The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named by John Keay 2000 A cool documentary of a laborious and inglorious task that helped lay down important groundwork for modern India.
The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg 2017
A scary story of just how horrifying US nuclear war planning really is.
*Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition *by Daniel Okrent 2010 A good summation of how prohibition got passed and it’s effects beyond just the immediate violence.
Charlatan by Pope Brock 2009 This one is great. About the quack doctor JR Brinkley who created a radio empire in the 20’s.
A Counterfeiters Paradise by Ben Tarnoff 2011 Interesting story of counterfeiting in the antebellum US.
If you liked Guns, Germs and Steel (I did), you might like 1491 and 1493 by Charles Mann. 1491 is about the state of the Americas just before the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans. The second book is about the aftermath. These books are full of fascinating things most histories don’t mention, and interesting informed speculation.
I hadn’t realised he’d died. A real pity. He was a fantastic columnist and short-form writer as well as book author. His Confederates in the Attic is an excellent read as well. An exploration of Civil War re-enactors and enthusiasts, so not strictly in the OP’s basket, but if you are interested in why other people become obsessed by history then this is the book for you.
The White Nile: Alan Moorehead; the history of exploration of, and search for the headwaters of the river.
The Blue Nile: a sequel to the above.
Astoria - Peter Stark: the story of Astor’s expeditions to capture the fur trade of the Pacific Northwest. The overland expedition faced incredible hardships, and the sea expedition ended very badly.
I also have read a lot about the Spanish conquest (just got back from a trip to the Yucatan, again) and came to also recommend Conquistador. Buddy Levy is an excellent writer and this book is a “page-turner” of a history book.
I’ve actually read a huge number of these; I volunteer at my local historical society so I’m quite familiar with most of the books about the area, as we’ve got most of them in our library.
Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 by RF Foster. This one is a bit on the thick side, but a solid third of the pages are notes, references, etc. Most of it is about what happened before the Easter Rising of 1916, the education, writings, and organization of the big names of that revolution. A bit of it is about the fighting, and the last bit is about setting up the Free State.
First to Fly by Charles Bracelen Flood. It’s about the Lafayette Escadrille, Americans who flew in the French air force during World War One.
The Lufthansa Heist by Henry Hill and Daniel Simone. Yes, that Henry Hill. Some of it is speculative, but it gives a good sense of what the criminal underground was like in the late 1970’s, before and after the infamous heist.
Last to Die by Stephen Harding is about the last American killed in World War Two, three days after the peace was signed. There’s a lot in there about Japanese officers who resisted/refused the peace, as well as info about the little known “second string super-bomber” B-32.
Finally there’s 81 Days Below Zero by Brian Murphy with Toula Vlahou. Quite a bit is informed speculation, but it’s absolutely riveting. It’s about Leon Crane, the only survivor of plane crash in the wilderness of Alaska during World War Two, and his journey back to base through that frozen wilderness.
If the OP likes survival and/or exploration, here are some more from my Amazon list:
Skeletons on the Zahara - Dean King
In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster
The Exploration of the Colorado River and its Canyons - John Wesley Powell
Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce - Kent Nerburn
A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn - James Donovan
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
Death in the Sahara - Michael Asher
True North: a Journey Into Unexplored Wilderness - Elliott Merrick
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone - Martin Dugard
Eiger Dreams - Jon Krakauer
Over The Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe - Laurence Bergreen
No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 - Graham Bowley
If you want something a little different I would recommend:
What If?: The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
What If? II: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
Both by Robert Cowley. They are not short stories; they are a collection of essays by historians speculating what might have happened if certain historical events had turned out differently.
If you want something a lot different there is:
The Gods of Eden by William Bramley-----It’s a very bizarre book in which the author postulates how extraterrestrials helped create modern man, create all of the world’s major religions, and has been manipulate humanity behind the scenes since ancient times. Unlike some conspiracy works(like those by David Icke whose work i would NOT recommend) it actually is fairly simply written and easy to understand. I don’t believe a word of it but it was entertaining to read.
You’ve read, Godforsaken Sea, right? Nice story about a running of the Vendee Globe solo circumnavigation race. Lots of description about the weather, waves, crazy expensive yachts, and lack of sleep. Tony Horwitz’s, “Blue Latitudes”, about retracing Captain Cook’s voyages, was a fun little read.
Chickenhawk was great. I need to read Low Level Hell, about Loach pilots, one of these days.
BTW batsto: Thanks for starting this thread. My favorite books to read are history (top of the heap is adventure history), but they have to be “readable”. I’ve read plenty of academic history books, but I like to enjoy what I read. I have now added a bunch to my list.
Exactly the same for me. I have also read a lot of academic history books, and though I like the information, I tend to forget them quickly. If the incidents are told in a lively, capturing manner, the details just stick automatically. I have at least put five books of this thread on my amazon wish list, and I will read them.