Haven is a good non-fiction book that fits the bill. It's the history of the only group of refugees who came to American during WWII. They lived at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. Bet you didn't even know we hosted refugees! There's also a museum there that I think has a website and a bunch of other...
Don't use a credit card to buy something you can't pay the balance on; that's a good way to get in debt. The library will often have books for most classes on reserve so students can use them in the library but usually not take them home. I got by a whole semester without buying books this way...