50 books for America250: Novels and nonfiction telling the nation’s stories

The U.S. is celebrating its 250th birthday, and while for some, it’s a reason to party, others might prefer to mark the occasion by settling into a good book. For an occasion like this, we resisted the urge to make a grand statement or propose an authoritative checklist of books about the U.S. This is a vast nation, complicated and often contradictory, with a history marked by both tragedy and triumph, so this isn’t aiming to be a definitive ranking of the 50 best or most influential American books. Instead, what follows are 50 fiction and nonfiction titles worth your…