History

Sweeping narratives and deep scholarship on the forces that shaped our world.

10 books

American History

A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn · 1980

American history told from the perspective of ordinary people.

americaclassic

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Big History

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond · 1997

Why Eurasian societies conquered others: geography, not biology.

pulitzergeography

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Big History

Sapiens

Yuval Noah Harari · 2011

A brief history of humankind, from foragers to the age of algorithms.

bestselleranthropology

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Ancient History

SPQR

Mary Beard · 2015

A history of ancient Rome from its mythical founding to the third century.

romeclassic

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American History

Team of Rivals

Doris Kearns Goodwin · 2005

Lincoln's political genius in bringing his rivals into his cabinet.

lincolnfilm-adaptation

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Narrative History

The Devil in the White City

Erik Larson · 2003

The 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the serial killer who stalked it.

chicagotrue-crime

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Military History

The Guns of August

Barbara W. Tuchman · 1962

The fateful first month of the First World War.

pulitzerwwi

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History of Science

The Making of the Atomic Bomb

Richard Rhodes · 1986

The definitive history of the scientists and politics behind the atomic bomb.

pulitzerwwii

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World History

The Silk Roads

Peter Frankopan · 2015

A new history of the world told from the East, along the ancient trade routes.

asiatrade

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Biography of Innovation

The Wright Brothers

David McCullough · 2015

The story of the two bicycle mechanics who taught the world to fly.

aviationamerica

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Other genres