History books worth reading

10 books I've read in History, rated and reviewed honestly.

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Economy and Society

by Max Weber · 1922

One of the most important works for understanding power, authority, bureaucracy, class and social structure. It is heavy and academic, but if you want to understand how organisations and societies actually work, it repays the effort many times over.

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius · 180

Less a work of philosophy in the traditional sense than a set of mental exercises for self-discipline, controlling your reactions, and accepting reality. Some of the ideas are very simple — living by them is not.

Republic

by Plato · -375

One of those books that raises fundamental questions rather than answering them: what is justice? What is good government? Who should rule? A great deal of modern debate is still wrestling with Plato.

The Prince

by Niccolò Machiavelli · 1532

Not because you should act on its advice, but because it offers an unusually realistic view of power, politics and human behaviour. A short book, but a formative one for understanding power.

Rights of Man

by Thomas Paine · 1791

A political and historical work that takes natural rights and the legitimacy of government seriously. Some of its arguments belong to its own era, but the central idea still holds up.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

by Max Weber · 1905

An important book for understanding the relationship between culture, ethics, religion and the formation of modern capitalism. It is not an easy read, but Weber's framework is enormously influential.

Sapiens

by Yuval Noah Harari · 2011

A book that changes how you look at history more than it recounts it. Its greatest value is in tying together religion, the state, money and human cooperation into a single argument.

Homo Deus

by Yuval Noah Harari · 2015

One of the most compelling books for thinking about the future of humanity, AI, and what "human" will even mean. Some of the predictions are bold — and that boldness is exactly what makes it worth reading.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

by Yuval Noah Harari · 2018

It raises important questions about the future, technology, politics and education more than it answers them. Some sections are oversimplified, but it is valuable for thinking about what is coming.

The Rise of Modern Japan

by W. G. Beasley · 1990

A dense, serious account of how Japan went from a traditional society to a modern state. Invaluable for understanding Japanese modernisation, though at times it is more historical than analytical.

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