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Historical

Real people and pivotal moments come alive through meticulous research and compelling storytelling in these journeys through time. Whether following spies during the American Revolution or exploring the hidden lives of remarkable women, these books illuminate the fascinating truths and untold stories that shaped our world.

Historical Book Summaries

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree Summary
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree
A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor
by Laura Hillman 2003 274 pages
4.15
5.5K ratings
Holocaust
History
Memoir
At Home Summary
At Home
A Short History of Private Life
by Bill Bryson 2010 497 pages
3.99
96.8K ratings
History
Humor
Science
All the Light We Cannot See Summary
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr 2014 544 pages
4.31
1.9M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Red Badge of Courage Summary
The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane 1895 149 pages
3.29
108.1K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
Lessons in Chemistry Summary
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus 2022 390 pages
4.28
1.6M ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Feminism
King Rat Summary
King Rat
by James Clavell 1962 368 pages
4.19
43.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
War
Classics
The Prestige Summary
The Prestige
by Christopher Priest 1995 404 pages
3.92
23.8K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
City of Girls Summary
City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert 2019 470 pages
4.04
309.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
I Must Betray You Summary
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys 2022 321 pages
4.40
93.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Historical
The Tattooist of Auschwitz Summary
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
by Heather Morris 2018 272 pages
4.31
1.1M ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
The Marriage Portrait Summary
The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O'Farrell 2022 355 pages
4.01
181.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Book Club
The Girls of Atomic City Summary
The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
by Denise Kiernan 2013 373 pages
3.72
31.3K ratings
History
Book Club
World War II
All Quiet on the Western Front Summary
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque 1928 296 pages
4.10
497.2K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
Common Sense Summary
Common Sense
by Thomas Paine 1776 104 pages
4.00
38.2K ratings
History
Classics
Philosophy
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History Summary
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich 2007 320 pages
3.82
1.6K ratings
History
Feminism
Womens
Kira-Kira Summary
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata 2004 291 pages
3.97
27.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Middle Grade
The Forgotten Garden Summary
The Forgotten Garden
by Kate Morton 2008 648 pages
4.15
232.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Book Club
A New History of Western Philosophy Summary
A New History of Western Philosophy
by Anthony Kenny 2007 1058 pages
4.22
482 ratings
Philosophy
History
Textbooks
Alchemy of Secrets Summary
Alchemy of Secrets
by Stephanie Garber 2025 336 pages
4.06
5.6K ratings
Fantasy
Romance
Romantasy
Soldier Boys Summary
Soldier Boys
by Dean Hughes 2001 240 pages
4.05
2.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
War
The Diamond Eye Summary
The Diamond Eye
by Kate Quinn 2022 435 pages
4.29
177.4K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
Sapiens and Homo Deus Summary
Sapiens and Homo Deus
The E-book Collection: A Brief History of Humankind and A Brief History of Tomorrow
by Yuval Noah Harari 2017 816 pages
4.41
1.3K ratings
History
Science
Modern
The Joy Luck Club Summary
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan 1989 288 pages
3.97
699.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
China
An Era of Darkness Summary
An Era of Darkness
The British Empire in India
by Shashi Tharoor 2016 360 pages
4.17
12.2K ratings
History
India
Politics
The Turtle House Summary
The Turtle House
by Amanda Churchill 2024 304 pages
4.04
4.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Japan
Family
Last Twilight in Paris Summary
Last Twilight in Paris
by Pam Jenoff 2025 336 pages
4.00
10.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
World War II
Mystery
Winter of the World Summary
Winter of the World
by Ken Follett 2012 940 pages
4.38
171.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
War
The German Wife Summary
The German Wife
by Kelly Rimmer 2022 464 pages
4.38
43.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
World War II
Book Club
When the World Was Ours Summary
When the World Was Ours
by Liz Kessler 2021 352 pages
4.52
5.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Malinche Summary
Malinche
by Laura Esquivel 2005 191 pages
3.34
6.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Spanish Literature
Historical
The Eagle of the Ninth Summary
The Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff 1954 294 pages
3.94
11.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Historical
Young Adult
Gaza in Crisis Summary
Gaza in Crisis
Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians
by Noam Chomsky 2010 240 pages
4.14
2.0K ratings
Politics
History
War
Gone with the Wind Summary
Immersive
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell 1936 1037 pages
4.31
1.3M ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Romance
The Reader Summary
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink 1995 216 pages
3.78
224.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
German Literature
Shōgun Summary
Shōgun
by James Clavell 1975 1152 pages
4.41
203.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Japan
Historical
The Original Daughter Summary
The Original Daughter
by Jemimah Wei 2025 368 pages
3.87
1.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789 Summary
Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789
by Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks 2006 510 pages
3.95
427 ratings
History
European History
Academic
Half Broke Horses Summary
Half Broke Horses
by Jeannette Walls 2009 272 pages
4.09
170.0K ratings
Memoir
Book Club
Biography
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek Summary
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson 2019 309 pages
4.22
248.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Historical
The Black Kids Summary
The Black Kids
by Christina Hammonds Reed 2020
4.03
10.9K ratings
Young Adult
Historical Fiction
Contemporary
Black Hawk Down Summary
Black Hawk Down
A Story of Modern War
by Mark Bowden 1999 386 pages
4.30
67.5K ratings
History
Military Fiction
War
Making Bombs for Hitler Summary
Making Bombs for Hitler
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 2012 186 pages
4.34
12.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Middle Grade
Young Adult
The Scarlet Pimpernel Summary
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Emmuska Orczy 1905 182 pages
4.07
139.4K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Adventure
The Familiar Summary
The Familiar
by Leigh Bardugo 2024 387 pages
3.76
107.6K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Historical
The Kite Runner Summary
The Kite Runner
Graphic Novel
by Khaled Hosseini 2011 132 pages
4.45
23.1K ratings
Graphic Novels
Historical Fiction
Comics
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi Summary
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
by Shannon Chakraborty 2023 483 pages
4.26
68.5K ratings
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Pirates
The Secret Keeper Summary
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton 2012 484 pages
4.16
169.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Book Club
Fingersmith Summary
Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters 2002 592 pages
4.02
115.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
LGBT
Historical
Birdsong Summary
Birdsong
by Sebastian Faulks 1993 483 pages
4.11
82.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
War
Classics
The Phoenix Crown Summary
The Phoenix Crown
by Kate Quinn 2024 384 pages
3.84
36.6K ratings
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Historical
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