These are the best German history books to read if you want to learn more about the past of this fascinating country. Germany’s history is fraught with triumph and disaster. From the unification of the country in 1871 to the rise of the Nazis and the destruction they wrought on Europe. These books on German …
History
These books on the Soviet Union are the ones you should read if you want to learn more about the former country. The Soviet Union was one of the most important and influential countries until its demise in 1991. These Soviet Union books will give you an insight into the formation, history and conditions of …
Choosing the best European history books is no easy task. European history has often been tumultuous, barbaric and cruel, as well as inspirational, uplifting and revolutionary. It seems there’s no in-between in the over two-thousand-year history of Europe. Given recent developments with Russia’s war in Ukraine, I thought it would be helpful to put together …
Humankind is a book that questions whether humans are as mean-spirited and governed by self-interest. It’s a belief a lot of us have internalised, but is there any truth in it? Are we as negative toward one another as we think? Rutger Bregman examines this narrative in this fascinating book, which questions what it means …
Serving The Reich is an interesting book that looks at physics under Hitler and focuses on the stories of several famous scientists, Max Planck, Peter Debye and Werner Heisenberg. It’s often forgotten that Germany produced some of the best scientists of the 20th century and that the majority of them either left or worked for …
This Pale Rider summary looks at a fantastic account of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that swept the globe and killed between an estimated 50 to 100 million people. Until recently, this pandemic has been forgotten by history. This is remarkable when you consider the death toll is higher than the First and Second World …
This The Lessons of History summary looks at what is only a short book, but a brilliant one if you want a quick overview of trends and ideas throughout history. The book is just over 100 pages long, but it’s packed full of useful information regarding history. I’ve never learnt so much from such a …
This Twelve Against The Gods summary looks at an interesting book that details the lives of twelve people who beat back the challenges of their time and wrote their names in history, sometimes in infamy. What attracted me to read the book was hearing that it was one of Elon Musk’s favourite books, I had …
This Ghosts of Spain summary takes a look at a book that goes into depth about the country’s recent history which includes the Civil war and the reign of General Franco. I lived in Spain for two years from 2015 to 2017. It’s a fantastic, diverse and interesting country and it was an experience that …