The best historical fiction books by African American authors

Book cover of The Underground Railroad Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of Song Yet Sung Book cover of Beloved Book cover of Roots: The Saga of an American Family

The best civil war novels and histories that expose the tensions of the world today

Book cover of Trouble The Water Book cover of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War Book cover of A Chain of Thunder Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of Cold Mountain

The best books about internet activism (hint: the kids are actually alright)

Book cover of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of Digital Black Feminism Book cover of Jamaica Labrish Book cover of Digital Diaspora: A Race for Cyberspace

The best books about the power of memory to heal the trauma of racial violence

Book cover of All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism Book cover of Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America Book cover of Denmark Vesey's Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy

The best historical fiction with a whisper of fantasy

Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of The Lovely Bones Book cover of The Crystal Cave Book cover of The Chrysalids Book cover of Outlander

The best historical novels to fly you into fantasy

Book cover of Water for Elephants Book cover of The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna Book cover of The Plague Dogs Book cover of The Water Dancer Book cover of The Library of Legends

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Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Water Dancer.

Book cover of Cold Mountain Book cover of Beloved Book cover of The Lovely Bones Book cover of The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism Book cover of The Crystal Cave Book cover of Outlander

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the South, Slavery, and presidential biography?

The South 200 books
Slavery 321 books
Presidential Biography 20 books