* Jack Kerouac: A Biography (1971)
* The Last Dream of the Great Turtle (1980)
* The Golden Gate: A Novel of San Francisco (1985)
* American Dreams: A Novel of the American Frontier (1989)
* The Boys in the Band: A Memoir (1994)
* The Color Purple (1997)
* Waiting for Lightning: A Novel of Vietnam (2004)
Non-Fiction:
* To Kill a Mockingbird: A Biography of Harper Lee (1966)
* Art of the Western World (1970)
* Native Americans: A History of the Original Peoples of North America (1972)
* The Civil Rights Movement: A History (1974)
* The Vietnam War: A History (1977)
* The American Presidency: A History (1981)
* A History of the United States: The Early Years (1984)
* The American Revolution: A History (1990)
* The Civil War: A History (2006)