Rise Up Singing
Book — Non-fiction. By Peter Blood and Annie Patterson. 2004. 288 pages.
Social justice songs on various themes.
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Social justice songs on various themes.
Resource Type: Books: Non-Fiction
Below is a collection of our recommended non-fiction books for readers at middle school level and above.
You can find non-fiction illustrated books for children in our Picture Books collection.
The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2009. 746 pages.
A volume of essays emphasizing six areas that have been important to Zinn's work since the late 1950s — race, class, war, law, and history.
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A volume of essays emphasizing six areas that have been important to Zinn's work since the late 1950s — race, class, war, law, and history.
Artists in Times of War
Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2004. 112 pages.
In this collection of four essays, Zinn writes about the unique role of artists, activists, and publishers in working toward change.
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In this collection of four essays, Zinn writes about the unique role of artists, activists, and publishers in working toward change.
The Real Cost of Prisons Comix
Book — Non-fiction. By Ellen Miller-Mack, Craig Gilmore, Lois Ahrens, Susan Willmarth, and Kevin Pyle. 2008. 104 pages.
This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
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This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery
Book — Non-fiction. By Anne Farrow, Joel Lang and Jenifer Frank. 2005. 304 pages.
Challenges the misconception that only the South was involved in or profited from slavery.
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Challenges the misconception that only the South was involved in or profited from slavery.
Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
Book — Non-fiction. By Peniel E. Joseph. 2007. 432 pages.
A narrative history of the Black Power Movement.
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A narrative history of the Black Power Movement.
Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Senior High
Book — Non-fiction. By Melba Pattillo Beals. 2007. 336 pages.
Story of a teenage girl chosen to integrate Little Rock High School.
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Story of a teenage girl chosen to integrate Little Rock High School.
We Took the Streets: Fighting for Latino Rights with the Young Lords
Book — Non-fiction. By Miguel Melendez. 2003. 260 pages.
Legacy of the Young Lords in the Puerto Rican struggle for equality and independence.
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Legacy of the Young Lords in the Puerto Rican struggle for equality and independence.
Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies & Sparked the American Revolution
Book — Non-fiction. By Alfred Blumrosen and Ruth Blumrosen. 2006. 304 pages.
A detailed account of the role slavery played in the Revolutionary War and the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
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A detailed account of the role slavery played in the Revolutionary War and the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle, 1954–1990
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Clayborne Carson, David J. Garrow, Gerald Gill, Vincent Harding, and Darlene Clark Hine. 1991. 784 pages
Readings to accompany the film, Eyes on the Prize.
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Readings to accompany the film, Eyes on the Prize.
Through My Eyes
Book — Non-fiction. By Ruby Bridges. 1999. 64 pages.
Biography of Ruby Bridges for middle school.
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Biography of Ruby Bridges for middle school.
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do
Book — Non-fiction. By Studs Terkel. 2004. 640 pages.
Interviews with people from all walks of life about their work.
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Interviews with people from all walks of life about their work.
History in the Making: An Absorbing Look at How American History Has Changed in the Telling over the Last 200 Years
Book — Non-fiction. By Kyle Ward. 2007. 374 pages.
From the widely acclaimed co-author of History Lessons comes an examination of ways in which Americans tell the history their country has changed over time.
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From the widely acclaimed co-author of History Lessons comes an examination of ways in which Americans tell the history their country has changed over time.
History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History
Book — Non-fiction. By Dana Lindaman and Kyle Ward. 2004. 404 pages.
How U.S. history is portrayed in textbooks from around the world.
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How U.S. history is portrayed in textbooks from around the world.
Not Written in Stone: Learning and Unlearning American History Through 200 Years of Textbooks
Book — Non-fiction. By Kyle Ward. 2010. 368 pages.
A critique of the representation of history in textbooks.
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A critique of the representation of history in textbooks.
“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II
Book — Non-fiction. By Studs Terkel. 2004. 608 pages.
Interviews with over 120 people about WWII.
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Interviews with over 120 people about WWII.
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord
Book — Non-fiction. By Ray Raphael. 2003. 288 pages.
The events leading up to the American Revolution.
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The events leading up to the American Revolution.
Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South
Book — Non-fiction (with CD). Edited by William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad. 2008. 346 pages.
Extensive oral history of African American life under segregation.
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Extensive oral history of African American life under segregation.
Keeping the Promise?: The Debate Over Charter Schools
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Leigh Dingerson, Barbara Miner, Bob Peterson, and Stephanie Walters. Rethinking Schools. 2008. 240 pages.
Essays examines the charter school movement's founding visions, on-the-ground realities, and untapped potential.
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Essays examines the charter school movement's founding visions, on-the-ground realities, and untapped potential.
To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Robin D. G. Kelley and Earl Lewis. 2005. 320 pages.
Comprehensive history of African Americans.
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Comprehensive history of African Americans.
Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality
Book — Non-fiction. By Richard Kluger. 2004. 880 pages.
One of the first texts, now a classic, on Brown v. Board of Education.
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One of the first texts, now a classic, on Brown v. Board of Education.
Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement
Book — Non-fiction. By James Haskins. 1997. 128 pages.
Biography for middle school readers of Bayard Rustin.
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Biography for middle school readers of Bayard Rustin.
Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Book — Non-fiction. By Cynthia Stokes Brown. 2002. 192 pages.
Four short biographies of white people who've fought against racism in U.S. history.
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Four short biographies of white people who've fought against racism in U.S. history.
The American Revolutionaries: A History in Their Own Words, 1750-1800
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Milton Meltzer. 1987. 224 pages.
First hand accounts and primary documents on the American Revolution.
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First hand accounts and primary documents on the American Revolution.
From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: A Short, Illustrated History of Labor in the United States
Book — Non-fiction. By Priscilla Murolo and A. B. Chitty. Illustrations by Joe Sacco. 2002. 384 pages.
Labor history of the United States.
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Labor history of the United States.