The History Reader

12/05/2025

Congratulations to our author Eliot Stein for his book, Custodian of Wonder, being chosen as a Scientific American staff favorite book of 2025!

Check out the full list of picks here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-scientific-american-staffs-favorite-books-of-2025/

12/04/2025

Congratulations to Siddharth Kara whose book, The Zorg, was just chosen as one of the most "essential reads" of the year by editors and critics at The New Yorker.

View the full list of essential reads at: https://www.newyorker.com/best-books-2025

12/03/2025

In Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy it, author Samuel Miller McDonald offers a bold, provocative, wide-ranging argument about the human idea of progress that offers a new vision of our future. Check out the excerpt below to see how McDonald deconstructs a letter written by former president Thomas Jefferson to show the idea of progress.

Progress by Samuel Miller McDonald's is a bold, provocative argument about the human idea of progress that offers a new vision of our future.

12/01/2025

This December, we’re taking a look back at the many fascinating history books that published this year. From axe murderers to the history of rope, from the biography of Mt. Rushmore to a diverse array of WWII stories, the 2025 Holiday Gift Guide has a book recommendation for every history lover. Organized by general topic, don’t blame us if you find yourself adding both gifts and books to keep to your shopping cart!

From axe murders to the history of rope to WWII stories, The 2025 Holiday Gift Guide has a gift idea for every history lover.

11/18/2025

Barnes & Noble has released their list of Best History Books of 2025. We love seeing that Tom Clavin's RUNNING DEEP, Siddharth Kara's THE ZORG, and Kostya Kennedy's THE RIDE all made the list. What are your favorite history reads of 2025?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/history/_/N-29Z8q8Z11km

11/17/2025

Samuel Miller McDonald’s book, Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It, offers a bold, provocative, wide-ranging argument about the human idea of progress.

Check out The History Reader article below in which McDonald discusses progress during the rise of “civilization” on earth (the Holocene period) and its subsequent effects on the planet.

Samuel Miller McDonald's Progress is a bold and wide-ranging argument about the idea of progress that offers a new vision of our future.

11/14/2025

This week marks 59 years since NASA sent up Gemini 12, the last manned space flight in the Gemini program. Jeffrey Kluger, author of Apollo 13 and Gemini, takes a look back at the Gemini project, the last launch of Gemini 12, and how the Gemini program prepared America to put men on the moon.

Start reading: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/the-last-launch-of-the-gemini-program/

11/14/2025

The 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards are now open! Congratulations to our authors below who were nominated in the History & Biography category.

- The Cure for Women by Lydia Reeder
- Realm of Ice and Sky by BUDDY LEVY, Adventure Writer
- The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
- Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak

Head over to Goodreads and vote for your favorite book before round 1 closes on November 23: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/readers-favorite-history-bio-books-2025

11/14/2025

From renowned underwater archaeologist David Gibbins, A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWELVE SHIPWRECKS is an exciting and rich narrative of human history told through the archaeological discoveries of twelve shipwrecks across time.

Now available in paperback: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/history-of-the-world-in-12-shipwrecks/

11/12/2025

Congratulations to Siddharth Kara's THE ZORG and Jeffrey Kluger's GEMINI for making Time 100 Must Read Books for 2025! What books will you be reading from this list?

Discover the novels, memoirs, biographies, and more that entertained and enlightened us

11/12/2025

In A BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN, Matthew Davis shares a comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument’s 100th anniversary in 2025.

Read on for a featured excerpt: https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/featured-excerpt-a-biography-of-a-mountain/

11/12/2025

Congratulations to Siddharth Kara's THE ZORG and Jeffrey Kluger's GEMINI for making Time 100 Must Read Books for 2025!

What books will you be reading from this list?

Discover the novels, memoirs, biographies, and more that entertained and enlightened us