by Oliver Stone
First published 2015
America's official story hides its true imperial nature. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick strip away comfortable myths to reveal how the United States built and wielded its empire from the late 1800s through World War II. This young readers' adaptation by Susan Campbell Bartoletti draws from newly declassified documents and archival discoveries to challenge what schools teach about American history. The authors trace pivotal moments that shaped the nation's rise to global dominance, culminating in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Stone applies his filmmaker's eye to historical evidence, presenting a darker view of American power than most students encounter in textbooks or popular media. The book serves as a counterweight to conventional narratives, offering curious young historians access to suppressed truths about their country's past century of international influence.
Genres: history, 20th-century, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: counternarrative, suppressed-truths
Setting: United States, Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Period: Late 1800s, World War II
400 pages · Paperback · Atheneum Books for Young Readers