Books like

Books like The Great War for Civilisation

12 books with a reading profile close to The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Fisk. Deep and outward-looking; a moderate read.

1

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943

by Antony Beevor

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

Antony Beevor reconstructs the five-month battle for Stalingrad through a combination of military strategy and individual testimony.
2

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

by Barbara W. Tuchman

Also deep and outward-looking · history, dense

Barbara Tuchman uses the life of Enguerrand de Coucy VII, a French nobleman, to map the social and political upheavals of medieval Europe.
3

The Guns of August

by Barbara W. Tuchman

Also deep and outward-looking · history, analytical

Barbara Tuchman chronicles the opening month of World War I, tracing the rigid military planning and diplomatic failures that led to a global stalemate.
4

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

by Lawrence Wright

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

Lawrence Wright traces the historical evolution of militant Islamism through the biographies of Sayyid Qutb, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Osama bin Laden.
5

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

by Mary Beard

Also deep and outward-looking · history, analytical

Mary Beard tracks the evolution of the Roman state from its mythic eighth-century BCE origins to the pivotal year 212 CE, when Emperor Caracalla granted universal citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire.
6

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

by Adam Hochschild

Also deep and outward-looking · history, analytical

Adam Hochschild details the private seizure of the Congo River basin by King Leopold II of Belgium and the subsequent industrial exploitation of the region.
7

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

by James M. McPherson

Also deep and outward-looking · history, analytical

James McPherson traces the intersection of political collapse and military strategy from the 1846 Mexican-American War through the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
8

The Third Reich in Power, 1933 - 1939

by Richard J. Evans

Also deep and outward-looking · history, analytical

Richard J.
9

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

The 1619 Project argues that the arrival of the White Lion privateer in the Virginia colony, carrying enslaved Africans, represents the foundational moment of the United States.
10

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

by Michael Pollan

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

Michael Pollan argues that plants manipulate human cravings to ensure their own evolutionary success.
11

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

by Tom O'Neill

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

Tom O’Neill spent twenty years investigating the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders, uncovering discrepancies in the official prosecution narrative established by Vincent Bugliosi.
12

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

by Sheri Fink

Also outward-looking · history, analytical

Sheri Fink documents the medical crisis at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during the five days following Hurricane Katrina.

Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.

Get papr

Your library, beautifully understood.