100+ Books That Changed How We See America

Reading List: 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. We do not make any profit from this resource—our only goal is to provide free access and help preserve the full history of the United States.

*Message or email us (canarycoalmine777@tutamail.com) with any recommendations that you have to add to the list! A team member will review your submissions and respond as soon as possible.

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

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