Not much to go on here in terms of era or topic, but I’m going to suggest Jung Chang, who has written e.g. about the lives of her grandmother, mother, and herself in late 19th and 20th century China (*Wild Swans*). She also has a biography following the three Soong sisters who married important political figures in revolutionary-period China, on different sides of the political spectrum (*Big Sister, Red Sister, Little Sister*). Her book on the last empress dowager of China is also really good (*Empress Dowager Cixi*). Super fluent writing style and genuinely fascinating life histories in all three of these books.
Another book that has been recommended to me but I haven’t read yet is *Eat the Buddha* by Barbara Demick.
LogOk725 on
*In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex* by Nathaniel Philbrick
TreatmentBoundLess on
Say Nothing – Patrick Redden Keefe.
MarzipanTop4944 on
**South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition 1914-1917 by Ernest Shackleton**
This book is incredible. The entire crew got stuck on ice for two years while exploring Antarctica and had to rescue themselves by reaching a whaling station hundreths of miles away. You learn about the age of expeditions that discovered all the uncharted lands.
**Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Discovered the Kama Sutra and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West** by Edward Rice
This guy is basically the real life Indiana Jones. He even fights natives armed with spears just like in the start of the first movie, goes looking for gold mines and travels to Africa, Midle East and South America contacting dangerous tribes and looking for gold. You learn about British colonialism and the East Company (Burton worked for them in India).
oliwix on
If you want history that feels like a story, try *Sapiens*, *The Wright Brothers*, *Alexander Hamilton*, *The Guns of August*, or *Team of Rivals*. Engaging, vivid, and page-turning reads.
Complete-Tadpole-728 on
1776 by David McCullough
Hefty_Badger9759 on
Tunnel 29
WoodenHearing3416 on
The entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. So much fun! I couldn’t put them down!
CaravelClerihew on
The Corner by David Simon and Ed Burns
It’s not really history per se, but it covers the modern (at the time) effects of the drug war in Baltimore. It’s by the people who wrote The Wire.
Practical-Bake4402 on
i suggest you start with The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (to me, it was insanely gripping story!). if you like that, you’ll fall down the historical nonfiction rabbit hole 😄 🥰
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*The Jakarta method* by Vincent Bevins
*Red star over the third world* by Vijay Prashad
Not much to go on here in terms of era or topic, but I’m going to suggest Jung Chang, who has written e.g. about the lives of her grandmother, mother, and herself in late 19th and 20th century China (*Wild Swans*). She also has a biography following the three Soong sisters who married important political figures in revolutionary-period China, on different sides of the political spectrum (*Big Sister, Red Sister, Little Sister*). Her book on the last empress dowager of China is also really good (*Empress Dowager Cixi*). Super fluent writing style and genuinely fascinating life histories in all three of these books.
Another book that has been recommended to me but I haven’t read yet is *Eat the Buddha* by Barbara Demick.
*In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex* by Nathaniel Philbrick
Say Nothing – Patrick Redden Keefe.
**South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition 1914-1917 by Ernest Shackleton**
This book is incredible. The entire crew got stuck on ice for two years while exploring Antarctica and had to rescue themselves by reaching a whaling station hundreths of miles away. You learn about the age of expeditions that discovered all the uncharted lands.
**Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Discovered the Kama Sutra and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West** by Edward Rice
This guy is basically the real life Indiana Jones. He even fights natives armed with spears just like in the start of the first movie, goes looking for gold mines and travels to Africa, Midle East and South America contacting dangerous tribes and looking for gold. You learn about British colonialism and the East Company (Burton worked for them in India).
If you want history that feels like a story, try *Sapiens*, *The Wright Brothers*, *Alexander Hamilton*, *The Guns of August*, or *Team of Rivals*. Engaging, vivid, and page-turning reads.
1776 by David McCullough
Tunnel 29
The entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. So much fun! I couldn’t put them down!
The Corner by David Simon and Ed Burns
It’s not really history per se, but it covers the modern (at the time) effects of the drug war in Baltimore. It’s by the people who wrote The Wire.
i suggest you start with The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (to me, it was insanely gripping story!). if you like that, you’ll fall down the historical nonfiction rabbit hole 😄 🥰