Serious History Books (38 books)

Discover new books on Goodreads

Meet your next favorite book

Listopia > Serious History Books

Books about history that are dense and scholarly, riddled with footnotes and endnotes and maps. May be written for a popular audience, but are not as accessible as "popular history." Should be written by a serious historian, perhaps a professor at a university, a museum curator, or an archivist. Must include extensive sourcing and notes about sourcing. Can include any type of history or related disciplines such as art history or archaeology.

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	From the Erzgebirge to Potosi: A History of Geology and Mining Since the 1500's by Sean Daly (Goodreads Author) 4.90 avg rating — 21 ratings score: 300, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Karkhana: A Studio in Rajasthan by Waswo X. Waswo (Goodreads Author) 4.96 avg rating — 23 ratings score: 300, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War by Lynn H. Nicholas 3.93 avg rating — 7,809 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Civil War St. Louis by Louis S. Gerteis really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 35 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Metropolis and Hinterland: The City of Rome and the Italian Economy, 200 BC–AD 200 by Neville Morley 3.75 avg rating — 20 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Never Call Retreat by Bruce Catton 4.38 avg rating — 2,073 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,975 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations by Norman Davies 3.88 avg rating — 3,468 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters by Frances Stonor Saunders 3.96 avg rating — 779 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Terrible Swift Sword by Bruce Catton 4.40 avg rating — 2,002 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham 4.11 avg rating — 1,874 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War by Stephen R. Platt (Goodreads Author) 4.23 avg rating — 2,286 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton 4.34 avg rating — 2,896 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	LANDERS:FIELD & FORGE:POPULATION PRODUCTION POWER PRE-INDUS WEST PAPER: Population, Production, and Power in the Pre-industrial West by John Landers 4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 by Christopher Andrew 3.89 avg rating — 1,182 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Greek Religion by Walter Burkert 4.25 avg rating — 736 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Paganism in the Roman Empire by Ramsay MacMullen 3.45 avg rating — 55 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin 3.90 avg rating — 1,032 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything by Ruth Goodman 4.16 avg rating — 909 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin 3.94 avg rating — 250 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham 3.93 avg rating — 3,301 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Cruel World: The Children of Europe in the Nazi Web by Lynn H. Nicholas 4.29 avg rating — 99 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 58,416 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 119,030 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens by James Davidson 3.90 avg rating — 603 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio 4.25 avg rating — 815 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome (Volume 48) by Arthur M. Eckstein 4.10 avg rating — 71 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler 4.06 avg rating — 3,150 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler 3.78 avg rating — 476 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,975 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy by John R. Hale 4.18 avg rating — 1,862 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos by John North 3.32 avg rating — 31 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski (Goodreads Author) 4.09 avg rating — 2,353 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Public Life in Renaissance Florence by Richard C. Trexler 4.03 avg rating — 30 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Ancient Mystery Cults by Walter Burkert 3.79 avg rating — 378 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The World of Odysseus by Moses I. Finley 3.89 avg rating — 1,281 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel 4.42 avg rating — 1,686 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet by Nicholas Reeves 3.70 avg rating — 568 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars