Thousands of brilliant history books have been written in the past, from the historians of Ancient Greece to the historians of today. Attempting to describe every single time period and the best books within it is beyond the scope of this website, as there are literally thousands of different time periods in history, types of history and indeed types of historian. Instead I thought I would provide a list of some of my favourite history books that I think are well worth a read- if you feel you have better recommendations please visit the history books section of our book forum.

America: Empire of Liberty by David Reynolds

Reynolds’ book analyse the history of America through three different themes, Empire, Faith and Liberty and it is a real favourite of mine. The fact that it gives a single volume of American history is a real strength, as it gives you a good sense of narrative as well as a thematic look at the history of such an incredible country. I really liked how David Reynolds managed to capture and explain the paradoxes that have surfaced throughout American history- an empire of liberty formed on the back of slavery is a classic example.

Lords Of Finance: 1929, The Great Depression and the Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed

Lords of Finance traces the history of the four men in charge of the world leading up to the Great Depression. The heads of the central banks of England, America, France and Germany all held the fate of the world in their hands and Ahamed tells the story of their decisions and the effects that their decisions had. It is an interesting look at a very interesting piece of history that arguably sunk the world into The Second World War. Now is a particularly good time to read this book, as you can draw clear parallels between the problems faced in 1929 and the problems that our current policy makers are facing. A great book, though probably best for those who have an interest in economics.

The Origins of The Second World War by A.J.P. Taylor

Taylor refused to bow to conventional historical opinion when it came to writing this book; he assesses the origins of World War Two and questions the role of other nations than simply heaping all of the criticism on Nazi Germany. Britain comes into considerable criticism from Taylor over the policy of appeasement, and although I don’t necessarily agree with his views the book is very well written and bought fresh historical debate to an important topic.

History: The Definitive Visual Guide by Adam Hart-Davis

If you are looking for a great history book for younger readers, you could a lot worse than this visual guide by Adam Hart-Davis. The pictures are brilliant and it contains lots of information on the great civilisations of the world- a great book for younger people to read.