Michael Harriot retells the American story with the parts your textbook left out — sharp, funny, deeply researched, and impossible to un-read. A New York Times bestseller.
The part they skipped
You were handed a version of America with the uncomfortable parts sanded off. The heroes were flawless, the villains were vague, and whole centuries of Black life fit into a paragraph.
Michael Harriot puts it all back. From the first Africans in the colonies to the movements that are still reshaping the country, he tells the story the way it happened — with receipts, and with jokes sharp enough to leave a mark.
Look inside
A few representative pages — one opening idea, a short list of what the textbook skipped, and a simple myth-versus-record map. Read it straight through or open it anywhere.
The usual story opens with brave settlers and a tea party. This one opens earlier — with the Africans who were already here, the labor that built the colonies, and the people who resisted from the very first day.
| Era | What got left out | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| The founding | Who did the work | Enslaved labor built the wealth |
| The Civil War | Why it was fought | Slavery, in their own words |
| Reconstruction | That it succeeded | Then it was violently undone |
| Civil rights | How long it took | Generations of organizing |
A representative summary of the book's themes — paraphrased, not a direct excerpt.
What's inside
The American story told with Black people at the center, not the margins
The founding era without the halo — who built it and who paid for it
Why Reconstruction may be the most important chapter you were never taught
The rebels, organizers and inventors your textbook reduced to a footnote
How the past still shapes today's headlines
History you will actually finish — because it is genuinely funny
How people read it
No syllabus, no homework — read it start to finish, or jump to the era you always wondered about.
Each chapter stands on its own — one era, one argument, and at least one line you will read out loud to whoever is nearby.
Keep it open on your phone or tablet and compare it with what you were taught. That is where the real education starts.
This is a book people talk about — at dinner, in class, in the group chat. Read it with someone and compare notes.
Why it hits
“The history class you should have had — funnier, sharper, and a lot more honest.”— Why readers keep talking about it
A New York Times bestseller by journalist Michael Harriot — serious research delivered in a voice that refuses to be boring.
Who it's for
Whether you love history or gave up on it in tenth grade, this book meets you where you are.
History lovers
Students & teachers
Families talking it through
Anyone school shortchanged
Book clubs
What readers say
“I laughed out loud at my kitchen table, then got mad about everything school left out. Finished it in a week.”
Darnell W.
“I teach high-school history and this filled gaps my own textbooks never touched. I keep it open on my tablet when I plan lessons.”
Tanya R.
“My daughter and I read it at the same time and argued about it every Sunday. Best conversations we have had in years.”
Curtis J.
Reviews reflect individual reader experiences; opinions vary.
Format & details
A digital e-book of the 2023 edition, made to be read and returned to. No physical book is shipped.
A QUICK, HONEST NOTE
This book covers slavery, racial violence and injustice directly, and it uses strong language. It is history and commentary from the author's perspective, offered for education and general interest.
Good to know
Sereve · books worth keeping
One book, four centuries, zero sugarcoating. Start tonight and you will never read a textbook the same way again.
Buy It NowDigital e-book · No physical item is shipped · New York Times bestseller
Sereve is an independent bookseller. 'Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America' and its cover are the work of Michael Harriot (Dey Street Books); Sereve is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or publisher. This is a work of history and commentary offered for education and general interest; the views are the author's. It contains strong language and frank discussion of slavery, violence and racism. The $19.99 'was' price reflects the regular list price. Reviews reflect individual experiences. This is a digital e-book; no physical item is shipped. Refunds per our stated policy.
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