I want to read something that hooks me right in but it’s nonfiction and it’s like the letters Hamilton wrote everyone including his wife.
Or a total normal story about two famously straight, same sex friends being long time roommates! 😏

I was recently talking to someone about Ben Franklin’s personal journals and man, he did some stuff!
I would love a messy, nonfiction history book about a prominent figure!

Preferably about a woman or women mainly, I’ve been really interested in the day to day lives of medieval times. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any pretty historically accurate

Thank you!!

Also non fiction recommendations welcome!!

I went to a pretty strange high school that didn’t have a US history class, so we got a very rushed online-only one instead. Never got to meet my teachers or ask them questions. I remember that the vast majority of my education was pre-1900s (a lot of civil war focus) and I think we touched a little on the Great Depression but beyond that I know really little.

I look at the world I find myself in now and wonder how the hell we got here, for better (technological and social advancements) or worse (*gestures frantically*).

It’s a very broad prompt and you can interpret it however you’d like. You want me to learn about wars or music or technologies we’ve invented? Okay!

I do request not too much of anything pre-1900s unless it’s to help understand the modern day US. It’s interesting but I feel like I learned so much in school that has little application to life today.

Before that, I also read The Twelve Apostles by Tim Pat Coogan, which i did enjoy, but not as much as Say Nothing.

I guess I'm looking for a book about the North of Ireland's history, or Ireland in general, that also has some suspense in the same way Say Nothing has - if that even exists!

I'm open to either historically accurate fiction, or well written non-fiction that reads like a story rather than a text book. I just read Greenwood by Michael Christie (highly recommend!!!) that told a story of several generations going back one at a time. There was a lot of stuff around how life centered around the railway, industrialism, and life before and after the war the peaked my interest.

Hello, I love dark history, spooky stuff and disasters. I am currently reading 'In The Heart Of The Sea' (which is great) and my next book will be 'Erebus' by Michael Palin. But I want to have a good stock pile for the summer. I want to learn about more events.

Here's what I'm looking for:

- Spooky events

- Maritime disasters

- Explorers

- Survival

- Government cover ups

- Cults

- Colonies

- Medical

Thank you for your help!

I would prefer American History

I did a search but couldn’t find exactly what I’m looking for (Maybe it doesn’t exist?)

I’m looking for a fact-based non-partisan history of the events leading up to 9/11, the day of, and the aftermath. Maybe separate books if there isn’t one that covers everything.

I’m 41, so I was alive on 9/11/01, but I would like to know more.

I grew up hating history and social studies. I am 38 now and am very interested in both of those things, but my knowledge of history is pretty lacking because I was so uninterested in it when I was younger. Is there a good novel (or a nonfiction book that reads like a novel) that is entertaining and does a good job teaching about history through storytelling? Bonus points for it being on Audible, that is primarily how I consume books.

EDIT: Thank you for all the great recommendations! I've got a great selection to choose from now 😄

i learned about carrie nation, alice paul, rosalind franklin, and more in school, and i want to learn more.

the book we read in the class was America’s Women: 400 years of dolls, dredges, helpmates, and heroines by Gail Collins. would love to read something similar, but id also want to read something about women from other parts of the world.

In the current state of the world, it’s nice to learn more about the unsung female heroes

Does anyone have any queer book recs from history? I'm talking about from 2000 and before. I find literature surrounding queer people in the 20th, 19th, 18th, 17th (and so on) century fascinating and I've read certain works with these 'taboos' but I'm curious if anyone has anymore?

Whether simply implied or subtext doesn't matter much to me, I simply find queer themes and stories fascinating, especially in times where they were not so accepted.

Edit: I don't mind stories that are not western or are from non-english speaking countries!! If I can find a translation, I'd be happy to read!!

I want to learn more about 1950’s housewives and how some of them struggled with drug addictions.

Or just anything about the unspoken, dark, reality about 1950’s housewives

Mostly interested in nonfiction, but I’m open to some fiction as well!

Thank you!

im looking for a history book thats not about a war or a genocide or something like that more like evolution or history of women or something like that

edit: thank you for all the great recommendations, my birthday is coming up and ill surely ask for some of these books as a present! i have recently gotten back into reading and have only read one book, im very excited to start reading more so thank you for the help

Hi! I was looking for books on life in English Manors or about the household staff. Nonfiction or fiction is fine!

Any recs? Thank you!! 😊

Hello,

Please suggest me holocaust memoirs or similar books.

Thank you.

I'm not trying to make the subreddit political or anything, so I will keep my request short and sweet! I am interested in learning more about what the left wing and the right wing are. Not democrat/republican since I'm not from the USA. But mainly, I would just like to educate myself on politics! I've tried reading books about politicians, but honestly, they bored me and are very biased.

Hoping this doesn't lead to any arguments. Thank you!!

I have about 30 audiobooks.com credits I need spend this week so I need to get trigger happy. I just watched a bunch of YouTube videos about WWII fighter jet design and it was enthralling. Can someone suggest me multiple WWII books to download? Ideally one of each kind of book i.e. books about either theater, the politics of the war, soldier memoirs, books about weaponry, about the Nazis or the japs, etc etc. I have never read one and want to see which subgenre grabs me.

I’m looking to read something from the southern viewpoint about the US Civil War ? The causes, beliefs, views on Lincoln etc

(I’m reading chronologically through the US Presidents)

I just read The Reformatory, and I’m inspired in reading some true stories about enslaved or oppressed people winning. I prefer non-fiction. It can be any people around the world, but I have American black people at the forefront of my historical interest.

Hello, thank you for reading this post. If it is the wrong place for this question I apologize.

I'm looking for book recommendations on the French Revolution. With the protests going on there now I feel it's a good time to read up on the subject. I was going to ask this question a few days ago but then the protests just starting about then I felt it was meant for me to read up on the subject.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

I loved the Dear America series as a kid, I would love grown up versions of historical fiction in North America, especially written from a woman’s perspective. I know this has been posted before but it’s been a few years so I figured I’d try again. TIA!

Thanks everyone for such great suggestions! Excited to make my new reading list

Hello! I read through all of the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and am currently reading through The Silmarillion and its associated stories. I plan to begin the A Song of Ice and Fire series soon afterword, for which I'm very excited as I so far find myself enjoying these worlds so much. I'm spending hours on the internet reading histories of places that have only ever existed in the mind of an author before being released into the world on paper. I realized, however, that outside of Wikipedia pages, I've never been so drawn into real history in the same way, when I likely could be if it were written similarly to a novel.

Does anything like this exist? Perhaps the history of a country or geographical region, war novel, religious conflict, etc. Something that will inform me of a real place, people, or event, that is perhaps told in the form of 3rd person point-of-view characters.

I want to learn about this period of American history.

I know basically nothing about it since we didn't really study it in school.

Both fiction and non-fiction suggestions are welcome.

I have a passion for history and have big dreams to become a historian in the future - I listen to a variety of video essays and read articles online about really just any historical events.
I’ve been meaning to read some history books but here’s my issue- all of them are so boring.
So here’s my question: does anyone have any historical non-fiction books that are actually entertaining? Please let me know!!! It also doesn’t matter what event it’s based on, or whether it’s modern or ancient history. I just want to learn about ANYTHING historical.

edit: thank you all for the recommendations!! I’ve added them all to my list so I’ll check them out :) keep them coming tho

I’ve always enjoyed Cold War and spy fiction, so I’m looking for anything nonfiction that is both entertaining but informative about just a general Cold War and USSR history. Appreciate the help!

Also not opposed to fictiony non-fiction in a similar vein to Shaara’s books.