• The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji
  • The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire by Nandini Das
  • The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Traders in Men: Merchants and the Transformation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by Nicholas Radburn
  • The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Our NHS: A History of Britain's Best Loved Institution by Andrew Seaton
  • The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage by Jonny Steinberg
  • The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize - Out of the Darkness: The Germans, 1942-2022 by Frank Trentmann

The Best History Books of 2024: The Wolfson History Prize, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch

To win the Wolfson History Prize, a book must be both original and accessible to the general reader. British historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, one of the prize’s judges, talks us through the six books that made the 2024 shortlist, from the voyage of an English diplomat to Mughal India to the intimacy of a South African marriage, from the barbarity of the slave trade in the 18th century to the history of an institution that provides free health care to all.

  • New History Books - King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson
  • New History Books - The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom by David Woodman
  • New History Books - The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century by Tim Weiner
  • New History Books - The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World by Selena Wisnom
  • New History Books - The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb by Garrett Graff
  • New History Books - The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life by Sophia Rosenfeld

New History Books

It’s a golden age for historical writing, as well-researched and sometimes quite specialist books by historians are written in an engaging style for a broad audience. History books out in recent months range from ancient Assyria to the CIA in the 21st century.

  • The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize - All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil by Stephen Alford
  • The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize - Augustus The Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco by Tim Blanning
  • The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize - The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
  • The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize - Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King by Dan Jones
  • The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize - The Rebel's Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon by Adam Shatz

The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize, recommended by Roy Foster

A good historical biography should help us redefine and rethink what makes a person historically significant, says Roy Foster, chair of the judging panel of the Elizabeth Longford Prize. He talks us through the brilliant books that made the 2025 shortlist, including the lives of various monarchs who left their mark on European history, a portrait of an early modern spymaster, and a biography of Frantz Fanon, the anti-colonial writer.  

  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper
  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - Lenin: A Biography by Robert Service
  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - Mao: The Man Who Made China by Philip Short
  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - The Hitler of History by John Lukacs
  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948 by Ramachandra Guha
  • The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders - A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion by Tom Segev

The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders, recommended by Michael Mandelbaum

The first half of the 20th century was an era when individuals could have a huge impact on the course of history—whether for good or bad, argues political scientist Michael Mandelbaum. He recommends the best biographies to read about the eight world leaders who feature in his latest book, The Titans of the Twentieth Century, from Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) to Mao Zedong (1893-1976).

  • The best books on Austria - Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends by Lonnie Johnson
  • The best books on Austria - The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent by John Stoye
  • The best books on Austria - Maria Theresa by Edward Crankshaw
  • The best books on Austria - Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World by Richard Cockett
  • The best books on Austria - The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
  • The best books on Austria - The Capuchin Crypt (aka The Emperor's Tomb) by Joseph Roth

The best books on Austria, recommended by Nicholas Parsons

Today, the Republic of Austria is a small country in Central Europe, but for centuries, it was the fulcrum of events going on in Europe, as the Habsburgs led the Holy Roman Empire—and later the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire—until it all fell apart after World War I. Nicholas Parsons, author of the excellent The Shortest History of Austria, introduces us to books and novels that bring to life the history of a political, intellectual, and cultural powerhouse.