History books

I am trying to educate myself on politics and I thought that perhaps an important thing to do on this journey would be to learn about the history first (especially of the middle east). However finding accurate books or sources are extremely difficult given that there are many false narratives and also non-fiction books that are based on inaccuracies and so on. I was hoping maybe you guys could help me out in finding the best books or references that helped you out. Or whether seeking knowledge on politics and history should be done via books at all.
Thanks