Whether it’s via their tone, topic, or tenor, certain works just say “America.” Here is one such title, suggested by Kathy Cannon Wiechman, inaugural winner of the Grateful American Book Prize for Like a River: A Civil War Novel:

• Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. Retired admiral James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of NATO, calls this work “a riveting book of history that reads as though it were ripped from today’s headlines, and a must read for anyone seeking an understanding of the roots of U.S. foreign policy.”  

Each year, the Grateful American™ Foundation, through its Book Prize, honors excellence in children’s historical nonfiction and fiction focused on the people and events that have shaped the U.S. since its birth. To learn more about the prize, click here.