History reading

And here I cover history. You know the drill. This is a very subjective reading list reflecting my interests and biases, among other things, and covers not just history but also topics related to, say, law. But I’d really like to hear from you if you think I’ve omitted any texts that I ought to read or if I should re-prioritize a text.

The order below is roughly the order in which I intend to read these books/authors. If you do find some glaring omissions in what I’m reading, please do leave me a message. I’d love to hear from you.

Completed

India John Keay India ★★★★★
Early India Romila Thapar Early India ★★★★
The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen Linda Colley The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen ★★★★
The Horde Marie Favereau The Horde ★★★
India Before Europe Catherine B. Asher and Cynthia Talbot India Before Europe ★★

Higher priority

From Dawn to Decadence Jacques Barzun From Dawn to Decadence
Civilization and Capitalism Fernand Braudel Civilization and Capitalism
1177 B.C. Eric H. Cline 1177 B.C.
The Scientific Method Henry M. Cowles The Scientific Method
The Anarchy William Dalrymple The Anarchy
A People's Constitution Rohit De A People's Constitution
The Lessons of History Will Durant, Ariel Durant The Lessons of History
1913 Charles Emmerson 1913
The Oxford Illustrated History of the World Felipe Fernandez-Armesto The Oxford Illustrated History of the World
The Awakening Charles Freeman The Awakening
The Cold War John Lewis Gaddis The Cold War
A Modern History of Japan Andrew Gordon A Modern History of Japan
When Asia Was the World Stewart Gordon When Asia Was the World
India After Gandhi Ramachandra Guha India After Gandhi
The Year 1000 Valerie Hansen The Year 1000
Going the Distance Ron Harris Going the Distance
A History of Japan Kenneth Henshall A History of Japan
The Age of Wonder Richard Holmes The Age of Wonder
Postwar Tony Judt Postwar
China John Keay China
Incarnations Sunil Khilnani Incarnations
A History of the World in 100 Objects Neil MacGregor A History of the World in 100 Objects
A History of Modern Europe John Merriman A History of Modern Europe
A Concise History of Modern India Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Metcalf A Concise History of Modern India
Why the West Rules - For Now Ian Morris Why the West Rules - For Now
The Transformation of the World Jurgen Osterhammel The Transformation of the World
The Penguin History of the World J. M. Roberts, Odd Arne Westad The Penguin History of the World
The Search for Modern China Jonathan Spence The Search for Modern China
The Marwaris Thomas A. Timberg The Marwaris
The Story of China Michael Wood The Story of China
The Life and Death of Ancient Cities Greg Woolf The Life and Death of Ancient Cities
This Is China Haiwang Yuan This Is China

Lower priority

The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective Robert C. Allen The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective
Africa Guy Arnold Africa
The Indian Constitution Granville Austin The Indian Constitution
SPQR Mary Beard SPQR
Conquerors Roger Crowley Conquerors
India in the Persianate Age Richard M. Eaton India in the Persianate Age
The Cambridge Illustrated History of China Patricia Buckley Ebrey The Cambridge Illustrated History of China
The Penguin History of Modern China Jonathan Fenby The Penguin History of Modern China
Egypt, Greece, and Rome Charles Freeman Egypt, Greece, and Rome
Modern Finland Harald Haarmann Modern Finland
The Qing Empire and the Opium War Mao Haijian The Qing Empire and the Opium War
The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay The Federalist Papers
The Open Empire Valerie Hansen The Open Empire
The Great Game Peter Hopkirk The Great Game
Russia and the Russians Geoffrey Hosking Russia and the Russians
In God's Path Robert Hoyland In God's Path
Africans John Iliffe Africans
The Making of Modern Japan Marius B. Jansen The Making of Modern Japan
Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World Rebecca E. Karl Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World
The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates Hugh Kennedy The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates
The Middle East Bernard Lewis The Middle East
Maoism Julia Lovell Maoism
The Opium War Julia Lovell The Opium War
A History of Christianity Diarmaid MacCulloch A History of Christianity
The Reformation Diarmaid MacCulloch The Reformation
The Soviet Tragedy Martin Malia The Soviet Tragedy
Ancient Greece Thomas R. Martin Ancient Greece
1776 David McCullough 1776
A History of Finland Henrik Meinander A History of Finland
Greek History Robin Osborne Greek History
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom Stephen R. Platt Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
Imperial Twilight Stephen R. Platt Imperial Twilight
Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History Sarah Pomeroy, Stanley Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Roberts Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History
Emergency Chronicles Gyan Prakash Emergency Chronicles
The Making of Modern Japan Kenneth B. Pyle The Making of Modern Japan
India's War Srinath Raghavan India's War
A History of Russia Nicholas Riasanovsky, Mark Steinberg A History of Russia
The Enlightenment Ritchie Robertson The Enlightenment
The Arabs Eugene Rogan The Arabs
Land of the Seven Rivers Sanjeev Sanyal Land of the Seven Rivers
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt Ian Shaw The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
The Story of Greece and Rome Tony Spawforth The Story of Greece and Rome
Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America
The Language of History Audrey Truschke The Language of History
The 1982-83 Bombay Textile Strike Hub van Wersch The 1982-83 Bombay Textile Strike
Restless Empire Odd Arne Westad Restless Empire
Medieval Europe Chris Wickham Medieval Europe
The Inheritance of Rome Chris Wickham The Inheritance of Rome
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt Toby Wilkinson The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn A People's History of the United States


Muhammad Karen Armstrong Muhammad
The Crusades Thomas Asbridge The Crusades
History of Imeperial China series Timothy Brook (editor) History of Imeperial China series
Grains of Gold Gendun Chopel Grains of Gold
The Incas Terence N. D'Altroy The Incas
Sources of Japanese Tradition William de Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, Paul Varley Sources of Japanese Tradition
Ancient Maya Arthur Demarest Ancient Maya
The History of Rome Mike Duncan The History of Rome
The Storm Before the Storm Mike Duncan The Storm Before the Storm
THe Parting of the Ways James D. G. Dunn THe Parting of the Ways
Scorpions Noah Feldman Scorpions
The Closing of the Western Mind Charles Freeman The Closing of the Western Mind
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Edward Gibbon The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Team of Rivals Doris Kearns Goodwin Team of Rivals
The Presidents and the Constitution Ken Gormley The Presidents and the Constitution
The Histories Herodotus The Histories
The Dead Hand David E. Hoffman The Dead Hand
Dynasty Tom Holland Dynasty
Rubicon Tom Holland Rubicon
A History of the Arab Peoples Albert Hourani A History of the Arab Peoples
The Peloponnesian War Donald Kagan The Peloponnesian War
The History of Rome Livy The History of Rome
The Last Days of the Incas Kim MacQuarrie The Last Days of the Incas
Islamic Empires Justin Marozzi Islamic Empires
Nicholas and Alexandra Robert K. Massie Nicholas and Alexandra
The Romanovs Simon Sebag Montefiore The Romanovs
The Mongols David Morgan The Mongols
Plutarch's Lives Plutarch Plutarch's Lives
The People Next Door T. C. A. Raghavan The People Next Door
The Framing of India's Constitution B. Shiva Rao The Framing of India's Constitution
The Crusades Jonathan Riley-Smith The Crusades
A History of Japan George Sansom A History of Japan
Supreme Power Jeff Shesol Supreme Power
Tital II Donald K. Stumpf Tital II
The Roman Revolution Ronald Syme The Roman Revolution
History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War
The English and their History Robert Tombs The English and their History
History of the Russian Revolution Leon Trotsky History of the Russian Revolution
The World of the Crusades Christopher Tyerman The World of the Crusades
The German Genius Peter Watson The German Genius

All book cover images are from Goodreads unless specified otherwise.