Readings

Books worth your time, from primary sources to modern scholarship.

Primary Sources

  • The Histories

    Herodotus

    The founding text of Western historical writing. Herodotus covers the Greco-Persian Wars and the cultures of the ancient world with curiosity and humanity.

  • History of the Peloponnesian War

    Thucydides

    Rigorous, unsentimental account of Athens and Sparta's great conflict. The speeches attributed to Pericles remain essential reading on democracy and power.

  • Parallel Lives

    Plutarch

    Paired biographies of Greek and Roman statesmen and generals. The source for Shakespeare's Roman plays and a treasury of ancient character.

  • The Gallic War

    Julius Caesar

    Caesar's own account of his conquest of Gaul — a masterpiece of military history and Latin prose, and a study in self-promotion.

  • The Twelve Caesars

    Suetonius

    Gossipy, vivid biographies of Rome's first emperors. Unreliable in detail, invaluable in atmosphere.

  • The Annals

    Tacitus

    The greatest literary historian of ancient Rome. His account of the Julio-Claudian emperors is unflinching and beautifully written.

Ancient History

  • The Landmark Herodotus

    Herodotus, ed. Robert B. Strassler

    The best modern edition, with maps, appendices, and notes that bring ancient geography to life.

  • Alexander the Great

    Robin Lane Fox

    The most gripping modern biography of Alexander — scholarly yet reads like a novel.

  • Caesar

    Adrian Goldsworthy

    A thorough, balanced biography of Julius Caesar by a leading Roman military historian.

  • Cleopatra: A Life

    Stacy Schiff

    A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography that peels back the myth to reveal the formidable ruler beneath.

  • SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

    Mary Beard

    Accessible, revisionist history of Rome that asks fresh questions about why Rome still matters.

Medieval History

  • The Mongols

    David Morgan

    A clear, scholarly introduction to the Mongol Empire and its impact across Eurasia.

  • Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

    Jack Weatherford

    A revisionist account arguing for the Mongols' constructive role in world history. Readable and provocative.

  • The Autumn of the Middle Ages

    Johan Huizinga

    A classic of historical imagination, capturing the culture and sensibility of 14th- and 15th-century Europe.

Renaissance & Early Modern

  • Leonardo da Vinci

    Walter Isaacson

    A comprehensive, accessible biography drawing on Leonardo's notebooks. Good for the general reader.

  • The Prince

    Niccolò Machiavelli

    Short, essential, endlessly misunderstood. Read it in the context of Machiavelli's other works for the full picture.

  • Elizabeth: The Queen

    Alison Weir

    A thorough popular biography of Elizabeth I, covering her reign with clarity and detail.

  • Wolf Hall

    Hilary Mantel

    Historical fiction, but scholarship of the highest order. Mantel's trilogy on Thomas Cromwell is indispensable for Tudor England.

Modern History

  • Napoleon: A Life

    Andrew Roberts

    The definitive modern one-volume biography — thorough, fair, and written with obvious relish.

  • The Guns of August

    Barbara Tuchman

    A Pulitzer Prize winner. The most gripping account of the opening weeks of World War I.

  • The Sleepwalkers

    Christopher Clark

    A revisionist account of how Europe stumbled into World War I. Essential for understanding modern Europe.

On History & Method

  • What Is History?

    E.H. Carr

    A short, brilliant meditation on what historians do and how historical facts are constructed.

  • The Pursuit of History

    John Tosh

    A clear, practical guide to historical method. Ideal for the serious amateur.

  • The Practice of History

    G.R. Elton

    More demanding than Carr or Tosh, but essential for anyone who wants to think seriously about historical evidence.