We’ve spoken to hundreds of historians asking them to recommend the best history books (and explain what’s so good about them in an in-depth interview). Here are some of the popular history books that have been recommended. For a more detailed look at different people, times or places in history, we've divided our recommendations into a number of sections:
World History
Books on world history, including American, Chinese, French, Russian, German or British history. The big global conflicts of the 20th century remain a key source of fascination, and we have a large number of book recommendations on World War II.
Historical Figures
Book recommendations about key historical figures—like Hitler, Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, Napoleon and Genghis Khan—are among the most popular on our site.
Historical Era
Ancient history, medieval history and modern history. We also have book recommendations on early modern history and contemporary history (history of the present).
Other book recommendations are on:
The Best New Books
We have a running list of the best new history books. We also keep an eye on prestigious prizes, like the UK’s Wolfson History Prize, where professional historians look for the latest history that is both scholarly and well-written.
One thing is clear from our hundreds of interviews with historians: there are a lot of books out there that are both highly readable and well researched, revealing the past but also shedding light on the present:
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1
A Concise History of Modern India
by Barbara Metcalf & Thomas Metcalf -
2
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy
by Ramachandra Guha -
3
A Part Apart: The Life and Thought of B. R. Ambedkar
by Ashok Gopal -
4
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum
by Katherine Boo -
5
Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found
by Suketu Mehta
The best books on Modern Indian History, recommended by Dinyar Patel
The best books on Modern Indian History, recommended by Dinyar Patel
Whether we're thinking about democracy versus authoritarianism, corruption versus good governance, or rich versus poor, there is a lot we can learn from India's recent history, says Dinyar Patel, a historian at SPJIMR in Mumbai. He talks us through some good books on the modern history of a country that has long been the world's largest democracy and is now its most populous country.
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1
The Eastern Front: A History of the First World War
by Nick Lloyd -
2
1177 BC: A Graphic History of the Year Civilization Collapsed
by Eric Cline & Glynnis Fawkes (illustrator) -
3
Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City
by Dennis Romano -
4
The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination
by Stuart A. Reid -
5
An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence
by Zeinab Badawi
New History Books, recommended by Sophie Roell
New History Books, recommended by Sophie Roell
A magisterial account of the Eastern Front in World War I and a lively graphic history of the Late Bronze Age are among the new books that’ll be out in coming weeks. Our running list of new history books, picked out by Five Books editor Sophie Roell.
The best books on Central Asia’s Golden Age, recommended by S. Frederick Starr
Central Asia’s history is rarely a focus for students in the West, but its flourishing cities and great thinkers once made it one of the world’s most dynamic and important regions. Frederick Starr, a leading expert on Central Asia and author of a number of books about it, talks us through the highlights of an area that was so much more than just a stopping place on the ancient Silk Roads.
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1
The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748–1789
by Robert Darnton -
2
France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain
by Julian Jackson -
3
Monet: The Restless Vision
by Jackie Wullschläger -
4
Revolutionary Spring: Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World, 1848-1849
by Christopher Clark -
5
Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire
by Nandini Das
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Susan Brigden
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Susan Brigden
If you’re looking for nonfiction with a literary sensibility and a historical bent, the books highlighted by the annual Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize are a great place to start. British historian Susan Brigden, author of Thomas Wyatt: The Heart’s Forest and one of the prize’s judges, talks us through the 2024 shortlist — from war and revolution to the splendours of Mughal India and Monet’s garden at Giverny.
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1
The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe
by James Belich -
2
Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-1945
by Halik Kochanski -
3
Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers
by Emma Smith -
4
The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire
by Henrietta Harrison -
5
African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History
by Hakim Adi -
6
Vagabonds
by Oskar Jensen
The Best History Books of 2023: The Wolfson History Prize, recommended by Sudhir Hazareesingh
The Best History Books of 2023: The Wolfson History Prize, recommended by Sudhir Hazareesingh
The Wolfson History Prize is the UK’s most prestigious history book prize. The judges, all professional historians, pick out books that combine excellence in research with readability. Oxford University historian Sudhir Hazareesingh, one of the Wolfson judges and author of Black Spartacus, talks us through the six terrific books that made the 2023 shortlist, from the Black Death and its critical impact on economic development to the magic of our relationship with books. Read more history book recommendations on Five Books
The best books on World War II, recommended by Antony Beevor
The popular military historian Antony Beevor recommends some of his own favourite books about the Second World War.
The best books on World War I, recommended by Jonathan Boff
It’s been 100 years since World War I ended, but there is still very little consensus about what caused it, or what its consequences were. Historian Jonathan Boff talks us through the latest books and best modern interpretations of World War I.
The best books on Ancient History in Modern Life, recommended by Mary Beard
Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, talks us through the books that have had the deepest impact on her thinking about the ancient world and explains why studying Classics is absolutely relevant to modern life.
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1
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
by David McCullough -
2
Wilderness At Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent
by Ted Morgan -
3
The Story of American Freedom
by Eric Foner -
4
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
by Drew Gilpin Faust -
5
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by Hampton Sides
The best books on American History, recommended by Brent Glass
The best books on American History, recommended by Brent Glass
Which are the best books on American history? Brent Glass, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the world’s largest museum devoted to telling the story of America, chooses five standout books in a crowded field.
Historical Fiction, recommended by Historians on Five Books
Historical fiction is a wonderful way to learn about history and there has never been a shortage of books written by authors who are able to combine lively imagination, beautiful or pacey writing with a sound knowledge of the primary sources. Here you’ll find our list of all the historical novels recommended by historians on Five Books.