History

History (from Greek ἱστορία - historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation") is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine events. Historians debate the nature of history and its usefulness. This includes discu ...more

The Lost Voices of Pompeii: Life and Death on Pompeii's Final Day
This Dark Night: Emily Bronte, A Life
Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World
The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World
How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words
The Forgotten World War: Exploring the Secret History of the American Revolution, from Spain to India and Back Again
Freedom Round the Globe: A World History of the American Revolution
National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America
The Black Death: A Global History of Humanity's Most Devastating Pandemic
Color Me Country: A Celebration of Black Women Who Shaped Country Music
Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman World
An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln
Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe
Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece
Marilyn and Her Books: The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe
  • Up All Night by Imogen Willetts
    Up All Night: A World History of Nightlife

    Release date: Jul 14, 2026
    From the glamorous depravity of Studio 54 to the underground cabarets of Weimar Berlin, from Georgian London’s gaudy pleasure gardens to techno’s begi ...more
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 20 copies available, 2825 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: May 03 - Jun 02, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • The Secret History of the Universe by Mark Booth
    The Secret History of the Universe: How Ancient Wisdom Made the Modern World

    Release date: Jun 02, 2026
    We're giving away 10 copies of the latest from the author of the global bestseller, The Secret History of the World. ...more
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 10 copies available, 2587 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: May 05 - Jun 02, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • Days of Miracle and Wonder by Ashley Kahn
    Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland

    Release date: Aug 11, 2026
    We're giving away 100 advanced copies of Grammy Award–winning music historian Ashley Kahn's exploration of Paul Simon's seminal album, Graceland. ...more
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    Format: Print book

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    Availability: 100 copies available, 1657 people requesting

    Giveaway dates: May 18 - Jun 02, 2026

    Countries available: U.S.

  • London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth
    Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
    A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
    The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
    The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
    The Marriage Portrait
    107 Days
    The Diamond Eye
    The Personal Librarian
    Abundance
    1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation
    Lázár
    The Foursome
    Daughter of Egypt
    Circle of Days
    Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
    Africa (fiction and nonfiction)
    1,845 books — 1,728 voters
    The Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankNight by Elie WieselThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John BoyneNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry
    Well-Written Holocaust Books
    917 books — 2,983 voters

    In Cold Blood by Truman CapoteHelter Skelter by Vincent BugliosiThe Stranger Beside Me by Ann RuleThe Devil in the White City by Erik LarsonColumbine by Dave Cullen
    Best True Crime
    1,462 books — 2,089 voters
    John Adams by David McCullough1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
    Best American History Books
    2,237 books — 2,746 voters

    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
    A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
    The Diary of a Young Girl
    The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
    1776
    SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
    A Short History of Nearly Everything
    The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
    1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
    Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
    Night
    Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
    Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
    Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

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