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World History Books That Illuminate History Around You

Our past can tell us so much about the present and the future. World history books help us to understand our world by providing context to how we arrived where we are today.

The best world history books are accessible and comprehensive, guiding readers through important events of the past and drawing connections to causes and effects throughout history.

Take a journey along the Silk Road, walk the streets of colonial America, or fight in the Wars of the Roses. History books give us the opportunity to experience another time and place through the power of reading. 

No matter what era or area you’re interested in, we’ve put together this collection of world history books to satisfy your curiosity and wanderlust. 

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April 1865
April 1865
by Jay Winik
How We Get Free
How We Get Free
by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
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To Believe in Women
To Believe in Women
by Lillian Faderman
Of a Feather
Of a Feather
by Scott Weidensaul
Washington's Immortals
Washington's Immortals
by Patrick K. O'Donnell
Hitler's Last Secretary
Hitler's Last Secretary
by Traudl Junge, Melissa Muller
Girls to the Front
Girls to the Front
by Sara Marcus
We Few
We Few
by Nick Brokhausen
Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down
by Mark Bowden
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This Kind of War
This Kind of War
by T. R. Fehrenbach
The Powers That Be
The Powers That Be
by David Halberstam
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell
by Georgina Howell
The Late Shift
The Late Shift
by Bill Carter
A Wing and a Prayer
A Wing and a Prayer
by Harry H. Crosby
Pain, Parties, Work
Pain, Parties, Work
by Elizabeth Winder
Bananas
Bananas
by Peter Chapman
The Original Watergate Stories
The Original Watergate Stories
by Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, Carl Bernstein
Of Wolves and Men
Of Wolves and Men
by Barry Lopez
The Last Founding Father
The Last Founding Father
by Harlow Giles Unger
Revolutionaries
Revolutionaries
by Jack Rakove
An American Heroine in the French Resistance
An American Heroine in the French Resistance
by Virginia D'Albert-Lake
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Harlem
Harlem
by Jonathan Gill
Fragments of Isabella
Fragments of Isabella
by Isabella Leitner, Irving A. Leitner
West with the Night
West with the Night
by Beryl Markham
The Children
The Children
by David Halberstam
Life at the Dakota
Life at the Dakota
by Stephen Birmingham
Why Homer Matters
Why Homer Matters
by Adam Nicolson
Survivors in Mexico
Survivors in Mexico
by Rebecca West
The Defender
The Defender
by Ethan Michaeli
The Book of Awesome Black Americans
The Book of Awesome Black Americans
by Monique Jones
So You Think You Know Rock and Roll?
So You Think You Know Rock and Roll?
by Peter E. Meltzer
Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring
by Modris Eksteins
The Crate
The Crate
by Deborah Vadas Levison
Red Road from Stalingrad
Red Road from Stalingrad
by Mansur Abdulin, Artem Drabkin
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
by George Crile
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin
by Brenda Maddox
Beyond Obsession
Beyond Obsession
by Richard Hammer
Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1882–1940)
Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1882–1940)
by James MacGregor Burns
The Miracle of Dunkirk
The Miracle of Dunkirk
by Walter Lord
Sacred Liberty
Sacred Liberty
by Steven Waldman
1973: Rock at the Crossroads
1973: Rock at the Crossroads
by Andrew Grant Jackson
A Warrior of the People
A Warrior of the People
by Joe Starita
Find Me Unafraid
Find Me Unafraid
by Jessica Posner, Kennedy Odede
The Price of Children
The Price of Children
by Maria Laurino
The Will To Live On
The Will To Live On
by Herman Wouk
The View from the Ground
The View from the Ground
by Martha Gellhorn
The Pocket Stoic
The Pocket Stoic
by John Sellars
The Cult of the Saints
The Cult of the Saints
by Peter Brown
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Taking Hawaii
Taking Hawaii
by Stephen Dando-Collins
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The best world history books are both informative and interesting, they tell stories from history using factual information as well as intriguing writing and world building. Some examples of great and captivating world history books include Marilyn French’s From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World and Terence McLaughlin’s Dirt

Which history books are considered “must-read” is completely dependent on your interests! If you’ve always found yourself interested in English history and monarchs, you must read Phil Carradice’s Bloody Mary or Rebellion Against Henry VII. If you’re fascinated by countercultural and secretive movements then you simply must read Mark Booth’s The Secret History of the World