Best History Books of 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
History is not just a retelling of events that took place in the past—as many of our top books in this category prove. From reads that tackle the Civil War to unsung heroes, from a prison-like psychiatric hospital to the revolution sparked by AI, there is so much to learn today from yesterday’s stories.
There are also riveting, narrative reads: in space, the “most secretive place on earth,” on boats battling the sea. The Amazon Editors have also rounded up some titles that will make you feel nostalgic (see: Doris Kearns Goodwin’s warm An Unfinished Love Story), inspired (The Small and the Mighty by “America’s teacher”), and entertained (an eye-popping look at the women in the Kennedy family’s orbit in Ask Not).
Be sure to check out our full list of the Best History Books of 2024, as well as our favorites across each genre.
Sharon McMahon has been dubbed “America’s Government Teacher” by her millions of Instagram followers, known as the “Governerds.” But this book could fit in with any clique—it’s an engrossing and enlightening history of the unsung heroes and notable changemakers of yore. (With lots of fun Easter eggs if you prefer to learn about the past through pop culture, like Broadway’s Hamilton.) McMahon introduces readers to the inspiring, and sometimes bewildering, people who don’t usually receive attention in school. Each chapter could stand as a separate story, but we recommend reading from the first to last page: unspooling how everything is connected sets this book apart—from a formerly enslaved woman who settled the West as a pioneer, to a political sidekick who changed America as we know it, to a tireless teacher who impacted how generations are taught. Perfect for fans of A People’s History of the United States, or anyone who needs reminding that history wasn’t only made by bold-faced names. Our country’s most sweeping changes were imparted by everyday people simply doing the next right thing. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
The country is on edge. A new president has been elected, but is afraid he’ll never be sworn into office—perhaps the capitol will be stormed, or troops will march upon Washington, D.C. Divisive politicians travel the country, holding rallies to promote an old way of life, while an uneasy public grapples with the forward march of time. The year: 1861. Erik Larson’s (The Splendid and the Vile, The Devil in the White City) pacey and tension-filled new book takes readers inside rooms where passions run high at the dawn of the Civil War, where new President Abraham Lincoln frets and inspires, where armies plan to sow “death and mayhem,” where a single missed message can launch battleships, where gossip and romance, and power and influence, combust into “the single most consequential day of American history.” To know the past is to understand the present—and this gripping narrative is just as relevant today as 200 years ago. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Perhaps you’re one of the more than 45 million people who read Yuval Noah Harari’s 2015 blockbuster, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. The history professor and philosopher’s latest book, Nexus, takes an expansive look at AI, the “alien life form” we’ve unleashed on humanity. But this brilliant and thought-provoking read is about so much more than a buzzy technology people are just wrapping their heads around—it’s a much wider look at how humans have leveraged technology to communicate through time, and how that has shaped culture, power, and currency—usually in ways we never could have planned or imagined. Deploying fascinating stories (you’ll never think about the Bible, the US Constitution, or the Roman Empire the same way again), Harari once again draws connections between vast ideas, and reshapes the way we see the world. He asks the questions I never thought to, but that we should all demand answers to. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Thoroughly researched and expertly written, with quotes and references perfectly deployed, David Greenberg chronicles the comprehensive and impressive life of John Lewis. From his childhood in Alabama, to discovering his voice through the principles of nonviolence and sit-ins, to becoming a leader of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, to his ascendance to political office where he became known as the “conscience of congress,” to his ultimate passing in 2020—Greenberg traces the entire arc of Lewis’ life, drawing on more than 275 documents and interviews with Lewis himself, his friends, confidants, and peers. The result is a portrait of a man who seemed almost pre-ordained to model a life of not just non-violence but of commitment and persistence. With patient grit, Lewis endured the beating of a lifetime in Selma, weathered the assassination of his mentor and friend Martin Luther King Jr., saw (and aided) the first Black president of the United States, and stood up against the first Trump presidency. This is a man who dedicated his intelligence and body to equality in America, and Greenberg’s biography is a worthy and vital artifact of Lewis’ legacy. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Fans of The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Godfather won’t be able to resist this heart-pounding—and true—tale of drugs, crime, and power, with real-life characters whose astonishing stories have never been told. Take Wei Xuegang, whom you might call Asia’s “El Chapo,” otherwise known as a “stone-cold genius with the mind of a Fortune 500 CEO” who “dresses like a strip mall accountant”—and is the world’s best player ever in the drug trafficking game. He operates out of “one of the most secretive places on earth,” the 12,000-square-mile Wa State, nestled in a hilly region of Asia that might be compared to America’s Appalachia. Determined to stop Xuegang’s criminal enterprise and bring respect to his people is Superstar, himself a former druglord, whose steely principles land him squarely in the crosshairs of the US’ War on Drugs as a DEA informant. Who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys here? The lines are blurry—but Patrick Winn’s sharp, riveting storytelling never loses focus. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
In 1911, 12 Black men and boys were led by a doctor to a forest clearing, where they “began the back-breaking work of building an asylum.” After three seasons, the Maryland Hospital for the Negro Insane was complete—and the patients, including a 10-year-old, were marched inside, never to taste freedom again. Over the next 93 years, Black patients were admitted, to what was soon renamed Crownsville Hospital, for charges ranging from refusing to cede seats to white people to “the crime of being a Black man lost in the city with a foreign accent.” Antonia Hylton’s impeccable research brings to life the stories of those who suffered inside this notorious institution—and the incredible nurses and support staff who helped restore their humanity, all against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement, the rise of the modern incarceration system, and the shifting political attitudes toward caring for society’s sickest. This scorching, untold history shines a new light on how mental health and racism often go hand-in-hand, and how century-old problems need just as much urgent attention today. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
This history of NASA and the Challenger disaster is enthralling. To understand how the 1986 space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its inaugural flight, killing all seven crew members aboard, Adam Higgenbotham takes readers back decades before to reveal the complexities, the political jockeying, and the massive financial constraints that NASA had to contend with in the ‘70s and ’80s. And, then, with details that might make your head spin and your stomach sink—because even a lay person can predict that affixing 31,000 unique panels to the exterior of the shuttle to deflect heat—because the original construction was too expensive—was a compromise too far. Higgenbotham ruthlessly shares the nitty gritty mechanics of how the United States’ first fatalities in space came to be—your heart will pound as each hiccup, each budget reduction, each decision made before the crackle of the radio said “liftoff.” The research, the testimonials, and the narrative make this a stand-out read for any space buff and anyone who loves epic stories that put you in the cockpit of ground-breaking history. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
The best-selling historian Hampton Sides is back, and like David Grann’s The Wager and Erik Larson’s Dead Wake, and even his own In the Kingdom of Ice, he’s exploring the history of the high seas—and it’s downright exhilarating. In this latest adventure, Sides charts Captain James Cook’s last voyage in 1776 that had the public purpose of returning a Tahitian man to his home but also a secret one to expand the British empire. A story of adventure on the high seas but also the searing effects of conquest and colonialism. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
If you enjoy narrative nonfiction, true crime, glamour, and New York history, you’re going to love A Gentleman and a Thief. Arthur Barry hobnobbed with the crème de la crème of New York society as if he were one of their own, clocking the magnificent jewels adorning women with lauded last names such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Pulitzer. He was a “second story” man—a cat burglar—but one with finesse, style, impeccable manners, and an uncanny ability to elude police. This is the story not only of his crimes, but also a devoted love story, a story of double crosses and prison breaks, and of a figure so likable that even his victims found him charming. A Gentleman and a Thief is absolutely captivating, full of marquee names in finance and industry (as well as Harry Houdini and the Prince of Wales), the decadence of the Jazz Age, daring heists, and the rise and fall of a “smooth-talking rogue with an eye for diamonds and a heart of gold.” —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
Chris La Tray writes with such warmth and curiosity, sharing his story of searching for identity within a larger context of what it means to be native, and the member of the last federally-recognized tribe (and until then: landless). His conversational, salt-of-the-earth writing style draws you in, and, as the poet laureate of Montana, many of his sentences sing in their beauty. La Tray brings readers into his vulnerable heart and thoughtful mind, which adds to the unique cadence of this compelling memoir-slash-history of the Little Shell tribe. He shares his joy and the sweet relief of finding his community amid the devastating aspects of American colonialism—a rich and insightful history. Ideal for fans of Tommy Orange, Morgan Talty, or Deborah Taffa, or anyone who has ever reflected on finding a home and fitting in. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
With a release timed to the 80th anniversary of D-Day, When the Sea Came Alive is the definitive oral history of the brave (and treacherous) battle that changed the course of history, marking the turning point of WWII. Pulitzer Prize-finalist author and historian Garrett M. Graff (The Only Plane in the Sky, Watergate) pulls together an action-packed account of the epic invasion in the south of France. Your heart will pound as you read of the courageous soldiers, from the moment their boats launched a surprise attack on the beaches of Normandy. Graff also takes readers into the secret rooms where military and government officials plotted the largest seaborne attack in history. Riveting and absorbing, you’ll be totally engrossed in this sweeping tale of Greatest Generation heroes. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
History readers are in for a real treat with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s latest book. Goodwin is legendary for her presidential biographies, winning a Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time (about how the relationship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt shaped the nation’s response to the Great Depression and WWII), and awards for Team of Rivals (Abraham Lincoln), The Bully Pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft), and many more. Now she turns the spotlight around to herself, and her late husband, former presidential speechwriter Richard “Dick” Goodwin. Goodwin writes conversationally, providing readers with an insider’s view to history (which to me, evoked that great old TV show, Pop-Up Video) as they experienced it first-hand, while digging through boxes of Dick’s files and memories from his 50-year career ("Oh, look, there's Ruth Bader Ginsburg in your law school photo.") You’ll revel in these stories of their incredible lives. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Graceful ballerinas hold a powerful place in our culture—looming large in little kids’ imaginations, and often held up as the feminine ideal of beauty. Too often, though, only white dancer and choreographers’ stories are told. No longer. Five incredible Black ballerinas finally get their due in this little-known (until now) history of their boundary-breaking rise to prominence, throwing open the door decades later for stars like Misty Copeland. The Dance Theatre of Harlem, launched by a Black choreographer named Arthur Mitchell whose “beauty and charisma overwhelm, the light of him almost drinkable,” was more than just a dance studio: it was a community, a refuge, an inspiration. Each story in this lushly-told history is equally as luminous. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
John F. Kennedy famously implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you…,” but best-selling author Maureen Callahan sees a more sinister meaning of the phrase “Ask Not,” the title of her rompy, juicy nonfiction that reads like a novel. The “fairy tale of Kennedy greatness and noble men” was built upon the pain, suffering, and silencing of the women who were unfortunate enough to be in their orbit, she writes, before launching into chapters focusing on Jackie Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and 10 more women, describing their side of famous stories that are usually only told from the men’s point of view. Although this is a sensational page-turner, it’s also sourced from years of archival research and interviews—as Callahan writes, “even the emotional fortress that was Jackie Kennedy Onassis shared her most intimate horrors with historians, relatives, and friends.” You’ll never look at the so-called “Kennedy Curse” the same way after devouring this gripping, ripped-from-the-headlines history. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid electrifies the story of two people fighting for each other and their family, while waging a battle for civil rights, in her historical biography of Myrlie and Medgar Evers. Before they were on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement, they were two students falling in love. Medgar found inspiration in his father, a Black man who refused to bow to prejudice, and from his time in the military, where he served in WWII. We meet Myrlie as a bright, ambitious teenager, just 17 years old, attending Alcorn A&M College. This book shines in the intimate conversations Reid has with Myrlie, who continued advocating for equality after her husband’s assassination. “It was the very qualities that I most admired in Medgar that frightened me,” Myrlie tells Reid, humanizing their bravery, which was not without a hefty price—but changed the course of America. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Ian Frazier has written a real love story to the cacophonous energy of the Bronx, New York City—and really of America itself. Frazier, an award-winning travel and humor writer, spent 15 years traversing New York City’s northernmost borough, home to more than 1.4 million people, the birth place of hip-hop, and a rich Native American history. Frazier illustrates the striving and setbacks of the Bronx’s residents amid the borough’s lively streets and neighborhoods through long, thought-provoking walks. He deftly ties together the challenges and triumphs people faced hundreds of years ago and today, reflecting on what it takes to “make it” and claim your space in our vibrant, troubled country. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
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