The history interviews on our site are divided into the following time periods:
Ancient history (up to 500): ancient history dates from prehistoric times to around 500 to coincide (roughly) with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. If you're interested in this period, we also have a category devoted specifically to Classics (aka Classical Studies), with emphasis on the language and literature of ancient Greece and Rome.
Medieval history (500-1400): Medieval history starts with the fall of Rome and lasts till (approximately) the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe.
Early modern history (1400-1789): Early modern history was a period of enormous change and one of the most exciting to study, as the world as we know it began to take shape, with a lot of bloodshed along the way.
Modern history (1789-1945): Modern history takes us from the French Revolution of 1789 through to the end of World War II in 1945.
Contemporary history (1945-present): Contemporary history takes us from the end of World War II until the present day.
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Tante Jolesch or the Decline of the West in Anecdotes
by Friedrich Torberg & Maria Poglitsch Bauer (translator) -
2
The Road into the Open
by Arthur Schnitzler & Roger Byers (translator) -
3
The Radetzky March
by Joseph Roth & Michael Hofmann (translator) -
4
The World of Yesterday
by Stefan Zweig & Anthea Bell (translator) -
5
Last Waltz in Vienna
by George Clare
The best books on Jewish Vienna, recommended by Brigid Grauman
The best books on Jewish Vienna, recommended by Brigid Grauman
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Vienna had a vibrant intellectual and cultural life, embraced and at times led by key figures in its large Jewish community. All that would disappear with the rise of anti-Semitism and the Anschluss. Many Jews fled or committed suicide. Others were deported to concentration camps. After the war some went back, but Vienna would never be the same. Here Brigid Grauman, whose father’s family were assimilated Jews from Vienna, recommends books that evoke that poignant, tragic period that ended with World War II.
The best books on Sparta, recommended by Andrew Bayliss
Their reputation for self-discipline and self-denial made their way into the English language, but what the ancient Spartans were really like remains a source of debate among scholars, not least because they wrote little themselves. Andrew Bayliss, Senior Lecturer in Greek History at the University of Birmingham and author of an excellent, short book on The Spartans, talks us through what we know about the heroes of Thermopylae, including the darker sides of their culture and society.
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1
The Nation of the Risorgimento: Kinship, Sanctity and Honour in the Origins of Unified Italy
by Alberto Mario Banti -
2
The Antiquity of the Italian Nation: The Cultural Origins of Political Myth in Modern Italy
by Antonino De Francisco -
3
Risorgimento in Exile: Italian Emigrés and the Liberal International in the Post-Napoleonic Era
by Maurizio Isabella -
4
Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero
by Lucy Riall -
5
Monarchie et Identité Nationale en Italie (1861-1900)
by Catherine Brice
The best books on Italy’s Risorgimento, recommended by Carlotta Ferrara degli Uberti
The best books on Italy’s Risorgimento, recommended by Carlotta Ferrara degli Uberti
Italian unification was one of the great political dramas of 19th century Europe, transforming a patchwork of territories speaking different languages into the nation-state of Italy. Here, historian Carlotta Ferrara degli Uberti discusses the people and ideas that brought it about and how its disputed legacy continues to impact Italy today.
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1
Et Tu, Brute? The Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination
by Greg Woolf -
2
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964
by William Manchester -
3
Caesar and Cleopatra
by George Bernard Shaw -
4
The Complete Works of Julius Caesar
by Julius Caesar -
5
Imperial Projections in Modern Popular Culture
by Sandra R. Joshel (Ed)
The best books on Julius Caesar, recommended by Peter Stothard
The best books on Julius Caesar, recommended by Peter Stothard
Julius Caesar was a populist politician and general of the late Roman Republic who immortalized himself not only by his beautiful writing about his military exploits, but also by the manner of his death. Here, British journalist and critic Peter Stothard, author of The Last Assassin, chooses five books to help you understand both the man and what motivated him and some of the people who have been inspired by him in the 2,000 years since he died.
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King and Emperor: A New Life of Charlemagne
by Janet Nelson -
2
Charlemagne: Empire and Society
by Joanna Story (editor) -
3
Ich und Karl der Große: Das Leben des Höflings Einhard
by Steffen Patzold -
4
Charlemagne's Practice of Empire
by Jennifer Davis -
5
Conquest and Christianization: Saxony and the Carolingian World, 772–888
by Ingrid Rembold -
6
Saxon Identities, AD 150-900
by Robert Flierman
The best books on Charlemagne, recommended by Carine van Rhijn
The best books on Charlemagne, recommended by Carine van Rhijn
We call him Charlemagne, but it was not a name that was used in his own lifetime. His conquests stretched across vast swathes of Europe, but he probably didn’t set out to become an emperor. Much has been written about him, but very little is known. Dutch historian Carine van Rhijn, a lecturer at the University of Utrecht, recommends the best books on Charles, King of the Franks.
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1
Golden Trade of the Moors: West African Kingdoms in the Fourteenth Century
by E.W. Bovill -
2
Ancient Ghana and Mali
by Nehemiah Levtzion -
3
Social History of Timbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables 1400-1900
by Elias Saad -
4
Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples
by David C. Conrad -
5
Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa'di's Ta'rikh Al-Sudan down to 1613 and Other Contemporary Documents
by John Hunwick
The best books on The Ghana, Mali and Songhai African Empires, recommended by Michael Gomez
The best books on The Ghana, Mali and Songhai African Empires, recommended by Michael Gomez
Long before the Europeans arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries, sub-Saharan West Africa saw the emergence of a series of African empires that lasted for centuries and stretched over vast swathes of the continent. They were known as the Ghana, Mali and Songhai Empires. Here, historian Michael Gomez discusses what led to their greatness, what sustained them and why they fell.
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1
The Persian Empire
by J M Cook -
2
Discovering Cyrus: a Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World
by Reza Zaghamee -
3
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period
by Amélie Kuhrt -
4
The Palace of Darius at Susa: The Great Royal Residence of Achaemenid Persia
by Jean Perrot -
5
Creation
by Gore Vidal
The best books on The Achaemenid Persian Empire, recommended by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
The best books on The Achaemenid Persian Empire, recommended by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
At the height of its greatness, the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the largest empire the world had ever known. Too often it is given merely a villainous walk-on part in the heroic history of classical Greece. Here, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones explains why that needs correcting, looks at its cultural achievements and discusses why the first Persian empire is worth studying in its own right and on its own terms.
The best books on Concentration Camps, recommended by Andrea Pitzer
Most of us associate concentration camps with Nazi Germany, but they are not, in fact, relics of the past or confined to one particular episode of history. Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, talks us through memoirs and books that illuminate a tool that has been widely used, since the late 19th century, for the mass detention of civilians without trial.
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1
My Early Life 1874-1904
by Winston Churchill -
2
Churchill and the Islamic World: Orientalism, Empire and Diplomacy in the Middle East
by Warren Dockter -
3
In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War
by David Reynolds -
4
Churchill and the Dardanelles
by Christopher M Bell -
5
Winston Churchill As I Knew Him
by Violet Bonham Carter
The best books on Winston Churchill, recommended by Richard Toye
The best books on Winston Churchill, recommended by Richard Toye
Winston Churchill’s role as a global statesman remains immensely controversial. For some he was the heroic champion of liberty, saviour of the free world; for others a callous imperialist with a doleful legacy. Here, historian Richard Toye chooses the best books to help you understand the man behind the myths and Churchill’s own role in making those myths.
The best books on The Weimar Republic, recommended by Robert Gerwarth
The Weimar Republic was not doomed to fail, says the historian Robert Gerwarth; it was, in many ways, popularly rooted and successful, and its artistic achievements remain influential to this day. Here he selects five books that illustrate the rich cultural life of the Weimar Republic, its pioneering modernism and the febrile political atmosphere that gripped it in the wake of the Great Depression.
The best books on Nineteenth Century Germany, recommended by Richard Evans
At the beginning of the 1800s, Germany was a collection of independent states. By the end, it had been unified under Prussian political leadership into one of the world’s great powers. Here, Richard Evans, Regius Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Cambridge and Provost of Gresham College in the City of London, chooses five books on 19th century Germany that illustrate how that process unfolded and what the political, economic and social consequences of it were—intended and otherwise.
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1
Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory
by David Blight -
2
The Fiery Trial
by Eric Foner -
3
Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South
by Stephanie McCurry -
4
Absalom, Absalom
by William Faulkner -
5
The Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
by Elizabeth Samet & Ulysses S. Grant
The Best Books on the American Civil War, recommended by Drew Gilpin Faust
The Best Books on the American Civil War, recommended by Drew Gilpin Faust
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner. Here, Drew Gilpin Faust, a leading historian of the American Civil War and former President of Harvard, recommends the best books to read about the conflict between North and South that tore the United States apart from 1861 till 1865 – and beyond.
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1
Smell in Eighteenth-Century England: A Social Sense
by William Tullett -
2
Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography
by Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully -
3
The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution
by Faramerz Dabhoiwala -
4
Sleep in Early Modern England
by Sasha Handley -
5
The Smile Revolution in Eighteenth Century Paris
by Colin Jones
The best books on The Body, recommended by Karen Harvey
The best books on The Body, recommended by Karen Harvey
We assume that many of our bodily functions—sleeping and smiling, for example—are ‘natural’ and culturally invariant. But their characteristics and expression are heavily influenced by their cultural milieu. Professor Karen Harvey explains how attitudes to the body in the 18th century were radically rethought in the light of changing scientific and cultural views of its nature and function.
The best books on Marx and Marxism, recommended by Terrell Carver
Few people have had their ideas reinvented as many times as the German intellectual and political activist, Karl Marx. Professor of political theory, Terrell Carver, takes us through the most influential books, in English, about Marx, Marxism and his friend, publicist and financial backer, Friedrich Engels.
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1
Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean 400-800
by Chris Wickham -
2
African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa
by Michael Gomez -
3
The Travels of Marco Polo
by Marco Polo & Rustichello da Pisa -
4
Montaillou: Cathars and Catholics in a French Village 1294-1324
by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie -
5
Medieval Market Morality: Life, Law and Ethics in the English Marketplace, 1200-1500
by James Davis
The best books on The Middle Ages, recommended by Hannah Skoda
The best books on The Middle Ages, recommended by Hannah Skoda
Oxford medieval historian Hannah Skoda chooses her top five books on the Middle Ages, explaining why she finds the whole idea of their ‘middleness’ problematic and how a more global approach tends to shatter many long-held assumptions about the period.
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1
The Cold War: A World History
by Odd Arne Westad -
2
For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War
by Melvyn P Leffler -
3
Russia and the Idea of the West
by Robert English -
4
The Enigma of 1989: The USSR and the Liberation of Eastern Europe
Jacques Lévesque (trans. Keith Martin) -
5
Reagan and Gorbachev
by Jack Matlock
The best books on The Cold War, recommended by Archie Brown
The best books on The Cold War, recommended by Archie Brown
American military and economic superiority cannot explain why the Cold War came to an end in the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to the historian Archie Brown, you need to accept the primacy of politics and human agency both in the USSR and the West. He chooses five books to understand the Cold War and offers some broader reflections on the qualities of good political leadership—then and now.
The Best Italian Renaissance Books, recommended by Kenneth Bartlett
If you’re going to look at the past, you have to understand the people who were living there and see the world through their eyes, says historian and Renaissance specialist Kenneth Bartlett. He explains that while Machiavelli is much misunderstood and maligned, Donald Trump is a Machiavellian in the truest sense of the word. He picks the best books of the Italian Renaissance.
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Mao’s Last Revolution
by Michael Schoenhals & Roderick MacFarquhar -
2
Maoism at the Grassroots
edited by Jeremy Brown and Matthew D. Johnson -
3
Red Star over China
by Edgar Snow -
4
The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution
by Aditya Adhikari -
5
A Critical Introduction to Mao
by Timothy Creek
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
While researching Maoism, China expert Julia Lovell battled against two incorrect assumptions: “firstly that Maoism is a story of China; and secondly that Maoism is a story of the past.” Here she recommends five books for coming to grips with the global, still-relevant impact of Maoism.
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1
All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class
by Tim Shipman -
2
Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem
by Tim Shipman -
3
A History of Britain, Volume III: The Fate of the Empire 1776–2000
by Simon Schama -
4
The Time of My Life
by Denis Healey -
5
The Road to 1945: British Politics and the Second World War
by Paul Addison -
6
Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter
by John O'Farrell
The best books on Modern British History, recommended by Andrew Hindmoor
The best books on Modern British History, recommended by Andrew Hindmoor
What will historians say about the latest period in British history? What has stayed the same, and what is vastly different from our parents’ generation? Andrew Hindmoor, professor of politics at the University of Sheffield and author of Twelve Days that Made Modern Britain, recommends books that give insights into contemporary British history.
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1
Auschwitz and After
by Charlotte Delbo -
2
Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankl -
3
The Search: The Birkenau Boys
by Gerhard Durlacher -
4
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, 1963-1965: Genocide, History and the Limits of the Law
by Devin O Pendas -
5
Underground in Berlin: A Young Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of Nazi Germany
by Marie Jalowicz-Simon
The best books on Auschwitz, recommended by Mary Fulbrook
The best books on Auschwitz, recommended by Mary Fulbrook
Why were so few of the Nazis involved in running Auschwitz brought to justice? Why did some Germans during the Holocaust risk death to hide Jewish people from Nazi persecution, while others were passive bystanders? Historian Mary Fulbrook—author of Reckonings, which won the 2019 Wolfson History Prize—recommends essential reading for understanding Auschwitz and its aftermath.
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The Campaigns of Napoleon
by David G Chandler -
2
Talleyrand
by Duff Cooper -
3
With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign
by John H Gill -
4
Private Memoirs Of The Court Of Napoleon
by Louis François Joseph Bausset-Roquefort -
5
With Napoleon in Russia: Memoirs of General de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza
by Armand de Caulaincourt
The best books on Napoleon, recommended by Andrew Roberts
The best books on Napoleon, recommended by Andrew Roberts
How did Napoleon Bonaparte, an upstart Corsican, go on to conquer half of Europe in the 16 years of his rule? Was he a military genius? And was he really that short? Historian Andrew Roberts, author of a bestselling biography of Napoleon, introduces us to the books that shaped how he sees l’Empereur—including little-known sources from those who knew Napoleon personally.
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 Viruses, recommended by Dorothy H. Crawford
Many of us have developed a new fascination for viruses and virology during the global COVID-19 crisis. Here, Dorothy Crawford, professor of medical microbiology and the author of Viruses: A Very Short Introduction, selects five of the best books on viruses for the general reader.
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Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy
by Serhii Plokhy -
2
Producing Power: The Pre-Chernobyl History of the Soviet Nuclear Industry
by Sonja D Schmid -
3
Voices From Chernobyl
by Svetlana Alexievich -
4
Atomic Spaces: Living on the Manhattan Project
by Peter Bacon Hales -
5
The Politics of Invisibility: Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl
by Olga Kuchinskaya
The best books on Chernobyl, recommended by Kate Brown
The best books on Chernobyl, recommended by Kate Brown
While widely regarded as the world’s worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl’s legacy remains fiercely contested, with death tolls ranging from 31 to 200,000. MIT historian Kate Brown, who has spent years in the Chernobyl archives, picks the best books on the disaster, compares its impact with atomic bomb testing, and argues for more research into low-dose radiation exposure
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The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives
by Ian Scott-Kilvert & Plutarch -
2
The Greek Alexander Romance
by Richard Stoneman -
3
Atticus
by Cornelius Nepos & Nicholas Horsfall -
4
Agricola
by Harold Mattingly, James Rives & Tacitus -
5
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
Diogenes Laertius (ed. James Miller, trans. Pamela Mensch)
The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome), recommended by Jeffrey Beneker
The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome), recommended by Jeffrey Beneker
Whatever modern leadership books may say about what’s required to be a good leader, for the ancients there was only one vital requirement: studying philosophy. Jeffrey Beneker, Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talks us through what ancient biographies reveal about how to be a leader.
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Catiline’s War, The Jugurthine War, Histories
Sallust (trans. AJ Woodman) -
2
Res Gestae Divi Augusti: Text, Translation, and Commentary
by Alison Cooley (editor) & Augustus -
3
Rome's Cultural Revolution
by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill -
4
The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome
by J. Bert Lott -
5
Augustan Culture
by Karl Galinsky
The best books on Augustus, recommended by Peter Wiseman
The best books on Augustus, recommended by Peter Wiseman
Is it possible that Augustus was not the first Roman emperor, but the last of Rome’s great populist champions? That’s what classicist Peter Wiseman argues in his book, The House of Augustus: A Historical Detective Story. Drawing on a lifetime of research and writing on this period, the emeritus professor of classics and ancient history gives a brilliant overview of the Augustan age, and recommends what to read to better understand the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who found Rome in brick and left it in marble.
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Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica
by Arrian -
2
The History of Alexander
by Quintus Curtius Rufus -
3
The First European: A History of Alexander in the Age of Empire
by Pierre Briant -
4
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period
by Amélie Kuhrt -
5
Fire from Heaven: A Novel of Alexander the Great
by Mary Renault
The best books on Alexander the Great, recommended by Hugh Bowden
The best books on Alexander the Great, recommended by Hugh Bowden
Alexander the Great never lost a battle and established an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent. From the earliest times, historians have argued about the nature of his achievements and what his failings were, both as a man and as a political leader. Here, Hugh Bowden, professor of ancient history at King’s College London, chooses five books to help you understand the controversies, the man behind the legends, and why the legends have taken the forms they have.
The best books on Thucydides, recommended by Johanna Hanink
The Greek historian and general Thucydides wanted his History of the Peloponnesian War “to be a possession for all time.” In that, he’s been remarkably successful, with his name still echoing in the corridors of power. But what lessons should we take away from his great work? Translator and classicist Johanna Hanink talks us through books to better understand Thucydides and the mythical Athens he lived in and wrote about.
The best books on Gandhi, recommended by Ramachandra Guha
Gandhi's peaceful resistance to British rule changed India and inspired freedom movements around the globe. But as well as being an inspiring leader, Gandhi was also a human being. Ramachandra Guha, author of a new two-part biography of Gandhi, introduces us to books that give a fuller picture of the man who came to be known as 'Mahatma' Gandhi.
The Best Thomas Cromwell Books: Editors’ Picks, recommended by Benedict King
The Mirror and the Light—the final instalment of Hilary Mantel’s epic trilogy covering the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and architect of the English Reformation—was published to great acclaim this month. Here, Five Books contributing editor Benedict King chooses five of the best books to help you get to grips with the real Thomas Cromwell and the political and religious environment in which he operated. You can watch Benedict talking about his Thomas Cromwell book choices here.
The Best Classics Books for Teenagers, recommended by Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey)
Caesar, Cicero, Achilles, Socrates, Plato: millennia later, we still talk about them. Olly Murphy, classics teacher at Wycombe Abbey, one of England’s top girls’ schools, recommends books and explains why classics remains one of the most exciting subjects for teenagers to study.
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Thomas Cromwell: A Life
by Diarmaid MacCulloch -
2
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 Ancient Greece, recommended by Christopher Pelling
Ancient Greece’s legacy can be seen all around us, including in our political system — but many of us don’t know that much about it. Fortunately, we have someone who has devoted his life to studying this remote time and place to give us a reading list. Chris Pelling, Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford, recommends his top five books on Ancient Greece.
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On War
by Carl von Clausewitz -
2
Yorck and the Era of Prussian Reform 1807
by Peter Paret -
3
L'or et le sang: Les buts de guerre économiques de la Première Guerre mondiale
by Georges-Henri Soutou -
4
Vessel of Sadness
by William Woodruff -
5
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
by David Kilcullen
The Best Military History Books, recommended by Hew Strachan
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The Crisis of the European Mind
by Paul Hazard -
2
The Enlightenment in America
by Henry May -
3
The Enlightenment and the Intellectual Foundations of Modern Culture
by Louis Dupré -
4
The Religious Enlightenment
by David Sorkin -
5
Democratic Enlightenment: Philosophy, Revolution, and Human Rights, 1750-1790
by Jonathan Israel
The best books on The Enlightenment, recommended by Jonathan Israel
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.
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Christianity In The West 1400-1700
by John Bossy -
2
Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe
by Brad Gregory -
3
Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet
by Lyndal Roper -
4
The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village
by Eamon Duffy -
5
For The Sake Of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation
by R W Scribner
The best books on The Reformation, recommended by Peter Marshall
The best books on The Reformation, recommended by Peter Marshall
On October 31st 1517, Martin Luther, an unknown friar in an obscure town in eastern Germany may or may not have posted a list of complaints to the door of his local church. His actions would lead to what was later called ‘the Reformation’ — a grisly period in European history that nonetheless paved the way for a more tolerant and pluralistic society. Peter Marshall, one of the period’s leading scholars, talks us through the best books on the Reformation.
The best books on The Glorious Revolution, recommended by Steven Pincus
When William of Orange came from Holland to take the English throne in 1688, was it a foreign invasion, or a revolution from within? Yale historian, Steven Pincus, talks us through the conflicting views on the Glorious Revolution and argues for a new perspective.
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Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy
by Michael Baxandall -
2
Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare
by Stephen Greenblatt -
3
Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance
by Lisa Jardine -
4
The Printing Press as an Agent of Change
by Elizabeth L Eisenstein -
5
The Reformation
by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
A century-and-a-half ago the Swiss art historian, Jacob Burckhardt, popularized the idea of a ‘Renaissance’ in 14th century Italy. For most people, the term still conjures up works of art by the likes of Michelangelo or Leonardo. But there is much, much more to it than that. Professor of Renaissance studies, Jerry Brotton, picks the best books to read for a more complete understanding of the Renaissance.
The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Lynn Hunt
It’s a revolution that still resonates and yet it resists easy interpretation. Lynn Hunt, a leading historian of the French Revolution, tells us what the events of 1789 and later years really meant, and what relevance they have for us today.
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Ordinary Men
by Christopher Browning -
2
Jews, Germans, and Allies: Close Encounters in Occupied Germany
by Atina Grossmann -
3
A Brief Stop on the Road from Auschwitz
by Goran Rosenberg -
4
Dissonant Lives: Generations and Violence Through the German Dictatorships
by Mary Fulbrook -
5
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall
by Anna Funder
The best books on Modern German History, recommended by Hester Vaizey
The best books on Modern German History, recommended by Hester Vaizey
In the 20th century, Germany suffered defeat in two world wars and withstood two kinds of dictatorship. Yet today it is Europe’s strongest economy. Hester Vaizey, fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and author of Born in the GDR, selects five brilliant books on a tumultuous century.
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The Social And Economic History Of Roman Empire
by Michael Rostovtzeff -
2
A History of Education in Antiquity
by Henri-Irénée Marrou -
3
Philosophy as a Way of Life
by Pierre Hadot -
4
Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam
by GW Bowersock -
5
Pauvreté économique et pauvreté sociale à Byzance
by Evelyne Patlagean
The best books on Late Antiquity, recommended by Peter Brown
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1
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy
by Mark Doty -
2
The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
by Simon Schama -
3
Vermeer
by Lawrence Gowing -
4
Rembrandt's Enterprise: The Studio and the Market
by Svetlana Alpers -
5
Art of the Everyday: Dutch Painting and the Realist Novel
by Ruth Bernard Yeazell
The best books on The Dutch Masters, recommended by Adam Eaker
The best books on The Dutch Masters, recommended by Adam Eaker
The past may be a foreign country, but the world portrayed in the art of the Dutch Masters is not so very far from our own, says Adam Eaker of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For a society that struggles with materialism and consumption, there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the 17th century Golden Age.
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Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein
by Niall Barr -
2
The Desert War: The Classic Trilogy on the North African Campaign 1940-43
by Alan Moorehead -
3
Rommel
by Desmond Young -
4
Montgomery and the Eighth Army
by Bernard Montgomery and Stephen Brooks (ed) -
5
The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain
by Stephen Bungay
The best books on El Alamein, recommended by Simon Ball
The best books on El Alamein, recommended by Simon Ball
Churchill hailed the Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein as “the end of the beginning” for Hitler in World War II. But in that very same speech, he downplayed its significance. Historian Simon Ball separates clichés from facts and chooses the best of the vast number of books written about El Alamein, the Desert War and World War II in general.