Whether it’s via their tone, topic, or tenor, certain works just say “America.” Here is one such title, suggested by David O. Stewart, author of George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father and a member of the Washington Independent Review of Books board of directors:

The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and His Friends, 1880-1918 by Patricia O’Toole. “A multidimensional exploration of America at the beginning of the last century, told through the group around historian and novelist Adams, Secretary of State John Hay, geologist Clarence King, and their wives,” says Stewart. “They called themselves the Five of Hearts, and O’Toole’s book touches every reader’s heart.”

Patriotic Picks is a monthly feature in partnership with the Washington Independent Review of Books.