America 250: 12 books worth reading to celebrate a milestone Independence Day

As you drive through Missoula on Interstate 90, you may notice a signpost identifying a 5-mile stretch of I-90 as the Jeannette Rankin Memorial Highway. And if you’re unfamiliar with Rankin’s eventful life and her impact on our nation’s democracy, check out “Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress.”

Lorissa Rinehart’s highly readable new biography, threaded through with fascinating regional and global history, would be a great place to start your nonfiction reading list for the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Born in 1880 near Missoula and raised in a ranching family, Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress – even before the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote nationwide. Due in large part to Rankin’s relentless activism, women in Montana gained voting rights in time for the 1916 election, which propelled Rankin to Congress.

“In her historic campaign, Rankin built an unapologetically progressive, grassroots movement dedicated to democracy, peace and women’s rights – and did what most thought impossible: she became the first woman elected to Congress, four years before women gained the national right to vote,” Rinehart says.

“Rankin’s story, the power of grassroots democracy, and the need for women’s leadership at every level of government is more relevant and more urgent than ever.”

A gifted orator, Rankin’s journey took her from Montana to New York, Boston, Spokane, Seattle, and as far as New Zealand. She was the lone member of Congress to vote against a declaration of war on Japan, just one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Rinehart’s engaging book, also excellent in audio format, draws on numerous contemporary sources, including interviews with Rankin during her long life. She died in 1973 at 92.

For another view of overlooked heroines, watch for “Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution” by Denise Kiernan. In her new book the author of “The Girls of Atomic City” tells the stories of women who “fought, spied, published, preached, farmed, (and) organized” as the Colonies struggled for independence. (Dutton, June 23)

Here are more suggestions for this semiquincentennial summer:

“The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” by Walter Isaacson. It all began when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, ratified on July 4, 1776. In this slim volume (80 pages), the bestselling historian unpacks the genius of the crucial second sentence of the Declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Isaacson, a professor at Tulane University, also has written biographies about history’s game-changers, including Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. His most recent book reveals the “potency and unfulfilled promise” of perhaps the most famous written passage in American history, says Kirkus Reviews. (Simon and Schuster, 2025)

“National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America” by Michael Auslin. The author wrestles with the many contradictions of the bedrock document, including how it could be claimed “both by those fighting for equality throughout American history and by those who sought to separate from the United States to ‘preserve’ their liberty.” Auslin concludes that after 250 years, and despite times of national division, the Declaration “remains a powerful symbol of unity.” (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2026)

“We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution” by Jill Lepore. After the Declaration, came the Constitution, but only after years of debate following the Revolutionary War. Lepore, a Harvard professor and staff writer at the New Yorker, won a 2026 Pulitzer Prize for this monumental history of the document and the mostly unsuccessful efforts to amend it. Lepore’s book is built on an archive of more than 11,000 constitutional amendments proposed in Congress, plus thousands more that never made it that far.

Since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, the Constitution has been amended only 17 times, most recently in 1992 with a provision limiting pay raises for members of Congress. Lepore makes an argument against the legal theory of “originalism” and in favor of a less onerous process to make this keystone document more relevant to our times. (Liveright, 2025)

“The American Revolution: An Intimate History” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. Documentarian Burns gave the Revolutionary War his trademark treatment last year with “The American Revolution,” a six-part series available for streaming on the PBS website and app. The companion book expands on the film with illustrations and additional commentary by noted historians. Author Ted Widmer, writing in the New York Times, called the book a “visual feast” that “reminds us how, against all odds, a fractious people came together in the first place.” (Knopf, 2025)

“The Promise of a Nation: Commemorating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection” by Smithsonian Institution. This generously illustrated book takes a decade-by-decade approach to the American enterprise, relying on 600 items from “the nation’s attic” to tell the story of progress. (Smithsonian Books, 2026)

“American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” by Jon Meacham. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has pulled together an engaging collection of primary materials for this landmark year. The 544-page anthology collects voices from 1619 to the present, including Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ronald Reagan. Meacham visits Spokane Oct. 16 for a forum hosted by Whitworth University, in partnership with The Spokesman-Review’s Northwest Passages Book Club. (Random House, 2026)

“This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History” by Beverly Gage. Hit the road with Gage for a look at 13 regions where America has repeatedly “defined and redefined itself,” as Kirkus describes the book. From the birthplace of the Declaration in Philadelphia to the land of imagination at Disneyland in California, the historian offers a thoughtful take on America’s complicated history and aspirational ideals. Gage, who won a Pulitzer prize for her biography of J. Edgar Hoover, visited 300 historical sites in her research. “This book is for everyone who wants to find American history – to experience it and confront it, to celebrate and condemn it – in the places where it happened,” she writes. It may inspire you to jump in your car and explore some of those places yourself. (Simon and Schuster, 2026)

“On the Record: Music That Shaped America” by Anna Harwell Celenza. Read up on the origin and impact of some of the nation’s most iconic songs, including “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the civil rights anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” and Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in The Wind.” Described as a “political history of the United States through a musical lens,” the book also explores the impact that Washington policymakers have had on American music through laws and other initiatives. This one will give you ideas for your Independence Day playlist. (Norton, 2026)

“The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson. This National Book Critics Circle Award winner reframes 20th-century American history through the lives of those who moved in search of opportunity and freedom. “It invites intergenerational dialogue and deep community reflection,” says author Tracy Chiles McGhee. (Random House, 2010)

“A Voice Like Mine” by Deb Haaland. The former Interior Secretary and current candidate for New Mexico governor tells the story of her rise from poverty and single motherhood to a successful career in business and politics. As a “35th generation New Mexican,” Haaland has broken numerous barriers, including serving as the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary. MacArthur Fellowship-winning author Tommy Orange praised the memoir for its “undeniable ringing of truth.” (Henry Holt and Co., 2026)

Martin Wolk is a writer and editor who previously worked for Reuters and NBC News. He divides his time between Washington state and Utah.