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These Truths:

A History of the United States Second Inquiry Edition

Available for Spring 2027

WELCOME

 

A compulsively readable U.S. history framed around our founding ideals

Hear from Pulitzer-Prize-winning author

Jill Lepore

 
 

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From Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jill Lepore comes a compulsively readable narrative that gives students a balanced understanding of U.S history. At its heart, These Truths asks how well the nation—from its revolutionary birth to our fractious present—has lived up to its founding ideals of political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. New interactive tools help students develop critical thinking skills and practice historical inquiry to ask and answer this and other essential questions for themselves.

 
 

Students are invited to investigate enduring and relevant questions

Framed around whether the nation has lived up to its founding ideals, These Truths gives students a balanced understanding of the nation’s history that shows how the past has shaped our polarized present and supports their civics education to become informed citizens. Lepore equips students to grapple with questions like these as they develop a balanced understanding of United States history.

Lepore asks:

Students rave:

Vivid characters keep students engaged “like a movie”

Jill Lepore has crafted a fresh narrative for today’s students, with new stories of how people from all backgrounds have attempted to make political change, especially through the Constitution. These Truths includes relevant themes and coverage you can’t find in any other book, such as histories of American law, religion, journalism, and technology.

 
 

Jill Lepore

is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker, host of podcasts including The Last Archive, and director of the Amend Project. Her many books include This America: The Case for the Nation; If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future; The Deadline: Essays; and The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State. Her We the People: A History of the Constitution was awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in History. 

 
 

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Meet your marketing manager: Sarah England Bartley

Greetings! I’m Sarah, and I am the town crier for all things history at Norton. I started here over 20 years ago. My love for history comes from my father and I never seem to stop learning something new from the past.

My goal is to connect our authors and their wonderful work with as many teachers and students as possible, and to learn from you and your students to share with our editors and authors in return. All year I travel around the country to colleges and conferences, with the goal of meeting as many historians as possible.

I want to learn about you, your course, and your students, so please reach out to let me know how we can best support you all. And feel free to respond and say "Hi!" when you see my name in your inbox this year.

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