Today, more than 50 million people living in the USA were born in another country. That is more people than the entire population of Canada, and all of them have faced or will face challenges as they adapt to their new home.Many will be nervous and apprehensive, relying on what they have read in the newspapers, seen on the television, or been told by friends. Very few studied or grew up learning about the United States in school.Yet all of them are looking to make a success of their lives in their new home.This book provides you, the reader, with the foundational knowledge you need to prosper, thrive and succeed in the United States. It will give you background and context to the state of the nation, and you will find it easier to connect with people and speed up your assimilation time.It is written in a straightforward, chronological style and details key events and personalities together with pictures, maps and appendices to guide you along. It is also significantly shorter than many books about US history, some of which span over a thousand pages, so you could read this on a long-haul flight to America and, on touchdown, be ten times wiser and better prepared!In this book, you will learn: Events that have defined the United States. Biographies of influential personalities. Reasons why the United States is unique. An appreciation of cultural differences you will encounter in America. How and why the US grew across the continent, and how it stayed together.