American Heritage Popular Books
American Heritage Biography & Facts
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (as of 2021, officially changed from Asian American Pacific Islander Month) is observed in the United States during the month of May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. Background The first Asians documented in the Americas arrived in 1587, when Filipinos landed in California; from 1898 to 1946, the Philippines was an American possession. The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Indians in Jamestown, documented as early as 1635. In 1778, the first Chinese to reach what would be the United States, arrived in Hawaii. In 1788, the first Native Hawaiian arrived on the continental United States, in Oregon; in 1900, Hawaii was annexed by the United States. The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Japanese, who arrived in Hawaii in 1806. In 1884, the first Koreans arrived in the United States. In 1898, Guam was ceded to the United States; beginning in the 1900s, Chamorros began to migrate to California and Hawaii. In 1904, what is now American Samoa was ceded to the United States; beginning in the 1920s, Samoans began to migrate to Hawaii and the continental United States, with the first Samoans documented in Hawaii in 1920. In 1912, the first Vietnamese was documented in the United States. History A former congressional staffer in the 1970s, Jeanie Jew, first approached Representative Frank Horton with the idea of designating a month to recognize Asian Pacific Americans, following the bicentennial celebrations. In June 1977, Representatives Horton, and Norman Y. Mineta, introduced a United States House of Representatives resolution to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate a month later by Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga. The proposed resolutions sought that May be designated for two reasons. For on May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant, Nakahama Manjirō, arrived in the United States. More than two decades later, on May 10, 1869, the golden spike was driven into the first transcontinental railroad, which was completed using Chinese labor. President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution for the celebration on October 5, 1978. On May 1, 2009, President Barack Obama signed Proclamation 8369, recognizing the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. On April 30, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Proclamation 10189, recognizing the month of May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Federal legislation "A joint resolution authorizing the President to proclaim annually a week during the first 10 days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week." was text in House Joint Resolution 540; this resolution as well as Senate Joint Resolution 72 did not pass. Ultimately, though, Rep. Horton's House Joint Resolution 1007 was passed by both the House and the Senate, and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978, to become Public Law 95-419. In 1990, George H. W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend Asian-American Heritage Week to a month; May was officially designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month two years later. Observances During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, communities celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans with community festivals, government-sponsored activities and educational activities for students. Footnotes References External links Media related to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Wikimedia Commons "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month". The Library of Congress. "Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month". Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. United States Department of Defense. 2020. "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month". Commemorative Observances. Library of Congress. March 3, 2020. "Telling All Americans' Stories: Introduction to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage". Telling All Americans' Stories. National Park Service. November 16, 2017. "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month". Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 2018. Li, Thomas (2020). "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month". APA Heritage Foundation. City and County of San Francisco.. Discover the American Heritage popular books. Find the top 100 most popular American Heritage books.
Best Seller American Heritage Books of 2024
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The Fallen Man
Tony HillermanHuman bones lie on a ledge under the peak of Ship Rock mountain, the remains of a murder victim undisturbed for more than a decade. Three hundred miles across the Navajo reservatio...
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American Heritage History of the Civil War
Bruce Catton & James M. McPhersonHere is Pulitzer Prizewinning author Bruce Catton's unsurpassed account of the Civil War, one of the most moving chapters in American history. Introduced by Pulitzer Prizewinner Ja...
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Just Wanna Testify
Pearl CleageFamiliar faces and places meet fresh twists and turns in this enthralling novel from acclaimed author Pearl Cleage. Atlanta’s West End district has always been a haven and ...
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Brida
Paulo CoelhoNew York Times Bestseller“In Brida, my third novel, which I wrote just after The Alchemist, I tell the story of a young woman who dives into sorcery and her experiences with differ...
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Funny in Farsi
Firoozeh DumasNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the PEN/USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Audie Award in Biography/MemoirThis Random House Rea...
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American Heritage History of the American Revolution
Bruce Lancaster"A magnificent book. . . . Bruce Lancaster's text is terse, rapid, lucid, and dramatic . . . filled with the color and excitement of a grim and bloody war." The New York Times The...
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The Berry Pickers
Amanda Peters2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize WinnerWinner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction A fouryearold Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Main...
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The Best of American Heritage Roosevelt
Edwin S. GrosvenorFranklin Delano Roosevelt led the United States through two of the most critical periods in our history the Great Depression and World War II. And in those twelve years, he did mo...
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The Coming
Daniel Black"The Coming is powerful. And beautiful...This is a work to be proud of."Charles Johnson, National Book Award winner for Middle PassageLyrical, poetic, and hypnotizing, The Coming t...
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The Outsider
Richard WrightFrom Richard Wright, one of the most powerful, acclaimed, and essential American authors of the twentieth century, comes a compelling story of one man's attempt to escape his past ...
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American Heritage History of the Presidents
Michael R. BeschlossHere, from American Heritage, is the story of our presidents. From George Washington's reluctant oathtaking through George W. Bush's leadership challenges after September 11, 2001,...
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The Homesman
Glendon SwarthoutNow a major film directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones and costarring Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, and John Lithgow, this classic Western novel captures the devastating realities...
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The Strain
Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan“Part The Andromeda Strain, part Night of the Living Dead.” Salon.comThe visionary creator of the Academy Awardwinning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Awardwinning author b...
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American Heritage History of Mexico
Henry Bamford Parkes“Remarkably well balanced and sound . . . ” The New Republic Here, from awardwinning historian Henry Bamford Parkes and the editors of American Heritage, is the dramatic story of...
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
Robert M. Utley & Wilcomb E. WashburnHere, from American Heritage, is the dramatic story of the violent conflicts between Native Americans and white settlers that lasted more than 300 years, the effects of which still...
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Assembly
Natasha BrownA NATALIE PORTMAN BOOK CLUB PICK FINALIST FOR THE 2022 LA TIMES ART SEIDENBAUM AWARD FOR FIRST FICTION.“The electrifying fiction debut that has been called ‘a modern Mrs. Dall...
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Mademoiselle Chanel
C. W. GortnerFor readers of The Paris Wife and Z comes this vivid novel full of drama, passion, tragedy, and beauty that stunningly imagines the life of iconic fashion designer Coco Chanelthe a...
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Warrior of the Light
Paulo CoelhoRise to Your DestinyWarrior of the Light is a timeless and inspirational companion to The Alchemistan international bestseller that has beguiled millions of readers around the worl...
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The Poet X
Elizabeth AcevedoWinner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reyno...
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Hunger of Memory
Richard RodríguezHunger of Memory is the story of MexicanAmerican Richard Rodriguez, who begins his schooling in Sacramento, California, knowing just 50 words of English, and concludes his universi...
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Partner in Crime
J. A. JanceFor the first time, critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling suspense master J.A. Jance brings together her two most beloved creations: Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady and Sea...
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Lucy
Jamaica KincaidThe comingofage story of one of Jamaica Kincaid's most admired creationsavailable now in an ebook edition. Lucy, a teenage girl from the West Indies, comes to America to work as a...
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American Heritage History of the Pioneers
Richard M. KetchumAmerica's story is made up of many elements, but through it have coursed two main streams that have nourished and carried a people forward to a destiny that was beyond all imaginin...
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Big Stone Gap
Adriana TrigianiNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The first novel in the beloved Big Stone Gap series, now a major motion picture written and directed by Adriana Trigiani, starring Ashley Judd, Patr...
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Dead Witch Walking
Kim HarrisonThe first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison's Hollows series!All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to par...
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Family Lore
Elizabeth AcevedoNATIONAL BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK!Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel PrizeFrom National Book Awardwinning author Elizabeth Ace...
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Bitter and Sweet
Rhonda McKnightFrom the beloved author of The Thing About Home comes a dual timeline tale of family, grief, secrets, and the sweet redemption that lies within the bonds of sisterhood.The PresentW...
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The Zahir
Paulo Coelho“Superabundant talent, stunning originality, an elegant way with words… The Zahir is something more.” Los Angeles TimesThe narrator of The Zahr is a bestselling novelist who lives ...
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The Fixer Upper
Mary Kay Andrews“Entirely satisfying, an expert balance of warmth and compassion, terrific supporting characters, a little steamy sex and just enough suspense to keep you from guessing how it will...
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American Heritage History of the United States
Douglas Brinkley"Douglas Brinkley and American Heritage have done a grand job. This is a firstrate book: fair, clear, and enormously welcome." David McCullough "Douglas Brinkley's onevolume histo...
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Every Day Is for the Thief
Teju ColeNAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY DWIGHT GARNER, THE NEW YORK TIMES NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco Chronicle | NPR | The Root |...
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The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
Kim HarrisonThe second novel in the addictive bestselling supernatural series begun with Dead Witch Walking.To save herself and her vampire roommate, former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan must co...
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Another Brooklyn
Jacqueline WoodsonA Finalist for the 2016 National Book AwardNew York Times Bestseller A SeattleTimes pick for Summer Reading Roundup 2017The acclaimed New York Times bestselling and National B...
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Midnight Robber
Nalo HopkinsonA "[d]eeply satisfying" [The New York Times Book Review] story of a father who has committed an unbelievable crime and a daughter who must then fight to save her own life."Caribbea...
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The Perfect Lover
Stephanie LaurensNever let it be said that a Cynster male can't face up to the one unassailable truth: A successful marriage gives life its fullest meaning. To all of English society, Simon Frederi...
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Redemption Song
Bertice BerryOwner of a small AfricanAmerican bookshop, Miss Cozy has an unique gift: Customers who walk through her door rarely leave without a book that speaks directly to their life. But whe...
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Wild Swans
Jung ChangThe story of three generations in twentiethcentury China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness historya bestselling classic in thirty languages w...
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American Heritage History of the Great West
David LavenderThe story of America's westward movement is at heart the story of men and women of all origins and beliefs who helped shape the character of a nation. They lived a stirring epic, t...
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Free Food for Millionaires
Min Jin LeeIn this "mesmerizing" novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, the KoreanAmerican daughter of firstgeneration immigrants strives to join Manhattan's inner...
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American Heritage History of World War I
S.L.A. Marshall"In the Bosnian town of Sarajevo on the morning of June 28, 1914, a chauffeur misunderstood his instructions, made the wrong turn, tried too late to correct his blunder, and in so ...
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The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Christine AmmerFrom “all systems go” to “senior moment”a comprehensive reference to idiomatic English. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms explores the meanings and origins of idio...