020 but never settled their internal war. The reckoning still waits.

3.91

114

🏛️ Democratic Party 🗳️ Electoral Politics ⚔️ Party Infighting ✊ Political Movements 🌹 Democratic Socialism

The Truce

Democrats won in 2020 but never settled their internal war. The reckoning still waits.

by Hunter Walker 2024 320 pages

3.91

114 ratings

🏛️ Democratic Party 🗳️ Electoral Politics ⚔️ Party Infighting ✊ Political Movements 🌹 Democratic Socialism

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement

by Barbara Ransby • 2003

While King gave the speeches, she built the grassroots network that made the movement move.

4.33

1k+

🏛️ Civil Rights Movement 🌱 Grassroots Organizing 👥 Collective Leadership 🗳️ Participatory Democracy ✊🏿 Black Women's Activism

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement

While King gave the speeches, she built the grassroots network that made the movement move.

by Barbara Ransby 2003 496 pages

4.33

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Civil Rights Movement 🌱 Grassroots Organizing 👥 Collective Leadership 🗳️ Participatory Democracy ✊🏿 Black Women's Activism

These Truths

by Jill Lepore • 2018

American politics is a 500-year argument over who counts as a person and whose truth prevails.

4.40

13k+

🇺🇸 American Paradox 📜 National Founding Myths 🔍 Truth In Politics 📰 Media And Democracy ⛓️ Slavery And Freedom

These Truths

American politics is a 500-year argument over who counts as a person and whose truth prevails.

by Jill Lepore 2018 960 pages

4.40

13k+ ratings

🇺🇸 American Paradox 📜 National Founding Myths 🔍 Truth In Politics 📰 Media And Democracy ⛓️ Slavery And Freedom

The Plague Year

by Lawrence Wright • 2020

American exceptionalism met a virus that didn't care. How the most prepared nation on earth lost.

4.12

2k+

🦠 Covid-19 😷 Pandemic Response 🏛️ Institutional Failure 💉 Vaccine Development ⚖️ Racial Inequity

The Plague Year

American exceptionalism met a virus that didn't care. How the most prepared nation on earth lost.

by Lawrence Wright 2020 336 pages

4.12

2k+ ratings

🦠 Covid-19 😷 Pandemic Response 🏛️ Institutional Failure 💉 Vaccine Development ⚖️ Racial Inequity

Privacy in the Age of Big Data

by Theresa Payton • 2014

Your devices watch everything you do. Here is what they collect and how to stop it.

3.56

112

🔒 Digital Privacy 👁️ Data Surveillance 📊 Personal Data 🏢 Corporate Surveillance 🕵️ Surveillance State

Privacy in the Age of Big Data

Your devices watch everything you do. Here is what they collect and how to stop it.

by Theresa Payton 2014 328 pages

3.56

112 ratings

🔒 Digital Privacy 👁️ Data Surveillance 📊 Personal Data 🏢 Corporate Surveillance 🕵️ Surveillance State

The Wrath of Cochise

by Terry Mort • 2013

One bungled arrest, five executed hostages, and the single spark that ignited a decade of war.

3.73

217

🏹 Apache History 🪶 American Indian Wars 🌵 Southwest Frontier 🎖️ Counterinsurgency 🗣️ Cultural Ignorance

The Wrath of Cochise

One bungled arrest, five executed hostages, and the single spark that ignited a decade of war.

by Terry Mort 2013 400 pages

3.73

217 ratings

🏹 Apache History 🪶 American Indian Wars 🌵 Southwest Frontier 🎖️ Counterinsurgency 🗣️ Cultural Ignorance

American Brutus

by Michael W. Kauffman • 2004

An actor shot Lincoln on Good Friday and vanished. What followed was history's most bungled manhunt.

4.16

2k+

🔪 Assassination Plots 🏛️ Civil War America 🕵️ Conspiracy Theories 🔍 Flawed Investigations 🎭 Celebrity Criminals

American Brutus

An actor shot Lincoln on Good Friday and vanished. What followed was history's most bungled manhunt.

by Michael W. Kauffman 2004 544 pages

4.16

2k+ ratings

🔪 Assassination Plots 🏛️ Civil War America 🕵️ Conspiracy Theories 🔍 Flawed Investigations 🎭 Celebrity Criminals

Sisters in Law

by Linda R. Hirshman • 2015

A Republican rancher and a liberal litigator: the two firsts who together reshaped women's rights.

3.84

5k+

🏛️ Supreme Court ⚖️ Constitutional Law 👩‍⚖️ Women In Law 📖 Judicial Biography 🚺 Gender Discrimination

Sisters in Law

A Republican rancher and a liberal litigator: the two firsts who together reshaped women's rights.

by Linda R. Hirshman 2015 432 pages

3.84

5k+ ratings

🏛️ Supreme Court ⚖️ Constitutional Law 👩‍⚖️ Women In Law 📖 Judicial Biography 🚺 Gender Discrimination

The Autistic Brain

by Temple Grandin • 2013

The FBI made Whitey Bulger an informant. He turned his handlers into his hit squad.

4.1

11k+

🕵️ Fbi Misconduct 🚔 Police Corruption 🏙️ Boston History 🐀 Informant Culture 🤝 Corrupt Alliances

The Autistic Brain

The FBI made Whitey Bulger an informant. He turned his handlers into his hit squad.

by Temple Grandin 2013 240 pages

4.1

11k+ ratings

🕵️ Fbi Misconduct 🚔 Police Corruption 🏙️ Boston History 🐀 Informant Culture 🤝 Corrupt Alliances

Fifth Sun

by Camilla Townsend • 2019

They saw steel, horses, and smallpox, not gods. The Aztec annals rewrite their own conquest.

4.08

5k+

🏺 Mesoamerican History 🌎 Colonial Latin America 🌞 Aztec Civilization 🪶 Indigenous Histories ❓ Conquest Revisionism

Fifth Sun

They saw steel, horses, and smallpox, not gods. The Aztec annals rewrite their own conquest.

by Camilla Townsend 2019 336 pages

4.08

5k+ ratings

🏺 Mesoamerican History 🌎 Colonial Latin America 🌞 Aztec Civilization 🪶 Indigenous Histories ❓ Conquest Revisionism

The House of Mirth

by Edith Wharton • 1905

Penniless and nearly thirty in Gilded Age New York, Lily Bart's social currency is expiring.

3.98

100k+

🎭 Tragedy Of Manners 💍 Marriage Market 📉 Social Downfall 💔 Unspoken Love 🏛️ Gilded Age

The House of Mirth

Penniless and nearly thirty in Gilded Age New York, Lily Bart's social currency is expiring.

by Edith Wharton 1905 351 pages

3.98

100k+ ratings

🎭 Tragedy Of Manners 💍 Marriage Market 📉 Social Downfall 💔 Unspoken Love 🏛️ Gilded Age

Hidden Order

by Brad Thor • 2013

Scot Harvath tracks a killer staging Federal Reserve murders as scenes from the American Revolution.

4.17

18k+

🕵️ Espionage Thriller 🏛️ Political Conspiracy 🕶️ Rogue Intelligence 📜 Historical Conspiracy 🪶 Historical Murders

Hidden Order

Scot Harvath tracks a killer staging Federal Reserve murders as scenes from the American Revolution.

by Brad Thor 2013 377 pages

4.17

18k+ ratings

🕵️ Espionage Thriller 🏛️ Political Conspiracy 🕶️ Rogue Intelligence 📜 Historical Conspiracy 🪶 Historical Murders

Promise Me, Dad

by Joe Biden • 2017

A vice president's son is dying of cancer. Foreign crises don't pause for grief.

4.14

24k+

🏛️ White House Memoirs 🕯️ Parental Grief 🎗️ Cancer Memoir 👨‍👦 Fathers And Sons ⛪ Catholic Faith

Promise Me, Dad

A vice president's son is dying of cancer. Foreign crises don't pause for grief.

by Joe Biden 2017 272 pages

4.14

24k+ ratings

🏛️ White House Memoirs 🕯️ Parental Grief 🎗️ Cancer Memoir 👨‍👦 Fathers And Sons ⛪ Catholic Faith

Broke

by Glenn Beck • 2010

America's real debt tops $64 trillion. Rome and Spain collapsed the same way.

4.01

2k+

💸 National Debt 🪙 Fiscal Conservatism 🏛️ Limited Government 📈 Austrian Economics 🗽 Federalism

Broke

America's real debt tops $64 trillion. Rome and Spain collapsed the same way.

by Glenn Beck 2010 406 pages

4.01

2k+ ratings

💸 National Debt 🪙 Fiscal Conservatism 🏛️ Limited Government 📈 Austrian Economics 🗽 Federalism

Island Infernos

by John C. McManus • 2021

Behind every Pacific island invasion: a hidden war of logistics, codebreaking, and command feuds.

4.46

500+

🏝️ Pacific Theater 🚢 Amphibious Warfare ⚔️ Operational History 👥 Command Rivalries 📦 Military Logistics

Island Infernos

Behind every Pacific island invasion: a hidden war of logistics, codebreaking, and command feuds.

by John C. McManus 2021 656 pages

4.46

500+ ratings

🏝️ Pacific Theater 🚢 Amphibious Warfare ⚔️ Operational History 👥 Command Rivalries 📦 Military Logistics

The Ones We've Been Waiting for

by Charlotte Alter • 2020

Shaped by 9/11, debt, and recession, a generation enters power with clashing visions for America.

4.20

500+

🗳️ Generational Politics 🇺🇸 American Politics 🌱 Political Coming Of Age 🎓 Student Debt Crisis 📱 Digital Activism

The Ones We've Been Waiting for

Shaped by 9/11, debt, and recession, a generation enters power with clashing visions for America.

by Charlotte Alter 2020 368 pages

4.20

500+ ratings

🗳️ Generational Politics 🇺🇸 American Politics 🌱 Political Coming Of Age 🎓 Student Debt Crisis 📱 Digital Activism

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. • 1957

An aristocrat's reluctant turn toward populism, set against the crash of an economic order.

4.19

455

🇺🇸 Presidential Biography 🗽 Interwar America 🌱 Political Origins 🌊 Progressive Era 🏛️ Aristocratic Legacy

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33

An aristocrat's reluctant turn toward populism, set against the crash of an economic order.

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 1957 576 pages

4.19

455 ratings

🇺🇸 Presidential Biography 🗽 Interwar America 🌱 Political Origins 🌊 Progressive Era 🏛️ Aristocratic Legacy

Lucky

by Jonathan Allen • 2021

How Biden really won: not strategy, but opponent blunders, a pandemic, and one endorsement.

3.87

1k+

🗳️ Presidential Campaigns 🏛️ Democratic Party ⚔️ Primary Battles 🎙️ Campaign Journalism 🔄 Political Comebacks

Lucky

How Biden really won: not strategy, but opponent blunders, a pandemic, and one endorsement.

by Jonathan Allen 2021 17 pages

3.87

1k+ ratings

🗳️ Presidential Campaigns 🏛️ Democratic Party ⚔️ Primary Battles 🎙️ Campaign Journalism 🔄 Political Comebacks

Best American Essays 2018

by Hilton Als • 2018

The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.

3.53

350

✍️ The Essay Form 🖋️ Personal Essays 💬 Cultural Criticism 🖤 Race In America 📰 Literary Journalism

Best American Essays 2018

The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.

by Hilton Als 2018 336 pages

3.53

350 ratings

✍️ The Essay Form 🖋️ Personal Essays 💬 Cultural Criticism 🖤 Race In America 📰 Literary Journalism

The Option of Urbanism

by Christopher B. Leinberger • 2007

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

3.89

185

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🏚️ Gentrification

The Option of Urbanism

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

by Christopher B. Leinberger 2007 224 pages

3.89

185 ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🏚️ Gentrification

Football Done Right

by Michael Lombardi • 2023

Five coaches built the modern NFL. A former GM names them, then ranks everyone else.

3.59

370

🏈 Nfl History 📋 Football Coaching 🔍 Talent Evaluation 🏆 Player Rankings ♟️ Football Strategy

Football Done Right

Five coaches built the modern NFL. A former GM names them, then ranks everyone else.

by Michael Lombardi 2023 305 pages

3.59

370 ratings

🏈 Nfl History 📋 Football Coaching 🔍 Talent Evaluation 🏆 Player Rankings ♟️ Football Strategy

Benjamin Franklin

by Hourly History • 2016

Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.

4.18

500+

📜 Founding Fathers 🏛️ Colonial America 💡 American Enlightenment 🧱 Self Made Lives 🏙️ Civic Innovation

Benjamin Franklin

Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.

by Hourly History 2016 43 pages

4.18

500+ ratings

📜 Founding Fathers 🏛️ Colonial America 💡 American Enlightenment 🧱 Self Made Lives 🏙️ Civic Innovation

Front Row at the Trump Show

by Jonathan Karl • 2020

How a presidency became a TV show, and the press became the supporting cast.

4.27

4k+

🇺🇸 Trump Presidency 🎤 White House Press Corps 📰 Political Journalism 🎭 Media Manipulation 🤥 Post-Truth Politics

Front Row at the Trump Show

How a presidency became a TV show, and the press became the supporting cast.

by Jonathan Karl 2020 368 pages

4.27

4k+ ratings

🇺🇸 Trump Presidency 🎤 White House Press Corps 📰 Political Journalism 🎭 Media Manipulation 🤥 Post-Truth Politics

Buckley

by Carl T. Bogus • 2011

To build the modern American right, one man had to decide who belonged and who did not.

3.75

151

🗽 Modern Conservatism ❄️ Cold War Ideology 📚 Intellectual History 📰 Political Journalism 📖 Magazine History

Buckley

To build the modern American right, one man had to decide who belonged and who did not.

by Carl T. Bogus 2011 417 pages

3.75

151 ratings

🗽 Modern Conservatism ❄️ Cold War Ideology 📚 Intellectual History 📰 Political Journalism 📖 Magazine History

Reckless Endangerment

by Gretchen Morgenson • 2011

Good intentions met Wall Street greed and captured regulators. The crisis was built to order.

3.96

1k+

🏦 Financial Crises ⚖️ Regulatory Failure 🏚️ Subprime Lending 💰 Wall Street Excess 🔍 Investigative Journalism

Reckless Endangerment

Good intentions met Wall Street greed and captured regulators. The crisis was built to order.

by Gretchen Morgenson 2011 331 pages

3.96

1k+ ratings

🏦 Financial Crises ⚖️ Regulatory Failure 🏚️ Subprime Lending 💰 Wall Street Excess 🔍 Investigative Journalism

A Simple Government

by Mike Huckabee • 2011

A former governor's plan for a government that does less, costs less, and meddles less.

3.73

302

🐘 American Conservatism 🏛️ Federalism 💰 Fiscal Conservatism 🧾 Tax Reform 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Social Conservatism

A Simple Government

A former governor's plan for a government that does less, costs less, and meddles less.

by Mike Huckabee 2011 208 pages

3.73

302 ratings

🐘 American Conservatism 🏛️ Federalism 💰 Fiscal Conservatism 🧾 Tax Reform 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Social Conservatism

Writings of Abraham Lincoln

by Abraham Lincoln • 1953

The man who saved the Union, in his own words: the speeches and letters behind the legend.

4.13

313

🏛️ Presidential Biography ⚔️ Civil War History ⛓️ Antislavery Thought ⚖️ Moral Leadership 📜 Primary Sources

Writings of Abraham Lincoln

The man who saved the Union, in his own words: the speeches and letters behind the legend.

by Abraham Lincoln 1953

4.13

313 ratings

🏛️ Presidential Biography ⚔️ Civil War History ⛓️ Antislavery Thought ⚖️ Moral Leadership 📜 Primary Sources

The Pioneers

by David McCullough • 2019

Before the Constitution, one land deal doubled the country and banned slavery in every future state.

3.82

28k+

🇺🇸 Early American Republic 🪓 Frontier Settlement 🌄 Westward Expansion 🏛️ Nation Building 🏕️ Frontier Life

The Pioneers

Before the Constitution, one land deal doubled the country and banned slavery in every future state.

by David McCullough 2019 330 pages

3.82

28k+ ratings

🇺🇸 Early American Republic 🪓 Frontier Settlement 🌄 Westward Expansion 🏛️ Nation Building 🏕️ Frontier Life

A Girl Called Samson

by Amy Harmon • 2023

A servant disguises herself as a man to join the Revolution, then falls for her commander.

4.46

58k+

🎭 Woman Disguised As Man 💕 Wartime Romance 📜 Biographical Fiction 🇺🇸 Revolutionary America 🏠 Found Family

A Girl Called Samson

A servant disguises herself as a man to join the Revolution, then falls for her commander.

by Amy Harmon 2023 405 pages

4.46

58k+ ratings

🎭 Woman Disguised As Man 💕 Wartime Romance 📜 Biographical Fiction 🇺🇸 Revolutionary America 🏠 Found Family

Truth in Our Times

by David E. McCraw • 2019

A newspaper lawyer versus a president who called the press the enemy. The inside story.

4.14

500+

🗽 Press Freedom ⚖️ First Amendment 🔒 Government Secrecy 📜 Media Law 📢 Whistleblowing

Truth in Our Times

A newspaper lawyer versus a president who called the press the enemy. The inside story.

by David E. McCraw 2019 304 pages

4.14

500+ ratings

🗽 Press Freedom ⚖️ First Amendment 🔒 Government Secrecy 📜 Media Law 📢 Whistleblowing

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

by Clay McLeod Chapman • 2025

A liberal New Yorker races south as a viral possession consumes his parents through their screens.

3.27

14k+

🎭 Social Horror 📺 Media Possession 🦠 Memetic Virus 🏚️ Family Collapse ✝️ Failed Exorcism

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

A liberal New Yorker races south as a viral possession consumes his parents through their screens.

by Clay McLeod Chapman 2025 384 pages

3.27

14k+ ratings

🎭 Social Horror 📺 Media Possession 🦠 Memetic Virus 🏚️ Family Collapse ✝️ Failed Exorcism

America Last

by Jacob Heilbrunn • 2024

The Right's century of admiring strongmen is not a bug but the point.

3.83

246

🏛️ Paleoconservatism 🤝 Authoritarian Admiration 📉 Illiberalism 🚫 Isolationism 🧬 Eugenics And Politics

America Last

The Right's century of admiring strongmen is not a bug but the point.

by Jacob Heilbrunn 2024 264 pages

3.83

246 ratings

🏛️ Paleoconservatism 🤝 Authoritarian Admiration 📉 Illiberalism 🚫 Isolationism 🧬 Eugenics And Politics

Dear Mr. Kilmer

by Anne E. Schraff • 1999

An Iowa boy writes to poet Joyce Kilmer, then must defy his town's war-fueled prejudice.

3.96

272

🏠 WWI Home Front ✉️ Letter Correspondence 💚 Gentle Masculinity 🏘️ Small-Town Prejudice 🎨 Artistic Awakening

Dear Mr. Kilmer

An Iowa boy writes to poet Joyce Kilmer, then must defy his town's war-fueled prejudice.

by Anne E. Schraff 1999

3.96

272 ratings

🏠 WWI Home Front ✉️ Letter Correspondence 💚 Gentle Masculinity 🏘️ Small-Town Prejudice 🎨 Artistic Awakening

BOOM

by Tony Horwitz • 2014

From oil sands to Gulf Coast: a pipeline route where roughnecks, strippers, and ranchers collide.

3.89

500+

🛢️ Energy Politics 🏭 Oil Industry 📰 Narrative Journalism 🗺️ Travelogue 🌍 Environmental Justice

BOOM

From oil sands to Gulf Coast: a pipeline route where roughnecks, strippers, and ranchers collide.

by Tony Horwitz 2014 116 pages

3.89

500+ ratings

🛢️ Energy Politics 🏭 Oil Industry 📰 Narrative Journalism 🗺️ Travelogue 🌍 Environmental Justice

Newton's Football

by Allen St. John • 2013

Football as science: unpredictable bounces, strategic arms races, and the physics of brain injury.

3.84

185

🏈 Football Strategy ⚛️ Physics Of Sport 🧠 Concussion Crisis 📋 Coaching Philosophy 📜 Sports History

Newton's Football

Football as science: unpredictable bounces, strategic arms races, and the physics of brain injury.

by Allen St. John 2013 272 pages

3.84

185 ratings

🏈 Football Strategy ⚛️ Physics Of Sport 🧠 Concussion Crisis 📋 Coaching Philosophy 📜 Sports History

The Black History of the White House

by Clarence Lusane • 2011

Enslaved laborers built the White House. The racial reckoning inside its walls has never stopped.

4.15

434

🏛️ White House History ⛓️ Slavery And Resistance 🚋 Jim Crow Era 🏗️ Reconstruction ✊ Civil Rights Movement

The Black History of the White House

Enslaved laborers built the White House. The racial reckoning inside its walls has never stopped.

by Clarence Lusane 2011 575 pages

4.15

434 ratings

🏛️ White House History ⛓️ Slavery And Resistance 🚋 Jim Crow Era 🏗️ Reconstruction ✊ Civil Rights Movement

The House of the Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne • 1851

A spinster shields her freed brother from a scheming cousin inside their cursed New England mansion.

3.45

43k+

🏚️ Gothic Mansion 🩸 Ancestral Curse ⛪ Puritan New England 🔗 Wrongful Imprisonment 🏡 Found Family

The House of the Seven Gables

A spinster shields her freed brother from a scheming cousin inside their cursed New England mansion.

by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1851 225 pages

3.45

43k+ ratings

🏚️ Gothic Mansion 🩸 Ancestral Curse ⛪ Puritan New England 🔗 Wrongful Imprisonment 🏡 Found Family

Killing the Dream

by Gerald Posner • 1998

No government plot, no mob hit. A racist drifter's meticulous path to a Memphis balcony.

4.09

220

🔫 Political Assassinations 🕵️ Conspiracy Debunking 📋 Forensic Journalism ✊ Civil Rights History 🎯 Lone Gunman Theory

Killing the Dream

No government plot, no mob hit. A racist drifter's meticulous path to a Memphis balcony.

by Gerald Posner 1998 448 pages

4.09

220 ratings

🔫 Political Assassinations 🕵️ Conspiracy Debunking 📋 Forensic Journalism ✊ Civil Rights History 🎯 Lone Gunman Theory

Friends Like These

by Meg Rosoff • 2022

A small-town intern in 1983 New York is remade by a magnetic friend, then must remake herself.

3.30

2k+

🖤 Toxic Female Friendship 🗽 1980s New York 🐠 Fish Out Of Water ☀️ Summer Coming Of Age 🥀 Loss Of Innocence

Friends Like These

A small-town intern in 1983 New York is remade by a magnetic friend, then must remake herself.

by Meg Rosoff 2022 320 pages

3.30

2k+ ratings

🖤 Toxic Female Friendship 🗽 1980s New York 🐠 Fish Out Of Water ☀️ Summer Coming Of Age 🥀 Loss Of Innocence

Glock

by Paul M. Barrett • 2012

Police carried revolvers until an Austrian outsider built a plastic gun that changed everything.

3.87

2k+

🏢 Corporate History 🔫 Gun Industry 🇺🇸 Gun Culture 👮 Law Enforcement ⚖️ Gun Control Politics

Glock

Police carried revolvers until an Austrian outsider built a plastic gun that changed everything.

by Paul M. Barrett 2012 291 pages

3.87

2k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate History 🔫 Gun Industry 🇺🇸 Gun Culture 👮 Law Enforcement ⚖️ Gun Control Politics

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