History Books
recommended by historians
Last updated: August 01, 2026
History is the study of the past and so is very broad in scope. For a great introductory book to the subject, we recommend History: A Very Short Introduction by John Arnold. It opens with a murder and bills itself as a "work of enthusiasm" about history, laying out how history has been studied down the millennia and why it matters. If you're less interested in history as a discipline and just want to know what happened when, you could start out with A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, aimed at teenagers.
For a more detailed look at specific topics or events, we’ve spoken to hundreds of historians over the past 15 years, asking them to recommend the best books in their field of study. You can find their recommendations by browsing below:
World history | Military History | American History | World War 2 | Popular History | Chinese history | British history | Ancient history | Medieval history | New History Books | History Books for Kids | Nonfiction Books | Pulitzer Prize |
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Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
by Kathleen DuVal -
Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War
by Edda L. Fields-Black -
No Right to An Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
by Jacqueline Jones -
Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power
by Jefferson Cowie -
Cuba: An American History
by Ada Ferrer
Pulitzer Prize-Winning History Books
Pulitzer Prize-Winning History Books
Every year, the Pulitzer Prize jury awards $15,000 to a “distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States.” We’ve compiled a guide to the winning books since the turn of the millennium.
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1
Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler
by Tim Bouverie -
2
A Scandal in Königsberg
by Christopher Clark -
3
The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief
by Richard Holmes -
4
John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs
by Ian Leslie -
5
Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe
by Adam Weymouth
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2026 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Andrew Holgate
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2026 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Andrew Holgate
Now in its 70th year, the Duff Cooper Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding work of nonfiction that combines originality, rigour and a strong narrative drive—the kind of book that “general readers of serious nonfiction crave,” explains Andrew Holgate, former literary editor of the Sunday Times and one of this year’s judges. He talks us through the brilliant books that made the 2026 shortlist, from a fresh and revealing take on the defeat of Hitler to the politics of wolves in contemporary Europe.
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1
Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age
by Eleanor Barraclough -
2
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV
by Helen Castor -
3
The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective
by Sara Lodge -
4
Survivors: the Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade
by Hannah Durkin -
5
The Gravity of Feathers: Fame, Fortune and the Story of St Kilda
by Andrew Fleming -
6
Multicultural Britain: A People's History
by Kieran Connell
The Best History Books of 2025: the Wolfson History Prize Shortlist, recommended by Helen King
The Best History Books of 2025: the Wolfson History Prize Shortlist, recommended by Helen King
The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually for historical writing that is both brilliantly researched and a great read. Professor Helen King, one of this year’s judges, talks us through the 2025 shortlist and explains why each book stood out.
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 more than 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.
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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.
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1
Maria Theresa, Empress: The Making of the Austrian Enlightenment
by Richard Bassett -
2
Crick: A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
by Matthew Cobb -
3
Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found
by Andrew Graham-Dixon -
4
The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI & I
by Clare Jackson -
5
The Brothers Grimm: A Biography
by Ann Schmiesing
The Best Historical Biographies of 2026, recommended by Roy Foster
The Best Historical Biographies of 2026, recommended by Roy Foster
The best biographies combine original research with accessible writing and a strong narrative drive, explains the historian Roy Foster, chair of the judges for the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography. Here, he introduces us to the five “extraordinarily accomplished” books on their 2026 shortlist, including a reassessment of Austrian empress Maria Theresa and a portrait of the molecular biologist Francis Crick in the swinging 1960s.
The Best Roman History Books, recommended by Ross King
To write The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, bestselling author Ross King went back to the insightful and often entertaining accounts Roman and Greek historians gave of the city’s past. He talks us through some of his favourites, from Polybius—who wrote during the Roman Republic’s heyday—to Cassius Dio, who penned his magnum opus as the Roman Empire was in its decline.
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1
The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, 1938-1945
by David Dilks (editor) -
2
Special Envoy to Churchill and Stalin, 1941-1946
by W. Averell Harriman with Elie Abel -
3
Vichy France: Old Guard New Order, 1940-1944
by Robert Paxton -
4
In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War
by David Reynolds -
5
The White House Papers of Harry Hopkins
by Robert E. Sherwood
World War 2 Nonfiction Books, recommended by Tim Bouverie
World War 2 Nonfiction Books, recommended by Tim Bouverie
With hindsight, it seems inevitable that the Allies would eventually defeat the Axis powers in World War II, but at the time it seemed anything but. Tim Bouverie, author of the prize-winning Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler, talks us through some of the best nonfiction books about the war and the alliances that led to Allied victory.
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1
Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru
by Hiram Bingham -
2
The Heights of Macchu Picchu
by Pablo Neruda & Tomas Q. Morin (translator) -
3
The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey
by Che Guevara -
4
Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas
by Lucy C. Salazar (editor) & Richard Burger (editor) -
5
Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu
by Christopher Heaney
The best books on Machu Picchu, recommended by Mark Rice
The best books on Machu Picchu, recommended by Mark Rice
Machu Picchu has become the symbol of Peru, but this symbol has never been straightforward. Mark Rice recommends five books that give the full picture of the iconic site: from the record by its ‘discoverer,’ to the views of Pablo Neruda and Che Guevara, right through to the latest archaeological and historical works.
