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 this past year.

Charles de Gaulle had ‘a certain idea of France’ which even he didn’t manage to articulate clearly. De Gaulle biographer and one of Britain’s leading historians of modern France, Julian Jackson, talks us through some key books to get a sense of France’s wartime leader and president, Charles de Gaulle.

There are few 18th century French aristocrats with as much name recognition as the Marquis de Sade. His life was an eventful one and his books remain shocking. Will McMorran, Sade’s translator, reflects on the man, his life and his literary works. He recommends the best books by or about the Marquis de Sade.

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.

The classical Greek philosopher is credited with laying the foundation of Western philosophy – without ever having written a word. Here, the eminent scholar M M McCabe enters into dialogue with Five Books to recommend the best texts through which we might understand Socrates, and engage with the eternal question: How best to live?

New Testament scholar Robert Morgan chooses his favourite books on Jesus.

The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl, looks at how the histories of the previous generation have shaped Princes William and Harry. She picks the best books on the British royals.

The best presidential biographies contain insights into both the personal and the political, says the historian HW Brands. He chooses the best biographies of some of the greatest American presidents.

Many thought that 9/11 was the start of an Al-Qaeda assault on the West, but it turned out to be Bin Laden’s Pearl Harbor – a victory that led to strategic defeat – says Peter Bergen, one of the few reporters who met the Saudi-born militant.

The royal biographer Robert Lacey considers Queen Elizabeth II, her legacy, her family history, and her ambivalent relationship with Princess Diana.

It’s their frailty that makes politicians such interesting characters, says Tony Blair’s biographer. He tells us about the art of political biography and the writers who’ve best captured leaders such as Churchill and Thatcher

He was the Machiavelli of English kings – a chancer and usurper with a highly dubious claim to the throne. But Henry VII ruled for 25 years and founded a dynasty. His biographer tells us how he did it

From the annexation of Texas to the UN’s Commission on Human Rights, first ladies have played a key role in the history of the United States. Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony recommends five engaging books about the tumultuous lives of some of the country’s first ladies.

The story and tragedy of the Kennedys is so incredible you don’t need to turn to fiction, says the biographer of Joseph P Kennedy, David Nasaw. He talks us through the Kennedy generations.

The BFI award-winning historian and Royal Historical Society fellow, Michael Burleigh, paints Hitler as a raving fantasist onto whom Germans projected their longings

Hazareesingh’s book choices include de Gaulle’s “very readable” war diaries. In books of condolences after the leader’s death, people wrote things like, “Goodbye Charles, you were greater than Napoleon”

The historian and author chooses five books on de Gaulle and the Resistance. He says the British tried to veto de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech from London calling on the French to stand up to German occupation

University College London professor Helen Hackett selects five books on the Virgin Queen, including one by the monarch herself. “You get a sense of her independence of mind. She does her own thing”

Samuel Johnson, author of the 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language, was not a hard-hearted Tory caricature, but a champion of the poor and enslaved, according to Margaret Thatcher’s Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Peter Lilley.

The editor-in-chief of Slate Group says what is charming about Bush is his wit and physicality, but he needs to cut people down and does it in a very effective and cruel way. He called Karl Rove “Turdblossom”