History is a fascinating subject and the amount of books in the genre are endless. The following is a list of 15 history books that I’ve read and that I hope you will enjoy reading as well if you find the opportunity to pick them up. Each title is linked to the book’s corresponding Goodreads page.

1.) Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye

Revolutions aren’t free. This means that the United States had to get its funding from somewhere when it declared its independence from the British. Enter: Robert Morris. Morris was heavily involved in the overall funding of the American Revolution, including some key victories by then General George Washington. His efforts helped create several of the institutions that we have today, including his push for a bank. This book is a fascinating look at a figure of the American Revolution not often talked about and his activities to save the Revolution.

2.) John Adams by David McCullough

This biography tells the story of the man who would become the second President of the United States. The book is extremely well-researched, and opens the door for the reader to see the insights of one of America’s Founding Fathers. Readers also get a close look at his marriage with Abigail Adams, a marriage that is widely considered to be one of the greatest in American history. This grand book also focuses on Adams interactions with Thomas Jefferson. Overall, this biography deserved the critical acclaim it received.

Bonus: If you find the opportunity, watch the HBO miniseries based on the book.

3 – 5.) The Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy by Edmund Morris



Theodore Roosevelt was such an interesting President that author Edmund Morris needed three books to contain it all. Roosevelt is one of the few Presidents whose Presidency may actually have been more boring at times than his time outside of the White House. Morris’s extremely well-researched trilogy makes up one of the greatest biographies I have ever read. If you decide to read books about one President, let it be this trilogy.

6.) The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

Imagine if there was a virus that killed 100 million people, scarred millions of others, and did this all in the span of 24 months. Imagine if this virus’s biggest demographic of victims were the young (20-30’s) and healthy. People were talking and laughing one minute, dead the next. This isn’t the plot of some science fiction novel, but rather the story of the worst influenza virus in human history. 1918 saw the first real clash of science and disease as a multitude of scientists worldwide fought to save the world. This book is their story and the story of this deadly disease. The only real complaint from this book is that at times it can perhaps too overly detailed, but that won’t stop readers from keep turning the page.

7.) The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936 – 1939 by Antony Beevor

Parents fighting children, siblings fighting siblings, friends fighting friends, the Spanish Civil War was one of the most personal wars of the last century. This precursor saw a civil war between not only ideologies on opposite sides of the political spectrum but on the same side. This war also saw internationalization of forces with the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and Italy on one side, the Soviet Union on the other. This balanced account by Beevor explores what led to the war, how Republican Spain was ultimately doomed from the start, and what how the civil war still resonates within Spain to this day.

8.) Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olson

There was almost a two-year period between 1939 and 1941 where Britain virtually stood alone against the Axis Powers onslaught as their overran mainland Europe. The United States, initially hesitant to even send supplies, wouldn’t enter the war until December 1941. However, the two countries forged their wartime alliance behind the scenes after World War II broke out. This wonderfully researched book follows mainly three individuals who all became close with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Edward R. Murrow, the head of CBS News in Europe; Averell Harriman, the man who ran FDR’s Lend-Lease program in London; and John Gilbert Winant, the U.S. ambassador to Britain. These three men wouldn’t always see eye-to-eye (especially Harriman and Winant) but they all agreed upon the common goal of stopping Hitler in this excellent book.

9.) The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler by David Roll

Very few men in history were able to garner the respect of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. Yet, a social worker from Iowa was one of those men. The Hopkins Touch tells the story of Harry Hopkins, one of the most interesting figures during World War II that history seemingly has overlooked at times. Despite his lifelong health problems and lack of title, Hopkins commanded a great deal of power, which he used to help the Allies win the war. This books is wonderfully researched and definitely worth picking up.

10.) Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR’s Great Supreme Court Justices by Noah Feldman

A Klansman who became an advocate of free speech and civil rights. This is only the background of one of the men who would transform not only the Supreme Court but the United States with their decision making. Scorpions tells the story of these four men, including the aforementioned Hugo Black. The other three men who is the book’s focus are Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, and William O. Douglas. Each of them had their own idea of how the Constitution should be interpreted, and their interpretations are still felt in America today. Read this book especially if you wish to learn about how the men who were the decision makers in some of the most important cases of the last century came to their conclusions.

11.) Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

Embers of War starts in 1919 at the Versailles Peace Conference and ends in 1959 with a Viet Cong ambush on a United States outpost. The ambush would result in the first two deaths of what would become known as the Vietnam War. However, the Vietnam War didn’t just sudden occur overnight. Embers of War looks at how France came to lose their struggle to hold onto their empire in Vietnam during the late 40’s and 50’s. The book also looks at the missteps on the American foreign policy side of things which put the United States into an end game that would result in going into Vietnam. It’s fascinating and horrifying to read about the mistakes that France made in Vietnam, knowing that the United States would make those same mistakes not too many years later.

12.) Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty by Bradley K. Martin

For many, North Korea is something out of a cartoon and only seems more cartoonish when some of the “exploits” of Kim Jong-Il (like 11 holes-in-one at his first try of golf) are revealed. However, in this book the two ruthless leaders of North Korea (Kim Jong Il’s father Kim Il-Sung is the other) are anything but. The rise of the Kim family in North Korea is an interesting story that starts with Kim Il-Sung and has resulted in one of the most brutal regimes in recent history. The book is extremely well-researched and delves into a good deal of different source material that gives the reader insights into this regime that controls what is known by many today as the “Hermit Kingdom”.

13.) Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

Legacy of Ashes follows the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from it’s roots when it was the OSS, through it’s creation after World War II, and up through post 9/11. Weiner’s well-researched book lets the reader know just how much the CIA blundered through the Cold War (spoiler: completely). Coups and harebrained schemes are only a small part of the book that delves into why the CIA has been utterly incompetent almost since its inception. Weiner offers the reader a book that any American should take the time to read.

14.) Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean by Alex von Tunzelmann

Secret wars, revolutions, death squads, coups, assassinations, nuclear standoff, voodoo, communism, and complex diplomacy are only some of the things that make up Red Heat. Alex Von Tunzemann’s sophomore novel. Red Heat takes a look at one of the tumultuous times in recent American history, the Cold War from the 1950′s through the early 1970′s. A time where the spectre of communism led American foreign policy and possible nuclear holocaust was a reality. On the United States side of things, the book covers the presidencies of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. This book is definitely worth reading for anyone interested who wants to know more about the Cold War or the activities of the United States in the Caribbean.

15.) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in ’72 by Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson is best known to many people for his novel (and the movie) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. However, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail may be arguably one of the greatest political journalism books ever written. Thompson makes no bones about objectivity (he wonders how anyone can be objective when it comes to Nixon) and it opens the book to new places. Thompson looks at the Democratic Party’s primaries in ’72 and how the split placed an impact ultimately in the general election. The book is hilarious, witty, and insightful all at the same time.

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