The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857

A History of Britain: The Wars of the British 1603-1776

Simon Schama · 480 pages

'The British Wars' is a compelling chronicle of the changes that transformed every strand and strata of British life, faith and thought from 1603 to 1776. It explores the forces that tore Britain apart during two centuries of dynamic change.

Freedom at Midnight

Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre · 572 pages

The end of an empire. The birth of two nations. Seventy years ago, at midnight on August 14, 1947, the Union Jack began its final journey down the flagstaff of Viceroy’s House, New Delhi. A fifth of humanity claimed their independence from the greatest empire history has ever seen—but the price of freedom was high, as a nation erupted into riots and bloodshed, partition and war. Freedom at M

India's Struggle for Independence

Bipan Chandra · 600 pages

The City-State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630–1865

Mark Peterson · 784 pages

Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire

Alex von Tunzelmann · 440 pages

"The stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947 liberated 400 million Indians from the British Empire. One of the defining moments of world history had been brought about by a tiny number of people, including Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery prime minister-to-be; Gandhi, the mystical figure who enthralled a nation; and Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, the glamorous but unlikely couple who had been dispatched to

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924

Orlando Figes · 923 pages

It is a history on an epic yet human scale. Orlando Figes provides a panorama of Russian society on the eve of the revolution, and then narrates the story of how these social forces were violently suppressed. Within the broad strokes of war and revolution are miniature histories of individuals - pieced together from their private writings - in which Figes follows the main players' fortunes as they

Koh-I-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond

William Dalrymple, Anita Anand · 335 pages

"The first comprehensive and authoritative history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, arguably the most celebrated jewel in the world....Using original eyewitness accounts and chronicles never before translated into English, Dalrymple and Anand trace the true history of the diamond and disperse the myths and fantastic tales that have long surrounded this awe-inspiring jewel. The resulting history of south

A Savage War of Peace: Algeria, 1954-1962

Alistair Horne · 605 pages

Although war was never formally declared, the Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused six French governments to fall, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, brought De Gaulle back to power, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict and as many European settlers were driven into exile. Above all, the war was marke

Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age

Arthur Herman · 736 pages

In this fascinating and meticulously researched book, bestselling historian Arthur Herman sheds new light on two of the most universally recognizable icons of the twentieth century, and reveals how their forty-year rivalry sealed the fate of India and the British Empire.They were born worlds apart: Winston Churchill to Britain's most glamorous aristocratic family, Mohandas Gandhi to a pious middle

The Romanovs: 1613-1918

Simon Sebag Montefiore · 744 pages

From the Introduction... In some ways, this book is a study of character and the distorting effect of absolute power on personality. It is partly a family story of love, marriage, adultery and children, but it is not like other such stories—royal families are always extraordinary because power both sweetens and contaminates the traditional familial chemistry: the allure and corruption of power

Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War

Stephen R. Platt · 385 pages

The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg

Helen Rappaport · 285 pages

**Rappaport, an expert in the field of Russian history, brings you the riveting day-by-day account of the last fourteen days of the Russian Imperial family, in this first of two books about the Romanovs. Her second book *The Romanov Sisters*, offering a never-before-seen glimpse at the lives of the Tsar's beautiful daughters and a celebration of their unique stories, will be published in 2014.**

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

William L. Shirer · 1,264 pages

King Leopold's Ghost

Adam Hochschild · 375 pages

In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian.

A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn · 702 pages

Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, *A People's History of the United States* is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers.

The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789

Robert Middlekauff · 736 pages

Recounts the events leading up to the Revolution and discusses the major leaders, campaigns, and battles of the war.

1776

David McCullough · 393 pages

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence -- when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Based

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz · 320 pages

Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766

Fred Anderson · 880 pages

In this engrossing narrative of the great military conflagration of the mid-eighteenth century, Fred Anderson transports us into the maelstrom of international rivalries. With the Seven Years' War, Great Britain decisively eliminated French power north of the Caribbean -- and in the process destroyed an American diplomatic system in which Native Americans had long played a central, balancing role

The Mexican Heartland: How Communities Shaped Capitalism, a Nation, and World History, 1500–2000

John Tutino · 512 pages

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History

Ned Blackhawk · 596 pages

Nicholas and Alexandra

Robert K. Massie · 613 pages

"A LARGER THAN LIFE DRAMA, SO BIZARRE, SO HEART-RENDING AND, ABOVE ALL, SO APOCALYPTIC, THAT NO NOVELIST WOULD HAVE DARED INVENT IT" —Saturday Review Syndicate The story of the Tsar, his Empress, and the realm they lost. The story of a man, a woman, and the love they shared—and of the obscene monk, Rasputin, who corrupted and destroyed them. "A WONDERFULLY RICH TAPESTRY, the colors fresh and

American Colonies: The Settling of North America

Alan Taylor · 535 pages

"In American Colonies, historian Alan Taylor challenges the traditional Anglocentric focus of colonial history by exploring the many cultural influences that gave birth to America. The result is a superlative history of the prerevolutionary era in North America that is unprecedented in its scope and sure to become a landmark."--BOOK JACKET.

Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947

Christopher Clark · 800 pages

"Iron Kingdom traces Prussia's involvement in the continent's foundational religious and political conflagrations: from the devastations of the Thirty Years War through centuries of political machinations to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, from the enlightenment of Frederick the Great to the destructive conquests of Napoleon, and from the "iron and blood" policies of Bismarck to the crea