52 Books about the United States

Adventures in a TV Nation is a book by American author and film director Michael Moore and his producer and then-wife Kathleen Glynn.

Adventures in Two Worlds is the 1952 autobiography of Dr. A. J. Cronin, in which he relates, with much humour, the exciting events of his dual career as a medical doctor and a novelist.

America's 60 Families is a book by American journalist Ferdinand Lundberg published in 1937 by Vanguard Press. It is an argumentative analysis of wealth and class in the United States, and how they are leveraged for purposes of political and economic power, specifically by what the author contends is a "plutocratic circle" composed of a tightly interlinked group of 60 families.

The American Monomyth is a 1977 book by Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence arguing for the existence and cultural importance of an 'American Monomyth', a variation on the classical monomyth as proposed by Joseph Campbell.

American Nietzsche: A History of an Icon and His Ideas is a 2011 book about the reception of Friedrich Nietzsche in the United States by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen. It won the American Historical Association's John H. Dunning Prize (2013), Society for U.S. Intellectual History Annual Book Award (2013), and Morris D. Forkosch Prize for the Best First Book in Intellectual History (2013).

American Notes for General Circulation is a travelogue by Charles Dickens detailing his trip to North America from January to June 1842. While there he acted as a critical observer of North American society, almost as if returning a status report on their progress. This can be compared to the style of his Pictures from Italy written four years later, where he wrote far more like a tourist. His American journey was also an inspiration for his novel Martin Chuzzlewit. Having arrived in Boston, he visited Lowell, New York, and Philadelphia, and travelled as far south as Richmond, as far west as St. Louis and as far north as Quebec. The American city he liked best was Boston – "the air was so clear, the houses were so bright and gay. [...] The city is a beautiful one, and cannot fail, I should imagine, to impress all strangers very favourably." Further, it was close to the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind where Dickens encountered Laura Bridgman, who impressed him greatly.

The Automobile Blue Book was an American series of road guides for motoring travelers in the United States and Canada published between 1901 and 1929. It was best known for its point-to-point road directions at a time when numbered routes generally did not exist.

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life is a 1994 book by psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray, in which the authors argue that human intelligence is substantially influenced by both inherited and environmental factors and that it is a better predictor of many personal outcomes, including financial income, job performance, birth out of wedlock, and involvement in crime than are an individual's parental socioeconomic status. They also argue that those with high intelligence, the "cognitive elite", are becoming separated from those of average and below-average intelligence.

Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 is a 2012 book by Charles Murray, a political scientist and W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations is a 1979 book by the cultural historian Christopher Lasch, in which the author explores the roots and ramifications of the normalizing of pathological narcissism in 20th-century American culture using psychological, cultural, artistic and historical synthesis. For the mass-market edition published in September of the same year, Lasch won the 1980 US National Book Award in the category Current Interest (paperback).

The Death and Life of Great American Cities is a 1961 book by writer and activist Jane Jacobs. The book is a critique of 1950s urban planning policy, which it holds responsible for the decline of many city neighborhoods in the United States. The book is Jacobs' best-known and most influential work.

Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads is a 2015 non-fiction book authored by Paul Theroux.

The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap is a 2014 non-fiction book by journalist Matt Taibbi about income inequality in the United States and its impact on the American conception of justice and the legal system.

Domestic Manners of the Americans is a 2-volume 1832 travel book by Frances Milton Trollope, which follows her travels through America and her residence in Cincinnati, at the time still a frontier town. The text now resides in the public domain.

Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American is a book by American author and producer Michael Moore.

En canot sur les chemins d'eau du Roi is a 2005 travel book by the French writer Jean Raspail. It retells the North American voyage the author made by canoe in 1949, following the route of the 17th-century missionary Father Marquette.

An Englishman Looks at the World is a 1914 essay collection by H. G. Wells containing journalistic pieces written between 1909 and 1914. The book consists of twenty-six pieces ranging from five to sixty-two pages in length. An American edition was published the same year by Harper and Brothers under the title Social Forces in England and America.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is a 2001 book written by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry.

From Wimbledon to Waco is a 1995 travelogue book written by Nigel Williams describing his family's first visit to the United States. The Williamses do not live in Wimbledon, nor do they reach Waco, but as Nigel Williams explains in the last chapter of the book "I like the title..."

Fünf Minuten Amerika is a 1931 travel book by the Austrian writer Felix Salten, depicting his tour of 1930 in the United States of America. This is his second travel book, following his account of Palestine, Neue Menschen auf alter Erde, of 1925. Salten himself considered these two books to be his foremost.

Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. is a book by Jonathan Ned Katz. It is a study of the history of the gay community in the United States. The book is considered a revolutionary work chronicling the history of LGBT people.

The Godfather Effect is a 2012 critically acclaimed study of The Godfather films – as well as Mario Puzo's 1969 novel – and their effect on American culture. Written by biographer Tom Santopietro, the book demonstrates how The Godfather was a turning point in American cultural consciousness. With its emphasis on proud ethnicity, The Godfather changed not just the way Italian-Americans saw themselves, but how Americans of all backgrounds viewed their individual and national self-identities, their possibilities, and attendant disappointments.

The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better is a pamphlet by Tyler Cowen published in 2011. It argues that the American economy has reached a historical technological plateau and the factors which drove economic growth for most of America's history are mostly spent. These figurative "low-hanging fruit" from the title include the cultivation of much free, previously unused land; the application and spread of technological breakthroughs, particularly during the period 1880–1940, including transport, refrigeration, electricity, mass communications, and sanitation; and the education of large numbers of smart people who previously received none.

Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America is the debut book by author Linda Tirado. The book was released on 2 October 2014 and contains a foreword written by Barbara Ehrenreich.

The Hundred Year Lie: How Food And Medicine Are Destroying Your Health (2006) is a book by investigative journalist Randall Fitzgerald that examines the rise of the local and global influence of the United States food and chemical industries, and argues that they have, over the last century, altered, affected and damaged the lives of millions of people in the United States by introducing synthetic chemicals into the mainstream food chain.

Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio is a two volume book of scientific illustrations published by subscription between the years 1879 and 1886. It was conceived by Genevieve Estelle Jones, who began work on the book in 1877 and was initially its principal illustrator. Her childhood friend Eliza Jane Shulze also undertook illustrations for the book. The book was completed by Jones's family after her death from typhoid fever.

In Defense of Internment: The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror (ISBN 0-89526-051-4) is a 2004 book written by conservative American political commentator Michelle Malkin. Malkin defends the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II and racial profiling of Arabs during the post-2001 War on Terror. The book's message has been condemned by Japanese American groups and civil rights advocates. Its point of view has been criticized by academics.

Inside U.S.A. is a nonfiction book by John Gunther, first published in 1947 and one of that year's best-selling nonfiction books in the United States. It describes the author's observations during 13 months of travel through the 48 U.S. states beginning in November 1944.

The Land of Little Rain is a book written by American writer Mary Hunter Austin. First published in 1903, it contains a series of interrelated lyrical essays about the inhabitants of the American Southwest, both human and otherwise.

Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980 is a 1984 book about the effectiveness of welfare state policies in the United States between 1950 and 1980 by the political scientist Charles Murray. It has been listed as one of the most influential books on policy and social science in the United States in the 20th century. Both its policy proposals and its methodology have attracted significant controversy.

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America is a book by travel writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his 13,978 mile trip around the United States in the autumn of 1987 and spring 1988. It was Bryson's first travel book.

The Moronic Inferno: And Other Visits to America (1986) is a collection of non-fiction essays on the subject of America, by the British novelist Martin Amis.

My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding is a 1998 autobiography written by David Duke. Duke's social philosophies are outlined, including the reasoning behind his advocacy of racial segregation.

My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style is a book by Jerry Newman about low-wage work in fast-food outlets. Newman is a distinguished professor at University at Buffalo (N.Y.) School of Management who has taught business courses for nearly 30 years, and went undercover as a bottom-rung worker for the biggest names in fast food, including McDonald's and Burger King.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church is a 2007 book by theologian Greg Boyd on the relationship between politics and Christianity. Following the book's release, Boyd, who was already a noteworthy theologian before the book's publication, gained national attention after the New York Times published a front page cover article on the book and Boyd's rejection of the religious right. He also discussed the book on The Charlie Rose Show and in the CNN documentary God's Warriors. The book was also discussed widely in publications such as Christianity Today and The Christian Century.

Notes from a Big Country, or as it was released in the United States, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, is a collection of articles written by Bill Bryson for The Mail on Sunday's Night and Day supplement during the 1990s, published together first in Britain in 1998 and in paperback in 1999. The book discusses Bryson's views on relocating to Hanover, New Hampshire, after spending two decades in Britain.

Old Glory is a travel book by Jonathan Raban. It is the winner of The Royal Society of Literature's Heinemann Award and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.

The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration: 1966-1999 is a 1999 non-fiction book by Ray Suarez. It describes the process of urban flight, as it has occurred in the United States from the 1960s to the 1990s.

The Peoplepedia: The Ultimate Reference on the American People is a 1996 book by Les Krantz and Jim McCormick. Covering "Americans and their habits...from serious to silly", it "purports to illuminate 'who we are and how we see ourselves'". It was written in three parts providing "statistical snapshots of American life": "The American Mindset" with popular opinions; "The American Collective" with facts about broad categories such as education or religion; and "Notable Americans" with biographical sketches. A review said it was "entertaining but, in some places, deceptive" and concentrated on men's biographies over women.

Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America is a non-fiction work of literary criticism written by Jay Parini. A listing of 100 additional books is included at the very end of the book.

Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America is a 2009 non-fiction book by Rich Benjamin.

The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America is a book by educator and author Jonathan Kozol. It describes how, in the United States, black and Hispanic students tend to be concentrated in schools where they make up almost the entire student body.

South and West: From a Notebook is a 2017 non-fiction book authored by Joan Didion, with a preface by Nathaniel Rich. It is based on notes Didion took while traveling in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana in the 1970s as well as her sense of home in California.

This Is America is a 1942 book with text by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and photographs by Frances Cooke Macgregor published by G. P. Putnam's and Sons, New York. The title This Is America coincided with the 1942 series of wartime posters by the Sheldon-Claire company of Chicago, "This is America... Keep it Free".

Travels with Charley: In Search of America is a 1962 travelogue written by American author John Steinbeck. It depicts a 1960 road trip around the United States made by Steinbeck, in the company of his standard poodle Charley. Steinbeck wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level because he made his living writing about it. He wrote of having many questions going into his journey, the main one being "What are Americans like today?" However, he found that he had concerns about much of the "new America" he witnessed.

A Turn in the South is a travelogue of the American South written by Nobel Prize-winning writer V. S. Naipaul. The book was published in 1989 and is based upon the author's travels in the southern states of the United States.

United States in Prophecy was the original title of a publication that became known by its longer name of United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy and published in various editions and formats after 1945. It was written under the byline of Herbert W. Armstrong who had assistance from staff members of Ambassador College. The publication related the views, beliefs and teachings of the Worldwide Church of God with regards to the identity of the so-called Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and for many years it was distributed as a companion booklet to 1975 in Prophecy! by the same author and publisher.

A Walk Across America is a nonfiction travel book first published in 1979. It was the first book written by travel author Peter Jenkins, with support from the National Geographic Society. The book depicts his journey from Alfred, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana. While on his journey of self-discovery, he engaged himself in others' lives, lost his best friend, experienced a religious conversion, and courted a new wife. The book would lead to a sequel, as well as a writing career.

When Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down is a memoir written by Robert Cooley, a lawyer who worked for Mafia criminals in Chicago, U.S.A., but eventually turned in his former clients. The book is co-written by journalist Hillel Levin and was published by Perseus Publishing in 2004. It details Cooley's friendships with Pat Marcy, Harry Aleman "The Hook", and Tony Spilotro, as well as telling the story of the nine trials in which Cooley helped the U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force convict several key Mafia figures.

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide is a 2016 non-fiction book by Emory University professor Carol Anderson. Anderson was contracted to write the book following the reaction to an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2014.

Yes, Chef is chef Marcus Samuelsson's 2012 memoir written with journalist Veronica Chambers.

You Have Seen Their Faces is a book by photographer Margaret Bourke-White and novelist Erskine Caldwell. It was first published in 1937 by Viking Press, with a paperback version by Modern Age Books following quickly. Bourke-White and Caldwell married in 1939.