The Guns of August
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The top 50
History books of all time
Fifty researched picks for the history books of all time, selected for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
How we choseScholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding. Rankings balance consensus with lasting ownership value and current buyability.
Why it belongs →
A People's History of the United States
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Postwar
Postwar by Tony Judt is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Sleepwalkers
The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
John Adams
John Adams by David McCullough is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
1776
1776 by David McCullough is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present by Howard Zinn is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
An Accidental Philanthropist: How A Small Family Foundation Made A Big Difference
An Accidental Philanthropist: How A Small Family Foundation Made A Big Difference by Winsome Dunn McIntosh is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Night
Night by Elie Wiesel is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Histories
The Histories by Herodotus is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier by Stephen E. Ambrose is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Hiroshima
Hiroshima by John Hersey is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Truman
Truman by David McCullough is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
History of the Peloponnesian War
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943 by Antony Beevor is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt, #1)
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt, #1) by Edmund Morris is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War
The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War by Tim Butcher is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Kitchen and the Studio: A Memoir of Food and Art
The Kitchen and the Studio: A Memoir of Food and Art by Mallory M. O'Connor is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Mary Edwards Walker: America's Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient
Mary Edwards Walker: America's Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient by Ammar Habib is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Civil War: A Narrative
The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Peter the Great: His Life and World
Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World
Paris, 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty by Robert K. Massie is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Twelve Caesars
The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne is a durable history book choice, recognized for scholarship, narrative power, scope and influence on public understanding.