History Books
recommended by historians
Last updated: September 19, 2024
The best books on The Holocaust, recommended by Steven Katz
In the years immediately after World War II, the Holocaust was little studied. That all changed with the publication of Raul Hilberg’s book, The Destruction of the European Jews. Steven Katz, professor of Jewish Holocaust Studies at Boston University and former Director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, introduces the best Holocaust books.
The best books on Modern Irish History, recommended by Richard Bourke
A “powerful and aggravating absence of consensus” came to define the Irish political experience, says the historian Richard Bourke. Here he picks the best books for gaining a range of perspectives on Irish history, singling out James Joyce as offering insight into the divergence of nationalist opinion.
The Best History Books to Take on Holiday, recommended by Suzannah Lipscomb
Which history books are ideal to take on holiday, authoritative and yet entertaining? We turned to historian Suzannah Lipscomb—whose most recent book, The Voices of Nîmes, uncovers the lives of ordinary women in Languedoc in early modern France—for her top five.
The best books on Religious and Social History in the Ancient World, recommended by Robin Lane Fox
Cultural and philosophical changes that occurred in late antiquity are essential to our understanding of the world today, but few us know much about that period. Historian Robin Lane Fox recommends the best books to read to get a good sense of late antiquity.
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Out of China: How the Chinese Ended the Era of Western Domination
by Robert Bickers -
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The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
by Lindsey Fitzharris -
3
A Deadly Legacy: German Jews and the Great War
by Tim Grady -
4
Black Tudors: The Untold Story
by Miranda Kaufmann -
5
Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
by Peter Marshall -
6
Heligoland: Britain, Germany, and the Struggle for the North Sea
by Jan Rüger
The Best History Books: the 2018 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Carole Hillenbrand
The Best History Books: the 2018 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Carole Hillenbrand
Which were the best history books published this past year? Each year, the UK’s Wolfson Prize tries to sort through the hundreds of history books that are published to find outstanding books that are both important and readable. Wolfson Prize judge Carole Hillenbrand introduces the six books that made 2018 shortlist.
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The Warfare Between Science and Religion: The Idea That Wouldn't Die
Edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L Numbers, and Ronald A Binzley -
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Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives
by John Hedley Brooke -
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Science, Technology & Society in Seventeenth Century England
by Robert K Merton -
4
Theology and the Scientific Imagination
by Amos Funkenstein -
5
The Empirical Stance
by Bas van Fraassen
The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison
The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison
Have science and religion been fundamentally at war throughout history? Are they incompatible? Has religion always held back scientific progress? These views may seem intuitive but few historians would defend them. Professor Peter Harrison looks at the complexity of science-religion interactions, including the cases of Galileo and Darwin, and considers how we frame the debate.
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Thomas Cromwell: A Life
by Diarmaid MacCulloch -
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Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium
by Lucy Inglis -
3
Iran: A Modern History
by Abbas Amanat -
4
Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain
by Nadine Akkerman -
5
Power, Pleasure, and Profit: Insatiable Appetites from Machiavelli to Madison
by David Wootton
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
From female spies during the English Civil Wars to the enduring distinctiveness of Iran, there is much left to be understood about history globally. Editor of History Today Paul Lay recommends the best history books that hit the shelves in 2018.
The best books on New England, recommended by Mark Peterson
New England: it’s the northeastern-most region of the United States, encompasses six states, is slightly larger than England itself, and half of it is rural, remote Maine. Yale Professor Mark Peterson introduces us to the rich history of New England, going back to its Puritan roots and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
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Atlantic History
by Bernard Bailyn -
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Empires of the Atlantic World
by JH Elliott -
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Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
by David Eltis and David Richardson -
4
The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800
by David Armitage and Michael J Braddick (editors) -
5
Soundings in Atlantic History
by Bernard Bailyn (editor)
The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn
The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn
Harvard professor and Pulitzer prize-winning historian Bernard Bailyn recommends reading on three centuries of empire, conflict and slave trading between the Americas, Europe and Africa
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The Journal of John Winthrop
by John Winthrop -
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Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North
by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton -
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Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families
by J. Anthony Lukas -
4
Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri -
5
Mapping Boston
by Alex Krieger and David Cobb (editors)
The best books on Boston, recommended by Jane Kamensky
The best books on Boston, recommended by Jane Kamensky
The idea of Boston as “a place of revolutionary fervour because liberty is somehow baked into its bones” is loaded with a “very heavy dose of self-mythologizing,” says American historian Jane Kamensky. Here, the Harvard professor lifts the veil on this quintessential New England city and recommends five books for understanding its history