The Best History Books for Summer: 8 Classics, Fact and Fiction, That Every History Lover Should Read

Forget the latest releases.

For this special summer edition, The History Book Buffs are joined by Ollie Webb-Carter from the History Book Club to recommend the history books they've returned to again and again—the classics that have earned a permanent place on their bookshelves.

From the Black Sea to Ancient Greece, from the English Civil War to Alexander the Great, from the American Revolution to Flashman, this episode is packed with books that combine outstanding scholarship with brilliant storytelling.

Whether you're reading on a beach, in the garden or on a long train journey, these are the history books we think every history lover should own.

📚 Black Sea – Neil Asherson

📚 Alexander the Great – Robin Lane Fox

📚 God's Fury, England's Fire – Michael Braddick

📚 The March of Folly – Barbara Tuchman

📚 Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War – Robert K. Massie

📚 Flashman and the Redskins – George MacDonald Fraser

📚 Captain Corelli's Mandolin – Louis de Bernières

Books discussed