History

image from here

A mild enthusiast since youth, I became a full-blown history buff living in Europe.  It's easy to learn (and hard to avoid) history when it's all around you, and the myriad ancient ruins, medieval sites, and battlefields made it come alive for me.

A well-written history book is a beautiful thing- as captivating as fiction and informative to boot.
Below is a selection of my favorite history books and sites, organized (nominally) by topic.  Enjoy!

Surveys

I'm a big fan of 'survey' histories- books covering large swaths of time, immense tracts of land, or seminal world events.  Such treatments give an overview of a topic and connect events to paint a cohesive picture.

The History of the Ancient World is a great overview.
Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs takes us through thousands of years of Ancient Egyptian history.

The History of the Medieval World is expansive and valuable.
A Distant Mirror is an excellent account of the fourteenth century, covering the black plague, papal schism, and other events of that desperate time.

Europe: A History is a good overview for anyone wanting an introduction to the continent.
1000 Years of Annoying the French is an informative and amusing read on British history.
The Usborne History of Britain is the best survey I've found on the topic.

War

Few things are as horrible and captivating as war-related history.

The Crusades provides outstanding coverage of two centuries of the conflicts (1090s-1290s).
Azincourt covers that 1415 battle (and related topics- particularly archery) well.

The American Civil War: A Visual History is excellent.

The Guns of August is a beautifully-written account of the first month of World War I.
World War I: The Definitive Visual History is just that.

Helmet for My Pillow is an amazing account from a WWII Marine.
With the Old Breed is another amazing account from another WWII Marine.
Night is deservedly famous account of the holocaust,
as is Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl.

American

The following books are excellent histories of specific events in nineteenth-century America.

Undaunted Courage, about the Lewis & Clark expedition (1804-06).
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is an excellent tale of the same. (1850s-1900s)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is horribly sad account of the extermination of Indians in western America (1860s-1890s).
Destiny of the Republic looks at the state of medicine and the James Garfield assassination (1880s).
The Path Between the Seas covers construction of the Panama Canal (1870-1914).  Not only fascinating history, it's also one of my favorite books on leadership.

European

The Black Count is excellent coverage of the French revolution and a must for anyone who loves The Count of Monte Cristo.

Nicholas and Alexandra covers the end of the Russian Empire and its ruling family, the Romanovs, well.  (1894-1917)

A Night to Remember is an informative and heartbreaking account of the Titanic. (1912)

Endurance is the unbelievable story of survival of Ernest Shackleton after the failed Antarctic voyage. (1914)