We have several people from Germany staying with us this week. One of them said he wanted to pick up a book on American history, but he feared it was too broad of a topic (I agreed—I couldn’t think of a non-textbook off the top of my head that wasn’t focused on a single era, or region, or war, or president, etc.
Anyone have any recommendations for a single volume of popular writing about American History? Something that (moderately English-speaking/reading) non-Americans could access?
Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States would likely be a fascinating read for your visitors. It’s not merely the recounting of the national heroes and big names we learned in grade school. American history is instead explored from the vantage point of both ordinary folks and the dispossessed.
A People’s History is also available in German translation.
This may be a dumb suggestion, but Wikipedia does have a Simple English version. It has US history articles that may be easier to read for a 2nd language speaker. Unless he wants an actual US history book; there are so many that it is impossible to say without narrowing it down.
This should not be taken as an insult to your guests, but I’d recommend U.S. History for Dummies:
I’ve found that the Dummies series of books are a good survey source, no matter the topic. They don’t go too deeply into specific details, but the reader is left with a good idea of the book topic, and now knows where to look for further details. In the case of U.S. History for Dummies, event dates and locations and people’s names abound, and there is enough cause-and-effect to explain events, and the reader now has enough information to be able to easily find a more detailed source for any event if desired.
A single-volume good overview of American history, reasonably priced, and very readable. I think this checks your boxes.
Who needs books. All the Schoolhouse Rock American History episodes are on YouTube.
This is necessarily a shallow overview, but it’s extremely engaging and fun to read. Your guests will enjoy it.
I came to recommend Zinn. It’s by far the best choice for someone who will only read the one book on the topic.
As a Canadian, this was the earliest source of my American history knowledge.
I’m just a Bill, sitting alone on Capital Hill…