United States, history book series in reading order

by Kate Messner

by Loree Lough

by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Who HQ is the credit on 429 children's nonfiction biographies in the catalogue, published from 2002 to 2026. The run opens with Who Was Albert Einstein?, Who Was Amelia Earhart? and Who Was Ben Franklin? (all 2002) and reaches Who Is Vera Wang (2026). Subjects include biography, history and juvenile nonfiction for readers aged 8 to 12. Other names credited on some of the books include Megan Stine (7), John Hinderliter (7) and Nico Medina (4).

Catherine Marshall was an American author of inspirational non-fiction, devotional writing and fiction, married to the minister Peter Marshall. A Man Called Peter (1951) opens a catalogue of 42 books, and Christy (1967) sits in it alongside the Christy of Cutter Gap series. Christian life, faith, prayer and biography are the recurring subjects, with teachers and schools among them. The catalogue closes with Moments That Matter (2001).

Matthew A. Rozell writes United States military history of the Second World War, told through the voices of those who served. The Things Our Fathers Saw series carries most of the catalogue: the Pacific Theater volume (2015), a second volume running from the Great Depression into combat (2017), two volumes on the war in the air (2017), then Up the Bloody Boot on the war in Italy (2018), D-Day and Beyond (2019), The Bulge and Beyond (2020), Across the Rhine (2021) and On to Tokyo (2022). A Train Near Magdeburg (2016) records a teacher's journey into the Holocaust and the reuniting of survivors with their liberators 70 years on. Ten books are catalogued, none since 2022.

Brad Meltzer

85 books• 14 series

Brad Meltzer, born April 1, 1970, is an American novelist, non-fiction author, television creator and comic book writer. The novels span political thrillers, legal thrillers and conspiracy fiction. Meltzer has written superhero comics for DC Comics and, at times, Marvel, and a run of short biographies of well-known people for young readers. The catalogue holds 86 titles from The Tenth Justice (1997) to We are the Wright Brothers (2026), and I am Taylor Swift is scheduled for 2027. Series include Ordinary People Change the World, Beecher White/Culper Ring and Escape Artist/Zig & Nola. Other titles include Identity Crisis (2004) and The Book of Fate (2006).

H.W. Brands writes history and biography centred on American presidents, the Cold War and United States foreign relations. The catalogue lists 48 books from Cold Warriors (1988) to American Patriarch (2026), and includes the series Foreign Relations and the Presidency. Early titles are India and the United States, The Specter of Neutralism, Inside the Cold War, Bound to Empire, The Devil We Knew and The Reckless Decade. Brands is still publishing.

Loree Lough has 102 books catalogued from 1994 to 2022, covering both children's fiction and romance. Subjects include Christian life, American history, the Pilgrims of New Plymouth colony, the American Revolution, slavery, prejudice and the Depression. Pocketful Of Love (1994) is the first listed title, and The Christmas Letter (2022) the newest. Lough's series include American Adventure, Suddenly, Chesapeake, Accidental Blessings, Child to Love, Secrets on Sterling Street, By Way of the Lighthouse and Those Marshall Boys. The median book runs to 144 pages.

American children's author Kate Messner, born in 1970 or 1971, writes mainly picture books, chapter books and middle grade novels. Messner's books have sold over five million copies in more than a dozen languages. The catalogue lists 85 books from Spitfire (2007) to Axolotl-Ella: A Sort-of Cinderella Story (2026), with Keep the Ghost Light On due in 2027. Series include History Smashers, Ranger in Time, Marty McGuire, Over and Under and Silver Jaguar Society Mysteries. Time travel, schools, dogs and history feature among the subjects.

Carole Boston Weatherford

67 books• 1 series

Carole Boston Weatherford, born Carole Michele Boston on February 13, 1956, is an American author, poet and critic. More than 50 of Weatherford's children's books have been published, mostly non-fiction and poetry. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre won the 2022 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Weatherford received the Children's Literature Legacy Award in 2025. African American history, civil rights and slavery appear among the subjects. The catalogue lists 67 books from Juneteenth Jamboree (1995) to Kin: Rooted in Hope (2023).

Susan B Katz and various authors is the credit on The Story of, a biography series for readers in grades 3 to 5. 52 books were published between 2020 and 2025, from The Story of Frida Kahlo (2020) to The Story of Olivia Rodrigo (2025). Subjects range from Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Alexander Hamilton and Amelia Earhart to Barack Obama, Benjamin Franklin, Fred Rogers and Gandhi. The median book runs 66 pages.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

23 books• 3 series

The 23 entries catalogued under Lin-Manuel Miranda are largely music editions and librettos dated 2013 to 2021. In the Heights (2013) opens the listing and In the Heights: Finding Home (2021) closes it, with Hamilton: The Revolution (2015), Hamilton - Vocal Selections (2016), Hamilton Songbook (2016), Moana: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) and Hamilton: Strum & Sing Guitar (2017) among the titles. Miranda, born in 1980, works as a songwriter, actor, filmmaker, librettist and producer, and created the Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton. The animated films Moana, Vivo and Encanto carry Miranda soundtracks. Recorded honours run to a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Emmy Awards, five Grammy Awards, two Academy Award nominations and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.

Conrad Black writes biography and history, with 15 books catalogued from Render Unto Caesar: The Life and Legacy of Maurice Duplessis (1977) to The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol II (2025). United States presidents feature in Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (2003) and Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full (2007). The Black series are History of Canada from the Vikings to the Present and Political and Strategic History of the World. Newspaper publishing, finance and Donald Trump also appear among the subjects. The median Black book runs to 522 pages.

Ibram X. Kendi

10 books

Ibram X. Kendi, born Ibram Henry Rogers on August 13, 1982, is an American author, professor, anti-racism activist and historian of race and discriminatory policy in the United States. Kendi founded the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University in July 2020 and directed it until 2025. Time named Kendi among its 100 Most Influential People of 2020. The catalogue holds 10 books from The Black Campus Movement (2012) to Chain of Ideas (2026), including Stamped from the Beginning (2016), How to Be an Antiracist (2019) and Antiracist Baby (2020).

David Heska Wanbli Weiden teaches political science at Metropolitan State University of Denver and writes crime and thriller fiction. Weiden is Lakota, and Lakota life, South Dakota and Native American history run through the work. Three books are catalogued: Spotted Tail (2019), Winter Counts (2020) and Wisdom Corner (2026). Winter Counts, the debut novel, took the Anthony, Lefty, ITW Thriller, Barry, Macavity and Spur awards.