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Designed to Feel by Peter Burchardt
Designed to Feelby Peter Burchardt — on emotions, evolution & the science of feeling
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Best History Books

History writing at its best is a form of literature. The great historians — Thucydides, Gibbon, Macaulay, Barbara Tuchman, Robert Caro — write with narrative drive, analytical precision, and moral seriousness that make their books as compelling as any fiction. The 20th century saw a democratisation of history, with social, cultural, and microhistorical approaches supplementing the great-man narratives that once dominated the field. Contemporary popular history — from Simon Schama to Hilary Mantel's non-fiction — has made the past accessible to general readers without sacrificing intellectual integrity.

50 titles ranked · Scored across 40+ editorial sources
#1
Cover of The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between
biography-memoir

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between

Hisham Matar· 2016
★Pulitzer Prize
Editorial Score91/100
#2
Cover of The Grapes of Wrath
literary-fiction

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck· 1962
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score90/100
#3
Cover of Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
biography-memoir

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

Svetlana Alexievich· 1997
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score89/100
#4
Cover of Schindler's Ark
biography-memoir

Schindler's Ark

Thomas Keneally· 1982
★Booker Prize
Editorial Score76/100
#5
Cover of The Periodic Table
biography-memoir

The Periodic Table

Primo Levi· 1975
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score71/100
#6
Cover of If This Is a Man
biography-memoir

If This Is a Man

Primo Levi· 1947
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score69/100
#7
Cover of The Gulag Archipelago
history

The Gulag Archipelago

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn· 1973
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score60/100
#8
Cover of In Cold Blood
biography-memoir

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote· 1966
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score58/100
#9
Cover of Catch-22
literary-fiction

Catch-22

Joseph Heller· 1961
TIME 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score54/100
#10
Cover of Parting the Waters
history

Parting the Waters

Taylor Branch· 1989
★National Book Award
Editorial Score50/100
#11
Cover of Born a Crime
biography-memoir

Born a Crime

Trevor Noah· 2016
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score48/100
#12
Cover of Slaughterhouse-Five
science-fiction

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut· 1969
TIME 100 Best Novels
Editorial Score46/100
#13
Cover of How to Be an Antiracist
politics-society

How to Be an Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi· 2019
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score46/100
#14
Cover of The Taming of the Shrew
history

The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare· 1631
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#15
Cover of Hard Times
history

Hard Times

Charles Dickens· 1854
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#16
Cover of Anne's House of Dreams
history

Anne's House of Dreams

Lucy Maud Montgomery· 1917
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#17
Cover of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
history

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain· 1889
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#18
Cover of Book of common prayer
history

Book of common prayer

Church of England· 1537
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#19
Cover of De rerum natura
history

De rerum natura

Titus Lucretius Carus· 1486
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#20
Cover of Patrologiae cursus completus
history

Patrologiae cursus completus

J.-P Migne· 1800
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#21
Cover of Eugenics and Other Evils
history

Eugenics and Other Evils

Gilbert Keith Chesterton· 1922
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#22
Cover of Nicomachean Ethics
history

Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle· 1558
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#23
Cover of Commentarii de bello gallico et de bello civili
history

Commentarii de bello gallico et de bello civili

Gaius Julius Caesar· 1471
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#24
Cover of Our Androcentric Culture, or the Man-Made World
history

Our Androcentric Culture, or the Man-Made World

Charlotte Perkins Gilman· 1911
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#25
Cover of Gone With the Wind
history

Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell· 1936
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#26
Cover of A Room of One's Own
history

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf· 1929
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#27
Cover of Essais
history

Essais

Montaigne, Michel de· 1600
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#28
Cover of Milton's Poems
history

Milton's Poems

John Milton· 1605
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#29
Cover of Hudibras
history

Hudibras

Samuel Butler· 1662
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#30
Cover of Notre Dame de Paris
history

Notre Dame de Paris

Victor Hugo· 1831
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#31
Cover of Montezuma's daughter
history

Montezuma's daughter

H. Rider Haggard· 1893
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#32
Cover of Bushidō
history

Bushidō

Inazo Nitobe· 1899
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#33
Cover of Moriæ Encomium
history

Moriæ Encomium

Desiderius Erasmus· 1515
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#34
Cover of Q. Horatii Flacci opera
history

Q. Horatii Flacci opera

Horace· 1498
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#35
Cover of Rime
history

Rime

Francesco Petrarca· 1475
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#36
Cover of The principall navigations, voiages, and discoveries of the English nations
history

The principall navigations, voiages, and discoveries of the English nations

Richard Hakluyt· 1589
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#37
Cover of The courtier (Il cortegiano)
history

The courtier (Il cortegiano)

Conte Baldassarre Castiglione· 1528
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#38
Cover of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete and Unabridged
history

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete and Unabridged

Edward Gibbon· 1776
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#39
Cover of The History of England from the accession of James the Second
history

The History of England from the accession of James the Second

Thomas Babington Macaulay· 1800
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#40
Cover of Commentaries on the laws of England
history

Commentaries on the laws of England

Sir William Blackstone· 1721
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#41
Cover of The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Twentieth-Century Classics)
history

The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Twentieth-Century Classics)

John Maynard Keynes· 1919
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#42
Cover of Vom Kriege
history

Vom Kriege

Carl von Clausewitz· 1835
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#43
Cover of Das Kapital
history

Das Kapital

Karl Marx· 1867
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#44
Cover of The complete works of Robert Browning Volume XVI
history

The complete works of Robert Browning Volume XVI

Robert Browning· 1800
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#45
Cover of Extradition laws and treaties, United States
history

Extradition laws and treaties, United States

United States· 1795
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#46
Cover of Carmina
history

Carmina

Horace· 1712
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#47
Cover of Pharsalia
history

Pharsalia

Lucan· 1486
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#48
Cover of Mishneh Torah (Codification of Talmudic laws)
history

Mishneh Torah (Codification of Talmudic laws)

Moses Maimonides· 1470
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#49
Cover of Lays of ancient Rome
history

Lays of ancient Rome

Thomas Babington Macaulay· 1800
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
#50
Cover of Histoire naturelle
history

Histoire naturelle

Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon· 1749
Notable Work
Editorial Score46/100
Designed to Feel
Bestseller by Peter Burchardt
Designed to Feel
Why Evolution Built Your Emotions, and How to Make Them Work for You
“The most eye-opening book on emotions I’ve ever read.”
Get It on Amazon →Paperback & Kindle

By Country

🌍International4153🇺🇸United States21🌍United Kingdom7🇫🇯Fiji4🇲🇨Monaco4🇮🇹Italy3🇨🇦Canada3🇰🇭Cambodia3🇳🇮Nicaragua3🇳🇪Niger3🇧🇳Brunei3🇨🇩Democratic Republic of Congo3🇹🇱East Timor3🇱🇸Lesotho3🇲🇭Marshall Islands3🇳🇷Nauru3🇵🇼Palau3🇧🇾Belarus2🇦🇺Australia2🌍France2🇮🇱Israel2🇦🇹Austria2🇨🇾Cyprus2🇱🇦Laos2🇲🇱Mali2🇲🇲Myanmar2🇷🇼Rwanda2🇸🇱Sierra Leone2🇧🇹Bhutan2🇸🇿Eswatini2🇼🇸Samoa2🇨🇰Cook Islands2🇱🇾Libya1🇷🇺Russia1🇿🇦South Africa1🌍Germany1🇲🇶Martinique1🇳🇬Nigeria1🇷🇴Romania1🇳🇱Netherlands1🌍India1🇦🇫Afghanistan1🇧🇩Bangladesh1🇪🇹Ethiopia1🇬🇷Greece1🇮🇶Iraq1🇨🇮Ivory Coast1🇰🇿Kazakhstan1🇰🇼Kuwait1🇱🇹Lithuania1🇲🇼Malawi1🇲🇳Mongolia1🇳🇦Namibia1🇰🇵North Korea1🇵🇸Palestine1🇸🇮Slovenia1🇹🇯Tajikistan1🇹🇬Togo1🇺🇾Uruguay1🇧🇯Benin1🇧🇫Burkina Faso1🇧🇮Burundi1🇪🇷Eritrea1🇰🇮Kiribati1🇱🇷Liberia1🇱🇮Liechtenstein1🇫🇲Micronesia1🇸🇹Sao Tome and Principe1🇸🇧Solomon Islands1

Key Authors

John SteinbeckThomas KeneallyPrimo LeviTruman CapoteJoseph HellerTaylor BranchTrevor NoahKurt VonnegutIbram X. KendiWilliam Shakespeare

History Books — FAQ

What are the best history books of all time?

The top-ranked history books include The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, The Grapes of Wrath, Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster — all with high editorial consensus scores across major literary prizes and critic lists.

How are history books ranked on 50 Best Books?

Rankings are based on aggregate editorial scores drawn from Nobel Prizes, Booker Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and 40+ other critical sources. Each mention is weighted by prestige, recency, and scope.

Which countries produce the most acclaimed history books?

International, United States, United Kingdom lead our rankings in history, producing the most internationally recognised titles in the genre.

Who are the most acclaimed history authors?

Key authors in history include John Steinbeck, Thomas Keneally, Primo Levi, whose works consistently appear across major prize lists and critic selections.

Are there history books for beginners?

Yes — our rankings include books at every level. Look for titles with broad critical acclaim and accessible descriptions. Start with books scoring 70+ on our editorial scale.

Related Categories

✍️Biography & Memoir🏛️Politics & Society🏛️Classic Literature🗺️Historical Fiction🧠Philosophy🔬Science & Nature