100 Books That Changed How We See America

Why the Full Story Matters

History isn’t just what’s in the textbooks. Too often it’s whitewashed—leaving out the voices of Indigenous peoples, Black Americans, immigrants, women, and others who shaped this country. At Canary Coal Mine, we believe the full story matters. Honoring all perspectives builds empathy, exposes truth, and strengthens justice. Only by facing history in its entirety can we move forward together. This is especially important as books are banned and history is whitewashed.

*Where possible, we’ve included FREE digital copies under the ‘Free Digital Copy’ column. For purchase options, we’ve prioritized links outside of Amazon—supporting independent bookstores, family-run shops, and access through public libraries.

Why These Categories Matter

Each category highlights perspectives often left out of standard textbooks. From Abolition and Enslavement to Civil Rights, Indigenous histories, Urban housing, Law and prisons, and Contemporary justice, these works reveal how different communities shaped—and were shaped by—U.S. history. Taken together, they create a fuller picture of America and remind us that every voice matters.

# Book Name Author Category Age Range Price Range Previously Banned? Free Digital Copy Buy
1 All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack Tiya Miles Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
2 Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” Zora Neale Hurston; ed. Deborah G. Plant Abolition & Enslavement 15+ / HS–College $16–$19 Unknown — Bookshop
3 Empire of Cotton Sven Beckert Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
4 From Slavery to Freedom John Hope Franklin; Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Abolition & Enslavement College $30–$60 Unknown — Bookshop
5 Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom Catherine Clinton Abolition & Enslavement HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
6 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet Jacobs Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $6–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
7 Narrative of Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth; Olive Gilbert Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $6–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
8 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $1–$10 (var. eds) Unknown Open Bookshop
9 Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge Erica Armstrong Dunbar Abolition & Enslavement 15+ / HS–College $15–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
10 Slavery by Another Name Douglas A. Blackmon Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $15–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
11 Southern Horrors & A Red Record Ida B. Wells Abolition & Enslavement 15+ / HS–College $8–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
12 Stamped from the Beginning Ibram X. Kendi Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
13 Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home Richard Bell Abolition & Enslavement 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
14 The Half Has Never Been Told Edward E. Baptist Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $17–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
15 The Hemingses of Monticello Annette Gordon-Reed Abolition & Enslavement 16+ / HS–College $20–$30 Unknown — Bookshop
16 The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $6–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
17 The Slave Ship: A Human History Marcus Rediker Abolition & Enslavement College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
18 Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northup Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $6–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
19 Up from Slavery Booker T. Washington Abolition & Enslavement 13+ / HS–College $6–$18 Unknown Open Bookshop
20 Assata: An Autobiography Assata Shakur Black Power & Radical Traditions 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Yes — Bookshop
21 Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party Joshua Bloom; Waldo E. Martin Jr. Black Power & Radical Traditions 16+ / HS–College $18–$26 Unknown — Bookshop
22 Freedom Is a Constant Struggle Angela Y. Davis Black Power & Radical Traditions 15+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
23 Revolutionary Suicide Huey P. Newton Black Power & Radical Traditions 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
24 Soul on Ice Eldridge Cleaver Black Power & Radical Traditions 16+ / HS–College $15–$19 Unknown — Bookshop
25 The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm X; Alex Haley Black Power & Radical Traditions 15+ / HS–College $12–$20 Yes — Bookshop
26 The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto Charles M. Blow Black Power & Radical Traditions 15+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
27 The Wretched of the Earth Frantz Fanon Black Power & Radical Traditions 16+ / HS–College $15–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
28 Women, Race & Class Angela Y. Davis Black Power & Radical Traditions 15+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
29 At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965–68 Taylor Branch Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
30 At the Dark End of the Street Danielle L. McGuire Civil Rights Movement 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
31 Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference David J. Garrow Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $18–$25 Unknown — Bookshop
32 Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution Diane McWhorter Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $18–$24 Unknown — Bookshop
33 Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State Megan Ming Francis Civil Rights Movement College $18–$28 Unknown — Bookshop
34 Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years Juan Williams Civil Rights Movement 14+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
35 Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice Raymond Arsenault Civil Rights Movement 15+ / HS–College $18–$25 Unknown — Bookshop
36 Freedom Summer Bruce Watson Civil Rights Movement HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
37 Gospel of Freedom: MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation Jonathan Rieder Civil Rights Movement HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
38 Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954–63 Taylor Branch Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
39 Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963–65 Taylor Branch Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
40 Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Movement 14+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
41 The Blood of Emmett Till Timothy B. Tyson Civil Rights Movement HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
42 The Children David Halberstam Civil Rights Movement 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
43 The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation Gene Roberts; Hank Klibanoff Civil Rights Movement 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
44 The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks Jeanne Theoharis Civil Rights Movement 14+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
45 The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Peniel E. Joseph Civil Rights Movement HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
46 Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement John Lewis; Michael D’Orso Civil Rights Movement 14+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
47 Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Movement 14+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
48 Why We Can’t Wait Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Movement 13+ / HS–College $8–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
49 A Black Women’s History of the United States Daina Ramey Berry; Kali Nicole Gross Contemporary Racism & Justice HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
50 Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates Contemporary Racism & Justice 16+ / HS–College $16–$22 Yes — Bookshop
51 Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Isabel Wilkerson Contemporary Racism & Justice 16+ / HS–College $21–$32 Unknown — Bookshop
52 From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Contemporary Racism & Justice HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
53 Give Us the Ballot Ari Berman Contemporary Racism & Justice HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
54 How the Word Is Passed Clint Smith Contemporary Racism & Justice 16+ / HS–College $17–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
55 Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
56 One Person, No Vote Carol Anderson Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
57 So You Want to Talk About Race Ijeoma Oluo Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
58 The Color of Law Richard Rothstein Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
59 The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap Mehrsa Baradaran Contemporary Racism & Justice 16+ / HS–College $18–$24 Unknown — Bookshop
60 The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander Contemporary Racism & Justice 16+ / HS–College $18–$20 Yes — Bookshop
61 The Sum of Us Heather McGhee Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
62 The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $18–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
63 White Rage Carol Anderson Contemporary Racism & Justice 15+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
64 A More Beautiful and Terrible History Jeanne Theoharis Education & Curriculum Critique HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
65 A People’s History of the United States Howard Zinn Education & Curriculum Critique 15+ / HS–College $18–$33 Unknown — Bookshop
66 Lies My Teacher Told Me James W. Loewen Education & Curriculum Critique 14+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
67 Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom Matthew R. Kay Education & Curriculum Critique Educators / College $18–$28 Unknown — Bookshop
68 Killing the Black Body Dorothy Roberts Health & Science Inequities 16+ / HS–College $18–$24 Unknown — Bookshop
69 Medical Apartheid Harriet A. Washington Health & Science Inequities 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
70 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot Health & Science Inequities 14+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
71 Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation Linda Villarosa Health & Science Inequities 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
72 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Charles C. Mann Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
73 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created Charles C. Mann Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
74 An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846–1873 Benjamin Madley Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $20–$30 Unknown — Bookshop
75 An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $14–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
76 An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; Debbie Reese; Jean Mendoza Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 12–18 / MS–HS $18–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
77 Black Elk Speaks John G. Neihardt; Black Elk Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 15+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
78 Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII Chester Nez; Judith Schiess Avila Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 12+ / MS–HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
79 Facing East from Indian Country Daniel K. Richter Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
80 Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America Pekka Hämäläinen Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $20–$30 Unknown — Bookshop
81 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI David Grann Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
82 Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations Suzan Shown Harjo (ed.) Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 12+ / HS–College $18–$30 Unknown — Bookshop
83 Native American Testimony Peter Nabokov (ed.) Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 15+ / HS–College $14–$21 Unknown — Bookshop
84 Our History Is the Future Nick Estes Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
85 Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life David Treuer Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 15+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
86 The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears Theda Perdue; Michael D. Green Indigenous Histories & Perspectives HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
87 The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents Theda Perdue; Michael D. Green Indigenous Histories & Perspectives HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
88 The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee David Treuer Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
89 The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History Joseph M. Marshall III Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 14+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
90 The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America Andrés Reséndez Indigenous Histories & Perspectives 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
91 The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story Nikole Hannah-Jones (ed.) Journalism & Media 16+ / HS–College $22–$38 Yes — Bookshop
92 The Fire Next Time James Baldwin Journalism & Media 15+ / HS–College $12–$18 Yes — Bookshop
93 The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race Jesmyn Ward (ed.) Journalism & Media 15+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
94 The Race Beat Gene Roberts; Hank Klibanoff Journalism & Media 16+ / HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
95 A Brief History of Neoliberalism David Harvey Labor & Economy College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
96 Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires Shomari Wills Labor & Economy 14+ / HS–College $14–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
97 Empire of Cotton Sven Beckert Labor & Economy 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
98 Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America Beryl Satter Labor & Economy 16+ / HS–College $18–$22 Unknown — Bookshop
99 A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom Brittany K. Barnett Law, Policing & Prisons HS–College $16–$20 Unknown — Bookshop
100 Are Prisons Obsolete? Angela Y. Davis Law, Policing & Prisons 16+ / HS–College $12–$18 Unknown — Bookshop
Note: “Previously Banned?” reflects widely documented bans/challenges; availability varies by state/district and year.

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