Brave Companions by David McCullough

This is a collection of biographical essays about people who you probably know but were just as likely to be missing from your history textbooks: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alexander von Humbolt, Frederick Remington - 17 in all.  The writing is just so intelligent, the stories so personal.  In the end, he makes that argument that it is individuals like these that have made this country a unique place with a special history.  McCullough is a clear, important voice for what is worth knowing about the American story and this is an exceptionally accessible part of that story.