# Seeking book recommendations: real history (non-fiction) that reads like fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672 "2016-11-05T06:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/41 "2016-11-12T10:22:10Z")
Well-researched, largely historically accurate fiction: _Wolf Hall_ and _Bring Up the Bodies_ by Hilary Mantel. It’s about Thomas Cromwell as he rises to become one of Henry VIII’s most trusted advisors. _The Killer Angels_ by Michael Shaara. The Battle of Gettysburg, seen through the perspectives of Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain on the Union side, and Gen. James Longstreet on the Confederate side. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/42 "2016-11-12T10:25:27Z")
Nonfiction that moves almost like fiction: _The Guns of August_ by Barbara Tuchman. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/43 "2016-11-12T12:02:11Z")
_Sarum_ by Edward Rutherford. It’s the history of London from Roman times up to the 19th century. It reads like fiction because there are several fictional families interwoven in the story. I can’t recall his other titles right now but he’s written a few books about particular places using a similar formula. His research always shocks and delights me. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/44 "2016-11-12T13:13:03Z")
“ **An Insular Possession** ” by Timothy Mo is a fictionalised account of the establishment of Hong Kong. It’s very good. ---
**Author:** ![Ad\_Astra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ad\_Astra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ad_Astra)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/45 "2016-11-12T18:11:04Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > _Sarum_ by Edward Rutherford. It’s the history of London from Roman times up to the 19th century. It reads like fiction because there are several fictional families interwoven in the story. > > I can’t recall his other titles right now but he’s written a few books about particular places using a similar formula. His research always shocks and delights me. _The Princes of Ireland_ and _The Rebels of Ireland_ are about, well, the history of Ireland. IIRC, they start in the 400s and end sometime following WWII, but I could have the timeline extended or shortened. Great reads, and relatively historically-accurate, ignoring the fictional families. From his Wikipedia page, he’s written books about London (_Sarum_ and _London_), as well as ones about New York, Russia, Paris, and the New Forest in Southern England. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/46 "2016-11-13T00:21:56Z")
Came in to mention Tuchman’s _A Distant Mirror_, which has been recommended a few times already. Tuchman’s genius was to structure the whole book, which is a history of Europe in the 14th century, around the life of Enguerrand de Coucy, a French nobleman who lived through it’s latter half. Coucy was well-connected - he became the son-in-law of King Edward III of England - and managed to be involved in most of the important events of the century, and Tuchman uses him to put a human face on what could have been a dry chronicle of wars, plagues, and invasions. Another option for well-researched historical fiction are Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels, a 20-book series about a Napoleonic War English naval captain and his close friend, a physician and intelligence agent. Charles Macdonald Fraser is another novelist who did his homework. His _Flashman_ series is immensely entertaining, due to his cheerfully amoral scoundrel of a protagonist. And some of his stories sound like the wild imaginings of a mystery novelist. Yet they are meticulously researched and, save for the fictional Harry Flashman and some of his friends, true. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/47 "2016-11-13T19:06:11Z")
Although not written in a fictional style The Story Of Mankind By Hendrick Van Loon is very readable. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/48 "2016-11-14T19:27:57Z")
“The Last Battle” by Stephen Harding: American and German soldiers team up to prevent German SS troops from capturing and killing important French politicians, generals and civilians in the closing days of World War II. Sounds like a pitch for a bad movie like “The Dirty Dozen”. Immediately after the battle is won the French started writing memoirs to vindicate themselves and blame the others. Now that is believable. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/49 "2016-11-14T20:03:36Z")
I’d recommend “Death in the City of Loght” about a manhunt for a serial killer in occupied Paris during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/50 "2016-11-14T20:18:49Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > **Endurance** , by Alfred Lansing: the astounding survival story of Shackleton and his Antarctic exploration crew. > > **River of Doubt** , Candice Millard: About Theodore Roosevelt’s ill-advised exploration of an unknown river. I came to recommend both of these. They’re fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/51 "2016-11-14T20:44:14Z")
One of my favorites,that I think meets the OP’s request is [Gates of Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gates_of_Fire), a historical fiction version of the Battle of Thermopylae (much more fictionalized in the movie _300_) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/52 "2016-11-15T02:44:07Z")
Err, that’s Death in the City of Light. Phone posting can cause spelling problems. And i like the fact that the OP asked for non fiction books and so many people are giving them novels. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/53 "2016-11-15T02:46:27Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Although I haven’t read it yet, I’ve heard nothing but good things about The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson, about the events of the 1893 World’s Fair and the serial killer who wreaked terror on Chicago during said fair. I opened this thread to recommend that one. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/54 "2016-11-15T14:35:58Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Charles Macdonald Fraser is another novelist who did his homework. His _Flashman_ series is immensely entertaining, due to his cheerfully amoral scoundrel of a protagonist. And some of his stories sound like the wild imaginings of a mystery novelist. Yet they are meticulously researched and, save for the fictional Harry Flashman and some of his friends, true. If you want actual history of a very high quality by the same author, you have some choice: he wrote what is widely considered one of the best personal memoirs to come out of WW2 by a fighting man: _Quartered Safe Out Here_. He also wrote a book that falls squarely within the OP’s requirements - a work of stranger than fiction history, pre-1800s - a history of the anglo-scottish border reivers entitled _The Steel Bonnets_. I highly recommend both. The latter, in particular, is on what appears to be an obscure topic (clans of raiders and vicious criminals who lived in the “debatable” border regions from the 13th through the 16th centuries). However, these clans made a big impact - in America. Which is obvious when you see the clan names - the author points out that, at the inauguration ceremony of President Richard Nixon, he was flanked by Lyndon Johnson and Reverend Billy Graham - all three last names were major Clan names from the Debatable Land. The Debatable Land itself sounds exactly like a post apocalyptic wasteland, Mad Max-style (only, Elizabethan). In this area, normal laws were suspended and the clans ruled supreme - with robbery, pillaging, and murder. The authorities positively encouraged this bizarre state of affairs for reasons of their own … ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/55 "2016-11-15T14:47:49Z")
Another suggestion is a book I’m reading right now, that just came out in 2016: _Jungle of Stone_, by William Carlsen. It’s a history of the two men who popularized in Europe and America the ancient Maya ruins (they did not discover them - but they provided the first accurate account of them to a non-local audience). Their story is truly stranger than fiction: one of the men was in the area as a US diplomat, attempting to get a trade treaty signed – during a revolution (after many hair-raising escapes from death, including interviewing the generals on both sides, he gives it up, writing to Washington: “after diligent search, no government found”). All along, though, his real mission was to hunt down rumors of massive stone ruins in the jungle - and in that quest, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Fortunately he had his friend along, an artist who could make extremely accurate drawings of the ruins - the first accurate glimpse outsiders were able to get (there had been previous drawings, but they were either held secret by governments, made by non-artists, or in some cases, deliberately falsified to make the ruins look like Roman or Egyptian ruins!). The pair go through incredible hardships and dangers, and have many bizarre encounters along the way - a sort of cross between Indiana Jones and Innocents Abroad. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/56 "2016-12-03T00:44:29Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > _The Cuckoo’s Egg_ by Clifford Stoll: After a $0.75 accounting discrepancy is found in the billing records of a computer system owned by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Clifford Stoll is given the task of tracking down whoever’s breaking into the system. Of course, it leads to a whole lot more than seventy-five cents. > > This book is a great, low-key detective story with plenty of detail about how large, networked computer systems of the mid-1980s worked and about how the networks themselves worked at the time. It’s not written for a technical audience, but Stoll doesn’t shy away from technical details, so you’re able to keep up with his thought processes as he tracks the intruder. Thank you so much for this recommendation. I loved this book! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/57 "2016-12-03T01:47:35Z")
Am I the first to mention Tom Wolfe’s excellent [The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test](https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Kool-Aid-Acid-Test/dp/031242759X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480729616&sr=1-1&keywords=the+electric+kool-aid+acid+test)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/58 "2016-12-03T02:15:50Z")
Since The Devil in the White City has been mentioned so often, I’ll simply concur with it’s excellence. I’d add _Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time_, about the 18th century man who was able to solve the problem of determining longitude on long voyages. It sounds like the driest topic on earth, but the author somehow makes it exciting and page-turning. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/59 "2016-12-04T17:14:10Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Since The Devil in the White City has been mentioned so often, I’ll simply concur with it’s excellence. > > I’d add _Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time_, about the 18th century man who was able to solve the problem of determining longitude on long voyages. It sounds like the driest topic on earth, but the author somehow makes it exciting and page-turning. It is awesome - and they made a TV mini-series based on it! 😃 Which is, likewise, awesome. > **[Longitude (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(TV_series))** > > Longitude is a 2000 TV drama produced by Granada Television and the A&E Network for Channel 4, first broadcast between 2 and 3 January 2000 in the UK on Channel 4 and the US on A&E. It is a dramatisation of the 1995 book of the same title by Dava Sobel. It was written and directed by Charles Sturridge and stars Michael Gambon as clockmaker John Harrison (1693–1776) and Jeremy Irons as horologist Rupert Gould (1890–1948). > Longitude presents the story of Harrison's efforts to develop the mari... ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_gnomer/32/3466_2.png) [@Miss\_Gnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672/60 "2016-12-05T03:53:24Z")
I’ve read two of the suggestions: > [@Baker](#): > > I read a good one, titled **The Sea Captain’s Wife**. It is by Martha Hodes, and is subtitled _A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century_ > [@Quartz](#): > > Try Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror about the 14th century. Really enjoyed **The Sea Captain’s Wife** and liked how the author interleaved different contemporaries perspectives into the narrative. I have to admit … I got half way through **A Distant Mirror** before I got sick of who was fighting who! I recognise that a lot of the records from that period of time will be about battles etc but I found the lack of “character” and “real” life people (not kings/knights etc!) fairly uninteresting. I rarely give up on a book … so might go back to it another time. Next added to my kindle with thanks for everyone’s suggestions: > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > _Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life_ by Hugh Brogan. Unfortunately not available on kindle but I thought this sounded interesting: > [@Banksiaman](#): > > One I’ve always liked is Martin’s Hundred, by Ivor Noel Hume. I’ll return to this book list as I enjoy my holidays! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-book-recommendations-real-history-non-fiction-that-reads-like-fiction/770672.md?page=4)