After 100 years of Mount Rushmore, its biographer says the landmark is incomplete

In The Message, acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates weaves together a series of travelogues to show how narratives about race and power shape our understanding of the world. Drawing from his travels to Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine, he explores themes such as the power of storytelling as an act of resistance, the pervasive legacy of enslavement and white supremacy on the Black experience, and the battle for control over historical narratives.

In this guide, we’ll unpack what Coates sees as the truth-telling power of the written word and how he applies that perspective as he explores cultural and political flashpoints in each of the places he visits. Throughout, we also incorporate perspectives from other thinkers to contextualize Coates’s observations within wider scholarly and public discourse on race, power, and identity.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is about the Osage Reign of Terror—the 1920s organized killings of members of the oil-rich Osage Indians. Powerful and bigoted whites systematically exploited and murdered the Osage people to expropriate their wealth, showing us the horrors that result when racism and greed align. The murders were also a major catalyst for the growth of the FBI, and the triumph of its rational and scientific vision of law enforcement—and a shift away from the era of frontier justice, corrupt and incompetent local sheriffs, and rogue “lawmen.”

From revolution to recession, scandal to triumph, America’s presidents have shaped the nation’s story in ways both inspiring and contentious. In Confronting the Presidents, journalists Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard pull back the curtain on the personal struggles and political gambits of every US president—revealing the human flaws and fierce convictions behind the Oval Office.

Our guide to Confronting the Presidents focuses on ten presidents that O’Reilly and Dugard suggest were particularly influential or controversial: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. These presidents come from different eras of American history, representing a broad overview of the nation’s biggest challenges and the leaders who navigated them. Through our commentary, we’ll provide additional context around their decisions and legacies.

Are great leaders born, or are they made? In Leadership: In Turbulent Times, bestselling author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that it’s the latter: Great leaders often grow from personal challenges that shape how they lead later on. In our guide, you’ll discover how the personal crises of four US presidents helped them lead through national crises. Why did a career setback lead Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation? How did a family tragedy help Theodore Roosevelt end a coal strike that threatened the lives of thousands? Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis end up helping him lead the country through the Great Depression—and how was Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack instrumental to the civil rights movement?

Along the way, you’ll learn how other historians view these presidents, how these presidents’ behaviors reflect the teachings of modern-day experts on leadership and productivity—and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.

In this comprehensive biography, journalist Ron Chernow describes the life and influence of Alexander Hamilton, arguing that Hamilton has been unfairly overlooked compared to other Founding Fathers. Though he never served as president, he had a profound impact on the structure of the American government and its economy. While Hamilton’s life ended in scandal and a fatal duel, Chernow believes that America today is the realization of Hamilton’s vision, far more so than that of his political rivals like Thomas Jefferson.

This guide will consider Hamilton’s life and legacy, including his unlikely ascension from a poor student from the Caribbean to a trusted advisor of George Washington and leader of one of the US’s earliest political parties. We’ll also discuss additional historical context for the 18th century, how the events of Hamilton’s life have influenced America today, historians’ responses to Chernow’s work, and the book’s adaptation into a hit 2015 musical.

From revolution to recession, scandal to triumph, America’s presidents have shaped the nation’s story in ways both inspiring and contentious. In Confronting the Presidents, journalists Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard pull back the curtain on the personal struggles and political gambits of every US president—revealing the human flaws and fierce convictions behind the Oval Office.

Our guide to Confronting the Presidents focuses on ten presidents that O’Reilly and Dugard suggest were particularly influential or controversial: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. These presidents come from different eras of American history, representing a broad overview of the nation’s biggest challenges and the leaders who navigated them. Through our commentary, we’ll provide additional context around their decisions and legacies.

Are great leaders born, or are they made? In Leadership: In Turbulent Times, bestselling author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that it’s the latter: Great leaders often grow from personal challenges that shape how they lead later on. In our guide, you’ll discover how the personal crises of four US presidents helped them lead through national crises. Why did a career setback lead Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation? How did a family tragedy help Theodore Roosevelt end a coal strike that threatened the lives of thousands? Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s polio diagnosis end up helping him lead the country through the Great Depression—and how was Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack instrumental to the civil rights movement?

Along the way, you’ll learn how other historians view these presidents, how these presidents’ behaviors reflect the teachings of modern-day experts on leadership and productivity—and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.

A Promised Land is Barack Obama’s memoir of his early political career and the first two years of his presidency. Obama takes us on his journey from relative obscurity as a biracial kid from Hawaii to becoming a transformative figure as the nation’s first African-American president. At every step of his career, Obama was guided by a deep faith in the fundamental unity of Americans; the potential and promise of America; the necessity of compromise and seeking common ground; and above all, the power of the democratic system to heal our divisions and effect real change for ordinary people.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is about the Osage Reign of Terror—the 1920s organized killings of members of the oil-rich Osage Indians. Powerful and bigoted whites systematically exploited and murdered the Osage people to expropriate their wealth, showing us the horrors that result when racism and greed align. The murders were also a major catalyst for the growth of the FBI, and the triumph of its rational and scientific vision of law enforcement—and a shift away from the era of frontier justice, corrupt and incompetent local sheriffs, and rogue “lawmen.”

Think back to your US history classes—how much time did you spend studying Native American perspectives? According to some experts, it probably wasn’t much. History professor and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz fills that knowledge gap with An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Published in 2014, this book is a retelling of US history that makes two major arguments: First, the US’s global success can be traced directly to its genocide of Native Americans. Second, indigenous resistance holds the key to a more peaceful future.

In this guide, we’ll discuss life in precolonial America and explain what led Europe to colonize the Americas. Then, we’ll explain how patterns of genocide and resistance have played out over the course of US history. Our commentary will provide additional information and alternative ideas about the historical events Dunbar-Ortiz covers. We’ll also explore social issues related to colonization, explain how Native American resistance efforts intersect with other movements, and provide an update on US-indigenous relations in the 21st century.