Books like The train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell

In 1893 Chicago, Erik Larson weaves the story of visionary architect Daniel Burnham and the cunning serial killer H.H. Holmes, whose crimes unfolded against the backdrop of the World’s Columbian Exposition.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

William E. Dodd, America's first ambassador to Nazi Germany, arrives in Berlin in 1933 to chronicle the early rise of Hitler—and the diplomatic tightrope his nation must navigate.

The Great Influenza: A World at Risk

A true‑story chronicle of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight‑oar crew, whose perseverance and teamwork led them to Olympic gold amid the Great Depression and the rise of Nazi Germany.

Hidden Figures tells the true story of four African‑American mathematicians—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden—who broke barriers at NASA’s Langley Research Center, proving that talent, not race or gender, powers scientific progress.

Experienced by a spirited Japanese‑American family and a native‑born child, this true account chronicles their struggle and survival during forced detention at Manzanar during World War II.

Louis Zamperini’s extraordinary journey from Olympic gold‑medalist to a World War II bombardier, through a Pacific plane crash, 47 days adrift, and harrowing imprisonment by the Japanese, is a gripping tale of survival and resilience.

"Mine Okubo was one of over one hundred thousand people of Japanese descent--nearly two-thirds of whom were American citizens--who were forced into 'protective custody' shortly after Pearl Harbor. Citizen 13660, Okubo's graphic memoir of life in relocation centers in California and Utah, illuminates this experience with poignant illustrations and witty, candid text. Now available with a new introduction by Christine Hong and in a wide-format artist edition, this graphic novel can reach a new generation of readers and scholars. '[Mine Okubo] took her months of life in the concentration camp and made it the material for this amusing, heart-breaking book. The moral is never expressed, but the wry pictures and the scanty words make the reader laugh--and if he is an American too--blush.' 'A remarkably objective and vivid and even humorous account. In dramatic and detailed drawings and brief text, she documents the whole episode. all that she saw, objectively, yet with a warmth of understanding'"--New York times book review"--

Howard K. Smith’s memoir chronicles his days as an American war correspondent in Berlin during Hitler’s rise, detailing the regime’s manipulation of the German people, the Nazi youth, and the high command before his 1941 exit.

During World War II, a 14‑year‑old Iowa girl is interned with her family in a Texas camp, where a friendship with a Japanese‑American teen helps her confront prejudice, identity, and the hope of a post‑war future.

Teenager Haruko, a Japanese American, and Margot, a German American, forge an unforgettable bond while the world around them unravels inside Texas’s Crystal City internment camp during World War II.

The Girls of Atomic City chronicles the lives of the women who worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during WWII, revealing how their quiet labor helped enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project and shaped the town’s history.