Books like 1776

01

John Adams

David McCullough · Biography

David McCullough's biography of John Adams, published in 2001, was a commercial phenomenon that spent years on bestseller lists and won the Pulitzer Prize.

A kindred history read.

02

Alexander Hamilton

Ron Chernow · Biography

Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton — immigrant, orphan, Revolutionary War aide-de-camp, first Secretary of the Treasury, founder of the American financial system, and victim of Aaron Burr's bullet — is the most comprehensive single-volume account of Hamilton's life and the book that most directly sparked the Hamilton revival in popular culture, including Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical.

A kindred history read.

03

Washington: A Life

Ron Chernow · Biography

Ron Chernow's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of George Washington is the most comprehensive single-volume life of the first president, tracing his formation as a Virginia planter, his military career in the French and Indian War and the Revolution, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his eight years as the first executive of an untested republic.

A kindred history read.

04

The Civil War: A Narrative

Shelby Foote · History

Shelby Foote spent twenty years writing this three-volume, 1.5-million-word account of the American Civil War, and the result is one of the most ambitious narrative history projects ever attempted by a single author.

A kindred history read.

05

Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Laura Hillenbrand · History

Seabiscuit is the story of the undersized, knobby-kneed racehorse who became the most celebrated American athlete of the late 1930s — drawing larger newspaper audiences than Franklin Roosevelt or Joe DiMaggio at his peak.

Both dig into perseverance.

06

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Daniel James Brown · History

The Boys in the Boat is the story of the University of Washington crew team that won the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, defeating Nazi Germany's squad on Hitler's home course.

Both dig into perseverance.

07

Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin · Business

Extreme Ownership is former Navy SEAL commanders Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's argument that the single most important principle in leadership is taking total responsibility for everything that happens under your command — not just your own actions but your team's performance, your mission's failure, and the behavior of those above you when it doesn't support your mission.

Both dig into military leadership.

08

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth · Psychology

Duckworth's central claim is that talent is overrated.

Both dig into perseverance.

09

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Phil Knight · Memoir

Shoe Dog is Phil Knight's account of the first two decades of Nike, from the $50 loan he borrowed from his father in 1964 to fund his first shipment of Japanese running shoes to the company's IPO in 1980.

Both dig into perseverance.

10

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway · Literary fiction

The Old Man and the Sea is Hemingway's last major work of fiction, the short novel that won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributed to his Nobel Prize in 1954.

Both dig into perseverance.

11

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Charles C. Mann · History

Charles Mann's 1491 sets out to correct a widespread misconception: that the Americas before Columbus were a mostly empty wilderness populated by small, isolated bands of hunter-gatherers living in gentle harmony with an untouched nature.

A kindred history read.

12

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

Charles C. Mann · History

Where 1491 ends, 1493 begins.

A kindred history read.