History Books
recommended by historians
Last updated: October 27, 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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1
The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change, 950-1350
by Robert Bartlett -
2
Vikings: Life and Legend
ed. Gareth Williams, Peter Pentz, Matthias Wemhoff -
3
The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-Century Britain
by Andrew Wawn -
4
Reimagining Europe: Kievan Rus’ in the Medieval World, 988–1146
by Christian Raffensperger -
5
The Black Cross: A History of the Baltic Crusades
by Aleksander Pluskowski
The best books on Medieval Europe, recommended by Thomas Williams
The best books on Medieval Europe, recommended by Thomas Williams
Europe experienced huge cultural, social and religious change throughout the Middle Ages. You may know it as an age of kings and queens, castles, crusades and chivalric knighthoods, but historians of the period often neglect the seismic events of the far north and east, explains Thomas Williams. Here, he recommends five books that may upend your understanding of medieval Europe.
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Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire
by Eve MacDonald -
The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World
by Selena Wisnom -
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History
by Moudhy Al-Rashid -
Babylon: The Biography of a Metropolis
by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones -
Agrippa
by Robert Harris
New in Ancient History
New in Ancient History
We love books about ancient history at Five Books. Not only is it relaxing to escape from the present by reading about events several millennia ago, but the brutality of that period also helps put our modern challenges in perspective. One exciting trend in the past few years is a move away from accounts of ancient Rome and Greece to other ancient civilisations. Here’s a roundup of some of the books published recently.
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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
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 books on Battles, recommended by Iain MacGregor
The weapons and tactics of war may change, but the human experience of battle does not, argues Iain MacGregor, author of Battle: The Moments that Transformed Warfare from Ancient Greece to Ukraine. He highlights five books that bring that experience to life, from the ordinary soldier at Agincourt to the brutal realities of the Pacific War and the Falklands.
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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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We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution
by Jill Lepore -
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
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
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.
