A good book about U.S. economic history.  It provides a counterpoint to the usual, cheerleader, US manifest destiny approach of many popular books.  This focuses heavily on the lives of the majority of everyday Americans and also chronicles the rise of the American Capitalist model.  It’s one of the few books that (IMHO) pays enough attention to the role of the invention of “corporations” in American economic history.

Available free pdf  and html downloads/viewing.  Also copies can be ordered quite cheaply.

A Short History of American Capitalism by Meyer Weinberg.