American History

The stories of America unfold through pivotal moments, legendary figures, and the complex forces that shaped a nation - from Revolutionary spies and Civil War commanders to modern presidents and cultural transformations. These compelling accounts illuminate the triumphs, struggles, and decisions that echo through time, revealing how determined individuals and powerful ideas have steered the American experiment.

American History Book Summaries

Team of Rivals Summary

The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2005 916 pages

The Warmth of Other Suns Summary

The Warmth of Other Suns

The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

by Isabel Wilkerson 2011 640 pages

American History

Tried by War Summary

Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

by James M. McPherson 2008 384 pages

Freedom's Forge Summary

Freedom's Forge

How American Business Produced Victory in World War II

by Arthur Herman 2012 432 pages

Who Stole the American Dream? Summary

Who Stole the American Dream?

by Hedrick Smith 2013 624 pages

Smuggler Nation Summary

Smuggler Nation

How Illicit Trade Made America

by Peter Andreas 2013 472 pages

American History

George Washington's Secret Six Summary

George Washington's Secret Six

The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution

by Brian Kilmeade 2013 256 pages

American History

American Revolution

The River of Doubt Summary

The River of Doubt

Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

by Candice Millard 2006 416 pages

The Great Debate Summary

The Great Debate

Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left

by Yuval Levin 2013 296 pages

The Obamas Summary

by Jodi Kantor 2012 334 pages

The Image Summary

A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

by Daniel J. Boorstin 1992 336 pages

Crisis and Command Summary

Crisis and Command

A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush

by John Yoo

Thomas Jefferson Summary

Thomas Jefferson

The Art of Power

by Jon Meacham 2012 800 pages

How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything Summary

How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything

Tales from the Pentagon

by Rosa Brooks 2016 448 pages

Military Fiction

The American Presidency Summary

The American Presidency

A Very Short Introduction

by Charles O. Jones 2007 192 pages

American History

Fire and Fury Summary

Inside the Trump White House

by Michael Wolff 2018 339 pages

National Security Cinema Summary

National Security Cinema

The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood

by Matthew Alford 2017 264 pages

The Audacity to Win Summary

The Audacity to Win

by David Plouffe 2009

Did America Have a Christian Founding? Summary

Did America Have a Christian Founding?

Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth

by Mark David Hall 2019 240 pages

American History

Un-Trumping America Summary

Un-Trumping America

A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again

by Dan Pfeiffer 2020 304 pages

Appetite for America Summary

Appetite for America

Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West — One Meal at a Time

by Stephen Fried 2010 680 pages

American History

Vanishing Frontiers Summary

Vanishing Frontiers

The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

by Andrew Selee 2018 336 pages

Personal Memoirs Personal Memoirs Personal Memoirs Summary

Personal Memoirs Personal Memoirs Personal Memoirs

by Ulysses S. Grant 2000 437 pages

1493 Summary

Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

by Charles C. Mann 2011 836 pages

American History

Leadership Summary

In Turbulent Times

by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2018 496 pages

Buckley Summary

William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism

by Carl T. Bogus 2011 417 pages

Black Mass Summary

Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil's Deal

by Dick Lehr

Leadership Summary

by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2018 18 pages

All Too Human Summary

A Political Education

by George Stephanopoulos 2008 544 pages

Wright Brothers, Wrong Story Summary

Wright Brothers, Wrong Story

How Wilbur Wright Solved the Problem of Manned Flight

by William Hazelgrove 2018 334 pages

Lies My Teacher Told Me Summary

Lies My Teacher Told Me

Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

by James W. Loewen 2008 416 pages

The Wise Men Summary

Six Friends and the World They Made

by Walter Isaacson 2013 864 pages

Walt Whitman Summary

by Justin Kaplan 2013 553 pages

The Bridge Summary

The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

by David Remnick 2010 673 pages

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33 Summary

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 2003 576 pages

American History

The 5000 Year Leap Summary

The 5000 Year Leap

by W. Cleon Skousen 2009 356 pages

The Founding Fathers on Leadership Summary

The Founding Fathers on Leadership

Classic Teamwork in Changing Times

by Donald T. Phillips 2001 274 pages

First Principles Summary

First Principles

What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country

by Thomas E. Ricks 2020 415 pages

Central America's Forgotten History Summary

Central America's Forgotten History

Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration

by Aviva Chomsky 2021 304 pages

Zero Fail Summary

The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

by Carol Leonnig 2021 526 pages

American History

Capitalism in America Summary

Capitalism in America

An Economic History of the United States

by Alan Greenspan 2018 496 pages

Benjamin Franklin Summary

Benjamin Franklin

An American Life

by Walter Isaacson 2004 586 pages

American History

Nation of Victims Summary

Nation of Victims

Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence

by Vivek Ramaswamy 2022 288 pages

American Sketches Summary

American Sketches

Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane

by Walter Isaacson 2009 308 pages

The Black History of the White House Summary

The Black History of the White House

by Clarence Lusane 2011 544 pages

American History

The Hamlet Fire Summary

The Hamlet Fire

A Tragic Story of Cheap Food, Cheap Government, and Cheap Lives

by Bryant Simon 2020 320 pages

American History

Hitler's American Model Summary

Hitler's American Model

The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law

by James Q. Whitman 2017 224 pages

Grant Summary

by Ron Chernow 2018 1104 pages

George Washington Summary

George Washington

The American Presidents Series: The 1st President, 1789-1797

by James MacGregor Burns 2013 207 pages

Tyranny of the Minority Summary

Tyranny of the Minority

Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point

by Steven Levitsky 2023 384 pages

American History

1 2 Next

SoBrief

Create a free account to unlock:

Bookmarks – save your favorite books

History – revisit books later

Ratings – rate books & see your ratings

Listening – audio summariesListen to the first takeaway of every book for free, upgrade to Pro for unlimited listening.

Unlock unlimited listening

Your first week's on us!

Today: Get Instant Access

Listen to full summaries of 73,530 books. That's 12,000+ hours of audio!

Day 4: Trial Reminder

We'll send you a notification that your trial is ending soon.

Day 7: Your subscription begins

You'll be charged on Nov 28,
cancel anytime before.

Compare Features	Free	Pro
Read full text summaries Summaries are free to read for everyone
Listen to summaries 12,000+ hours of audio	—
Unlimited Bookmarks Free users are limited to 10	—
Unlimited History Free users are limited to 10	—

What our users say

“...I can 10x the number of books I can read...”

“...exceptionally accurate, engaging, and beautifully presented...”

“...better than any amazon review when I'm making a book-buying decision...”

Save 62%

Yearly

~~$119.88~~ $44.99/yr

$3.75/mo

Monthly

$9.99/mo

Try Free & Unlock

7 days free, then $44.99/year. Cancel anytime.

Settings

Appearance