Summer Work
We would like you to read two books over the summer – one for the India unit, and one for the America unit. For each unit, you will have a choice of two books.
India
Please read either:
Anand, Anita, The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj (2019)
or
Husain, Mishal, Broken Threads: My Family from Empire to Independence (2024)
USA
Please read either:
Perlstein, Rick, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (2008)
or
Wilkerson, Isabel, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration (2010)
Further Recommendations
There are hundreds of films, TV shows and novels set in the time periods of our History units, so if you would like to explore any of these topics further, we recommend some of these options.
USA
Film and TV
The Great Gatsby (2013) - Provides a look into the Roaring Twenties, exploring themes of wealth, excess, and the American Dream.
Selma (2014) - Focuses on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., highlighting the Civil Rights Movement.
Hidden Figures (2016) - Tells the story of African-American female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race in the 1960s, highlighting issues of race and gender.
13th (2016) - A documentary exploring the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States, tracing the history from the 13th Amendment to the present day.
All the President's Men (1976) - Follows the investigative journalism of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they uncover the Watergate scandal, providing insight into political corruption in the 1970s.
Malcolm X (1992) - Biographical film about the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X, covering his transformation from petty criminal to influential activist.
Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) - Chronicles journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunts in the 1950s, focusing on media and political climate.
The Butler (2013) – Loosely based on the real story of an African-American butler serving at the White House, the film provides an overview of 8 different presidential administrations’ attitude to civil rights.
Milk (2008) - Biographical film about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, exploring LGBT rights and activism in the 1970s.
American Graffiti (1973) - Offers a nostalgic look at teenage life in the early 1960s, capturing the culture and music of the era
Fiction
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - A classic novel that explores racial injustice in the American South during the 1930s, through the eyes of Scout Finch, a young girl whose father defends a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - Set during the Great Depression, this novel follows the Joad family as they migrate from Oklahoma to California in search of a better life, highlighting the struggles of migrant workers and economic hardship.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - A portrayal of the Jazz Age in the 1920s, focusing on themes of wealth, excess, and the American Dream through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway and the mysterious Jay Gatsby.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor - Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, this novel follows the Logan family, African-American landowners facing racism and injustice, as seen through the eyes of their daughter Cassie
Advise and Consent by Allen Drury - A political novel that delves into the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of U.S. Senators during the confirmation process of a controversial Secretary of State nominee. It offers insights into political intrigue and power struggles in Washington, D.C. during the Cold War era
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - A classic novel that explores the disillusionment and angst of teenage protagonist Holden Caulfield in post-World War II America, addressing themes of identity, alienation, and societal expectations.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - A novel that follows the lives of four Chinese-American immigrant families in San Francisco who start a club called the Joy Luck Club. Through their stories, it explores themes of cultural identity, generational conflict, and the immigrant experience.
This list is not exhaustive! In terms of popular culture, this is probably one of the most well-resourced topics you could hope to study, so if you would like to find your own, then please do!
India
Films
Gandhi - an epic, Oscar-winning film about the key figure in the Indian independence movement.
TV
Watch ‘The Story of India’ episodes 5 and 6 (2007) available on video.gdst.net. It covers a long time span, this is deliberate as it sets up some vital context and key dynamics.
Fiction
EM Forster - A Passage to India (1924) A classic novel set in India in the 1920s, examining racial tensions and prejudices through the lens of a court case,
Veera Hiranandani – The Night Diary (2018) A YA novel told through the letters of a 12 year old half-Muslim, half-Hindu girl to her mother, as she becomes a refugee during Partition.
Abir Mukherjee - A Rising Man (2016) and sequels Set in post-WW1 Calcutta, this is a murder mystery which engages with the tensions over Indian independence in the period.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala – Heat and Dust (1975) A British woman travels to India to investigate her grandmother’s life there in the 1920s.
Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children (1981) Follows the life of Saleem, born at midnight on the day of independence in 1947.
Abraham Verghese – The Covenant of Water (2023) Epic novel spanning from 1900 to 1977, following a single family afflicted by a terrible fate.