Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping, thought-provoking bestseller first published in 2011 (English edition 2014). It remains one of the most influential popular history books of the 21st century, selling millions of copies worldwide and translated into more than 65 languages. The book offers a grand narrative of…

Carthage: A New History by Richard Miles is a fresh, authoritative single-volume history of one of the ancient world’s most remarkable civilizations. Published in early 2026 by Allen Lane (UK) / Basic Books (US), the book draws on the latest archaeological discoveries, epigraphic evidence, and re-evaluations of Greek and Roman sources to present Carthage not…

Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen by Bryan D. Stevenson is a moving, investigative work of history and remembrance. Published in early 2026 by One World (Penguin Random House), the book tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen—the first African American military pilots in U.S. history—and the decades-long effort to locate, identify,…

Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America by David McCullough Jr. is a reflective, intimate narrative nonfiction work. It was published in early 2026 by Simon & Schuster. Unlike his father’s sweeping epic histories, McCullough Jr. tells the story of the United States through a personal lens—his own life, family memories, travels across…

The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West by Richard Landes is the second volume of a sweeping, ambitious two-part history of Western civilization. Published in early 2026 by Encounter Books, this volume covers roughly 1500 to the present day, tracing the “golden thread” of ideas, institutions,…

Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA by William E. Colby (with Peter Forbath) is a candid, introspective memoir by one of the most controversial directors of the Central Intelligence Agency. First published in 1978, it remains one of the most significant insider accounts of the CIA during the Cold War. The current edition (with…

The Mighty Continent: A Candid History of Modern Europe by Derek Fraser is a brisk, unsparing single-volume history of Europe from roughly 1815 to the present day. Published in early 2026 by Profile Books (UK) / Basic Books (US), the book aims to cut through romantic myths, national exceptionalism, and selective memory to present a…

Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity by Frank Dikötter is a sweeping, unflinching narrative history. Published in early 2026 by Bloomsbury, the book traces the rise, triumph, and consolidation of Chinese communism from the 1910s to the late 1970s. Dikötter argues that the Chinese Communist Party’s victory was neither inevitable…

The Warhead: The Quest to Build the Perfect Weapon in the Age of Modern Warfare by Annie Jacobsen is a gripping, deeply reported nonfiction book. It was published in February 2026 by Little, Brown and Company. The book investigates the ongoing global race to develop the next generation of “perfect” weapons—systems designed to be fast,…

Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game (American Sports Histories, 2) by Michael Schumacher is a lively, well-researched history of basketball. It was published in early 2026 as the second volume in the American Sports Histories series. The book traces how a simple winter game invented in a Massachusetts gym in 1891 grew into…