Our History selection contains many fine works, from original texts like the History of the Britons by Nennius, written in the 9th Century, to the modern A Short History of England by the lovable G.K. Chesterton. The complete series of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire set the standard for history writing. And A History of France by Charlotte Yonge is a good read for catching up. Top that off with Lockhart’s History of Napoleon or Carlyle’s The French Revolution. The History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy is a fine, yet lesser-known, work by Machiavelli.

Check out the History of the Donner Party by McGlashan, or the History of the Ottowa and Chippewa Indians by Andrew J. Blackbird. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a powerful account of slavery in the US, as is the many-volume Slave Narratives from the WPA. And just for fun, why not check out The Chemical History of a Candle by the esteemed English physicist Michael Faraday.