This year, I reviewed nearly 40 books ranging all the way back from the ancient period of the Mesopotamians to the modern period of American foreign policy. As with the two previous lists of 2023 and 2024, I have assembled a list of the best history books that were published this year. As I’ve written before, of the many books I’ve read, there were “some good, some better than others, some a chore to finish, and some so wonderful they belong in my top five.”
Without further ado, here are my top five history books of 2025 (along with a few honorable mentions), in ascending order:
