Recommendation please?

[Rover]

Hi...Ok, I'm looking for something to read. I'd like to know more about a few things like the Harlem renaissance, life in New York city in general (especially during the 30s-40s-50s), immigration, and the Vietnam war...I would really appreciate it if you would name some books related to these themes. Novels, essays, plays, short stories, anything.
I would also like to discover classic British literature (Irish and Scottish too), but I have no idea where to start. The only stuff I know is Shakespeare, the Brontë sisters, Graham Greene and that's all. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
One last thing, about S.E.Hinton: I heard her books were studied in American high schools because they had a certain appeal on teenagers. But what happens when your not in high school anymore, do her books have more to offer than reflexion on teenage angst?
Thanks for reading

[Whifflingpin]

I'm sure everyone else will give you the serious stuff, but for 30s New York, you could start with Damon Runyon.

[Rover]

Thank you for your answer, I will look for something by D. Runyon, is there anything I should read first or any of his books would be fine?

[SirRaustusBear]

Zora Neal Hurston is one of the most read of the Harlem Renaissance authors. Her most famous book is Their Eyes Were Watching God. Also, while not part of that movement, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man was influenced heavily by it and it's a great book.

For Vietnam, the author that first comes to mind is Tim O'Brien. Both Going After Cocciato and The Things They Carried are supposed to be very good, but I haven't read either of them so I can't give my opinion.

[Yossarian Pilgr]

Zora Neal Hurston is one of the most read of the Harlem Renaissance authors. Her most famous book is Their Eyes Were Watching God. Also, while not part of that movement, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man was influenced heavily by it and it's a great book.

For Vietnam, the author that first comes to mind is Tim O'Brien. Both Going After Cocciato and The Things They Carried are supposed to be very good, but I haven't read either of them so I can't give my opinion.

I was going to suggest Invisible Man as well, but I must warn you it gets pretty out there at times. Also, make sure you don't get THE Invisible Man, that's a sci-fi haha.

I have read The Things They Carried twice and I highly recommend it.

[idiosynchrissy]

A good read concerning The Vietnam War is Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History by Wallace Terry.