Book cover of A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

Book description

Ronald Takaki's "brilliant revisionist history of America" (Publishers Weekly) is a landmark work of American history retells American history from the bottom up, through the lives of many minorities - Native Americans, African Americans, Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and others - who helped create this country's…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked A Different Mirror as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There have been Asian Americans for as long as there’s been an America, and indeed in places like California Asian communities were there before the United States was.

That’s just one of the countless surprising and crucial lessons that I first learned from Takaki’s sweeping and magisterial history of the U.S., and every time I dip back into this book, I learn something new about where we’ve been, who we are, and what we can be if we better remember all of our communities and stories.

I am inspired every day by what Takaki accomplished and shared and what his…

If you love A Different Mirror...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like A Different Mirror?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A Different Mirror.

Browse books like A Different Mirror

Book cover of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Book cover of The Marrow of Tradition
Book cover of America Is in the Heart: A Personal History

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

181

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like A Different Mirror, you might also like...

Book cover of Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today's Toxic, Sexist Culture

Sexy Selfie Nation by Leora Tanenbaum,

The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.

Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…

Book cover of In This Together: Connecting with Your Community to Combat the Climate Crisis

In This Together by Marianne E. Krasny,

In This Together explores how we can harness our social networks to make a real impact fighting the climate crisis. Against notions of the lone environmental crusader, Marianne E. Krasny shows us the power of "network climate action"—the idea that our own ordinary acts can influence and inspire those close…

5 book lists we think you will like!