7 Books to Read if You're a History Student

Whether or not you’ve studied Roman history, this is one book about Ancient Rome you don’t want to miss out on! Step into the shoes of those who lived in ancient Rome, as each hour of the day transports you into the world of another person who lived and worked there; 24 hours, 24 different perspectives of Ancient Rome. From the emperor to the slave girl, the medicine woman to the astrologer, the gladiator to the baker, you can find out about the details of each character’s day to day lives. 24 Hours in Ancient Rome is one of the best history books for showing how everyday Ancient Roman society operated and gives an interesting cross section into the societal hierarchy in Ancient Rome, whilst also being an entertaining and accessible read for history and non-history students alike.

At the time of writing this book, Tim Marshall was a diplomatic editor at Sky News and on the ground covering the Kosovo War. A personal, journalistic account of the Kosovo War, Tim Marshall’s Shadowplay gives a fascinating firsthand account of the Kosovo War and how the events unfolded, using his own experiences, eyewitness accounts and interviews with intelligence officials, reporting from one of the main targets of NATO bombing raids in Belgrade. 2019 marks the 20^th anniversary of the end of the Kosovo war, so those who would like to learn more about modern history would really benefit from reading this.

For those with an interest in the Middle Ages, Dan Jones’ novel, Summer of Blood, explores village life and the failings of government from the perspective of the peasants. Capturing the feeling of unrest felt by the upper and lower classes, Jones explains the causes and difficulties of the peasant’s revolt and goes into the detail of this, carefully treading the line between factual reporting and novelization. As one review of the book accurately describes; Jones takes the potentially unexciting facts and figures of the event and weaves a fantastic story into them. If you like this book, you may want to check out some of Dan Jones’ other great books on historical literature; Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty, Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors and Realm Divided: A Year in the Life of Plantagenet England.

In The Scramble For Africa, Thomas Pakenham, a Anglo-Irish historian and arborist (and also the 8^th Earl of Longford) describes the European division and conquest of African territory by five rival nations; the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain which occurred from 1876 to 1912. Pakenham covers the proposed and actual motivations behind the colonization; religion, politics, racism, competition and greed. This is one of the best history books for history students interested in Africa and the New Imperialism period.  Although this is quite a lengthy novel, with around 700 pages, Packenham goes into great depth in order to maintain factual accuracy and despite its length, the book remains and interesting and eye-opening read.

Using private documents, photographs, memories, letters, diaries and newly released material from the intelligence files of MI5 and Naval Intelligence, Ben Macintyre tells the full story of Operation Mincemeat, one of the boldest and successful deceptions of the Second World War. The true story features a wide range of fascinating but unlikely characters and is based around the life of a made up man who never existed, a dead homeless Welsh man found floating in the sea, who became the fictitious Captain William Martin, and whose invented life sent German troops in the wrong direction and saved thousands of lives, changing the course of World War II. This book is a thrilling and gripping read for anyone interested in World War II history, or spy books.

Image credit: goodreads.com

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