Serious History Books (36 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	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 — 7,767 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
1	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
1	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
4	Never Call Retreat by Bruce Catton 4.38 avg rating — 2,044 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
4	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,745 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
4	Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations by Norman Davies 3.88 avg rating — 3,384 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
7	The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters by Frances Stonor Saunders 3.97 avg rating — 717 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
7	Terrible Swift Sword by Bruce Catton 4.39 avg rating — 1,968 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
7	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
10	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 — 2,132 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
10	The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton 4.34 avg rating — 2,852 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
10	The Field and the Forge: Population, Production, and Power in the Pre-industrial West by John Landers 4.50 avg rating — 10 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
13	Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 by Christopher Andrew 3.89 avg rating — 1,161 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
13	Greek Religion by Burkert 4.25 avg rating — 711 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	Paganism in the Roman Empire by Ramsay MacMullen 3.46 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
15	Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin 3.91 avg rating — 946 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	The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything by Ruth Goodman 4.16 avg rating — 857 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
17	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
19	The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham 3.93 avg rating — 3,142 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
19	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
21	The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.35 avg rating — 55,953 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
22	The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.34 avg rating — 114,687 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
23	Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens by James Davidson 3.89 avg rating — 587 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
24	Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio 4.24 avg rating — 801 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
25	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
26	Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler 4.06 avg rating — 3,096 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
27	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
28	Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization by Richard Miles 3.95 avg rating — 4,745 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
29	Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy by John R. Hale 4.18 avg rating — 1,833 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
30	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
31	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 — 2,269 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
32	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
33	Ancient Mystery Cults by Walter Burkert 3.80 avg rating — 355 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
34	The World of Odysseus by Moses I. Finley 3.90 avg rating — 1,134 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
35	Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel 4.42 avg rating — 1,602 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
36	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