“What are the best History books released in 2024?” We looked at 102 of the top History books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 25 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best History” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 75+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.

All of the books have Amazon affiliate links attached to them, but I will be building out Bookshop versions of these lists HERE in the next week for those who would rather support a local book store. Honestly, just use the bookshop link for books (Or even better go in person somewhere). If you are going to buy something else expensive from Amazon, feel free to click on the link before buying so I get an affiliate percentage, but these are the only articles I post on here each year, so I don’t expect to make any real money from this site anymore. I’ve just made these articels for enough years in a row that I can’t stop now. Plus I like using to see what books I missed or need to get myself.

Our other Best Of 2024 Articles:

• The Best Art, Photography, And Coffee Table Books
• The Best AudioBooks
• The Best Biography And Memoir Books
• The Best Graphic Novels And Comics
• The Best Cookbooks
• The Best Fiction Books
• The Best Books (All Catergories)
• The Best History Books
• The Best Kids, Children, and Youth Books
• The Best Mystery, Horror, and Thriller Books
• The Best Nonfiction Books
• The Best Picture Books
• The Best Poetry Books
• The Best Science And Nature Books
• The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
• The Best Young Adult Books

Previous Years: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

Happy Scrolling!

Top 25 Best History Books From 2024

25.) Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed written by Maureen Callahan

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Goodreads

24.) Borderlines: A History Of Europe, Told From The Edges written by Lewis Baston

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

23.) By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land written by Rebecca Nagle

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

22.) Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives written by Alice Loxton

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

21.) Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis written by Jonathan Blitzer

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

20.) Hitler’s People: The Faces of the Third Reich written by Richard J. Evans

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

19.) How The World Made The West: A 4000-Year History written by Josephine Quinn

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

18.) John Lewis: A Life written by David Greenberg

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

17.) Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum written by Antonia Hylton

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Goodreads

16.) Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories written by Amitav Ghosh

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

15.) The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi written by Wright Thompson

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Smithsonian

14.) The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science written by Dava Sobel

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

13.) The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World written by William Dalrymple

Lists It Appears On:

• Listener
• Waterstones

12.) The Playbook: A Story of Theatre, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War written by James Shapiro

Lists It Appears On:

• Smithsonian
• Waterstones

11.) The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis written by George Stephanopoulos

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Indigo

10.) Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space written by Adam Higginbotham

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

9.) Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II written by Abbott Kahler

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Smithsonian

8.) Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King written by Dan Jones

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Listener
• Waterstones

7.) Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI written by Yuval Noah Harari

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Indigo

6.) The Eastern Front: A History of the First World War written by Nick Lloyd

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Listener
• Waterstones

5.) The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World written by Ben Macintyre

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Indigo
• Waterstones

4.) The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement written by Sharon McMahon

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

3.) The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook written by Hampton Sides

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Smithsonian

2.) When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day written by Garrett M. Graff

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads

1.) The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War written by Erik Larson

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Goodreads
• Indigo

The 75+ Additional Best History Books Released In 2024

26) A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue – Dean Jobb List: (Amazon)

27) A History of Britain in Ten Enemies – Terry Deary List: (Waterstones)

28) A History Of The World In Twelve Shipwrecks – David Gibbins List: (Listener)

29) A Travel Guide To The Middle Ages – Anthony Bale List: (Listener)

30) All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil – Stephen Alford List: (Waterstones)

31) American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond – Jeremy Dauber List: (Goodreads)

32) An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence – Zeinab Badawi List: (Waterstones)

33) An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s – Doris Kearns Goodwin List: (Amazon)

34) Arnhem: Black Tuesday – Al Murray List: (Waterstones)

35) Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World – Anne Applebaum List: (Amazon)

36) Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home – Chris La Tray List: (Amazon)

37) Between Britain: Walking the History of England and Scotland – Alistair Moffat List: (Waterstones)

38) Cassino ’44: Five Months of Hell in Italy – James Holland List: (Waterstones)

39) Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond – Alice Roberts List: (Waterstones)

40) Cypria: A Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean – Alex Christofi List: (Waterstones)

41) Dark Brilliance: The Age of Reason from Descartes to Peter the Great – Paul Strathern List: (Waterstones)

42) Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe – Sathnam Sanghera List: (Waterstones)

43) Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won The War – Jonathan Dimbleby List: (Waterstones)

44) Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline – Paul Cooper List: (Waterstones)

45) Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Stakeknife, Murder and Justice in Northern Ireland – Henry Hemming List: (Waterstones)

46) Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion – Mark Harmon List: (Barnes & Noble)

47) Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God – Catherine Nixey List: (Waterstones)

48) History Hit Story of England: Making of a Nation – History Hit & Dan Snow List: (Waterstones)

49) How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Fascism – Ece Temelkuran List: (Indigo)

50) How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler – Peter Pomerantsev List: (Waterstones)

51) Humans: The 300,000-Year Struggle for Equality – Alvin Finkel List: (Indigo)

52) Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century – Simon Kuper List: (Waterstones)

53) Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia – Gary J. Bass List: (Waterstones)

54) Land Between The Rivers: A 5000-Year History Of Iraq – Bartle Bull List: (Listener)

55) Madrid: A New Biography – Luke Stegemann List: (Listener)

56) Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America – Joy-Ann Reid List: (Amazon)

57) Melting Point: Family, Memory And The Search For A Promised Land – Rachel Cockerell List: (Waterstones)

58) Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA – Patrick Winn List: (Amazon)

59) Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People – Tiya Miles List: (Smithsonian)

60) Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East – Robert Fisk List: (Waterstones)

61) No Road Leading Back: An Improbable Escape From the Nazis and the Tangled Way We Tell the Story of the Holocaust – Chris Heath List: (Smithsonian)

62) Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong – Katie Gee Salisbury List: (Goodreads)

63) Nuclear War: A Scenario – Annie Jacobsen List: (Barnes & Noble)

64) Operation Biting: The 1942 Parachute Assault to Capture Hitler’s Radar – Max Hastings List: (Waterstones)

65) Other Rivers: A Chinese Education – Peter Hessler List: (Listener)

66) Paradise Bronx: The Life and Times of New York’s Greatest Borough – Ian Frazier List: (Amazon)

67) Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory – Patrick Bishop List: (Waterstones)

68) Patriot – Alexei Navalny List: (Barnes & Noble)

69) Reagan His Life and Legend – Max Boot List: (Barnes & Noble)

70) Reconciling History: A Story of Canada – Jody Wilson-raybould List: (Indigo)

71) Saints: A new legendary of heroes, humans and magic – Amy Jeffs List: (Waterstones)

72) Silk: A World History – Aarathi Prasad List: (Smithsonian)

73) The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience – Nikole Hannah-Jones List: (Barnes & Noble)

74) The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic – Daniel de Visé List: (Amazon)

75) The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore – Evan Friss List: (Goodreads)

76) The English Soul: The Faith of a Nation – Peter Ackroyd List: (Waterstones)

77) The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments – Adrian Bliss List: (Waterstones)

78) The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East – Barnaby Rogerson List: (Waterstones)

79) The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective – Steven Johnson List: (Indigo)

80) The Lost Queen: The Surprising Life of Catherine of Braganza—the Forgotten Queen Who Bridged Two Worlds – Sophie Shorland List: (Smithsonian)

81) The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder – Douglas Preston List: (Goodreads)

82) The Message – Ta-Nehisi Coates List: (Barnes & Noble)

83) The Missing Thread: A Women’s History of the Ancient World – Daisy Dunn List: (Smithsonian)

84) The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper – Roland Allen List: (Indigo)

85) The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place – Kate Summerscale List: (Waterstones)

86) The Picnic: An Escape To Freedom And The Collapse Of The Iron Curtain – Matthew Longo List: (Waterstones)

87) The Rest is History Returns: An A–Z of Historical Curiosities – Dominic Sandbrook List: (Waterstones)

88) The Shortest History of Japan – Shortest Histories 15 – Lesley Downer List: (Waterstones)

89) The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade – Hannah Durkin List: (Amazon)

90) The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History – Karen Valby List: (Amazon)

91) The Umbrella Murder: The Hunt for the Cold War’s Most Notorious Killer – Ulrik Skotte List: (Waterstones)

92) The Unknown Warrior: A Personal Journey of Discovery and Remembrance – John Nichol List: (Waterstones)

93) The Walnut Tree: Women, Violence and the Law – a Hidden History – Kate Morgan List: (Waterstones)

94) The War We Won Apart: The Untold Story of Two Elite Agents who Became One of the Most Decorated Couples of WWII – Nahlah Ayed List: (Indigo)

95) The Wild Men: The Remarkable Story of Britain’s First Labour Government – David Torrance List: (Waterstones)

96) Unruly – David Mitchell List: (Listener)

97) Venice: The Remarkable History Of The Lagoon City – Dennis Romano List: (Listener)

98) Vertigo: The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany – Harald Jähner List: (Waterstones)

99) We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance – Kellie Carter Jackson List: (Smithsonian)

100) When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion – Julie Satow List: (Goodreads)

101) Why War? – Richard Overy List: (Waterstones)

102) Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age – Kathleen Sheppard List: (Goodreads)

Best History Book Sources/Lists