An Expanded View of American History

The University of Maryland’s 2026-27 First Year Book will engage the Terp community in a different way of thinking about the United States’ history and role on the world stage—making it a fitting choice for an academic year that overlaps with the 250^th anniversary of the country’s founding.

“How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States,” by Northwestern University history Professor Daniel Immerwahr, was chosen by a 10-person committee of students, faculty and staff. The book “challenges us to consider what we know about our history to make sense of our present,” said Leeanne Dunsmore, director of strategic initiatives for the Office of Undergraduate Studies, who oversees the First Year Book program. “It really reframes what students have been taught about the expansion of the United States.”

Every year since 1993, the First Year Book program has invited all first-year students to read a book that will get them thinking critically about timely issues while creating a shared experience during Terps’ first year on campus. The committee looks for books that will touch on a variety of disciplines and provide opportunities for faculty members to incorporate the text in their classes. 

The 2025-26 pick was the U.S. Constitution, also in honor of the nation’s semiquincentennial. Past selections have included “Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond, “The Refugees” by Viet Thanh Nguyen and “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson.

“How to Hide an Empire,” published in 2019, explores how the U.S. has exerted its power beyond the borders of the 48 contiguous states, from governing territories like Puerto Rico and Guam to establishing military bases in countries around the world to becoming a leading exporter of technologies and culture.

Immerwahr is “a fantastic writer,” said government and politics Professor Sarah Croco, who has taught the book in previous courses and will again this year. “My students uniformly come in and say, ‘Why did no one teach this to me before?’”

The book, which Croco will use in her Honors Global Challenges and Solutions classes, includes several chapters on the history of U.S. involvement in Puerto Rico and the Philippines, which she said are typically eye-opening for her students. “Students never even thought of the Philippines as being connected to the U.S., and it turns out there’s this huge history,” she said.

Immerwahr will come to campus for a discussion moderated by Croco on Sept. 16. Other programming based on the book will be planned throughout the year. The book will be available for pickup at the information desk in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union and at the First Look Fair for students, and in the Office of Undergraduate Studies’ location at 2110 Marie Mount Hall for faculty and staff.

Dunsmore hopes that “How to Hide an Empire” will “create a shared intellectual experience for the campus,” she said. “It’s incredibly relevant to how we think about the current moment.”