Serious History Books (37 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.

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1	From the Erzgebirge to Potosi: A History of Geology and Mining Since the 1500's by Sean Daly (Goodreads Author) 4.94 avg rating — 34 ratings score: 600, and 6 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
2	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 — 7,768 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
2	Civil War St. Louis by Louis S. Gerteis really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 34 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
2	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
5	Never Call Retreat by Bruce Catton 4.38 avg rating — 2,046 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
5	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,761 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
5	Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations by Norman Davies 3.88 avg rating — 3,391 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
8	The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters by Frances Stonor Saunders 3.97 avg rating — 721 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
8	Terrible Swift Sword by Bruce Catton 4.39 avg rating — 1,970 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
8	The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham 4.11 avg rating — 1,849 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
11	Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War by Stephen R. Platt (Goodreads Author) 4.22 avg rating — 2,144 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
11	The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton 4.34 avg rating — 2,854 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
11	The Field and the Forge: Population, Production, and Power in the Pre-industrial West by John Landers 4.55 avg rating — 11 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
14	Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 by Christopher Andrew 3.89 avg rating — 1,163 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
14	Greek Religion by Burkert 4.25 avg rating — 712 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
16	Paganism in the Roman Empire by Ramsay MacMullen 3.44 avg rating — 54 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
16	Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin 3.91 avg rating — 952 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
18	The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything by Ruth Goodman 4.16 avg rating — 862 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
18	Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin 3.92 avg rating — 236 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
20	The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham 3.93 avg rating — 3,152 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
20	Cruel World: The Children of Europe in the Nazi Web by Lynn H. Nicholas 4.28 avg rating — 97 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
22	The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.35 avg rating — 56,131 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
23	The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 114,974 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
24	Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens by James Davidson 3.89 avg rating — 590 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
25	Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio 4.24 avg rating — 803 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
26	Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome (Volume 48) by Arthur M. Eckstein 4.12 avg rating — 66 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
27	Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler 4.07 avg rating — 3,103 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
28	Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler 3.78 avg rating — 469 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
29	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,761 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
30	Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy by John R. Hale 4.18 avg rating — 1,837 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
31	Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos by John North 3.37 avg rating — 30 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
32	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 — 2,283 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
33	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
34	Ancient Mystery Cults by Walter Burkert 3.80 avg rating — 356 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
35	The World of Odysseus by Moses I. Finley 3.90 avg rating — 1,138 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
36	Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel 4.42 avg rating — 1,605 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
37	Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet by Nicholas Reeves 3.71 avg rating — 551 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