American History - book recommendations please

[libertydoddle]

I'd like to read up on modern American history but not sure where to start! I'd appreciate recommendations for a couple of good, readable (ie not too academic) overviews and some ideas of books that cover particular topics / periods such as the Civil War, period between the WW1 and WW2 etc.

Many thanks.

I found quite a few really cheap, the more specialist you get, the more the price goes up.

One story I read about Manhattan was so cool, really wish I could transpose it, but apparently when dinosaurs were about, white people were the first natives, they've exhumed a lot of bones that carbon date to this crazy time period.

Amanda Foreman's World on Fire is a great book on the Civil War and I thoroughly recommend Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

There's a free ebook, I'll grab the link, it has a few good reviews.

Second Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.