The Best Modern History Books 2026

1. The Rise of Modern China, (Paperback)

Now in its sixth edition, this book has been updated to examine the return of Hong Kong in 1997 and the upcoming return of Macao in 1999. Hsü discusses the end of the last vestiges of foreign imperialism in China, as well as China's emergence as a regional and global superpower. U.S.-China rivalry and the prospect of unification between China and Taiwan are also considered.

The Rise of Modern China, (Paperback) Author: Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780195125047 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1999-12-09 Page Count: 1136

2. Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, (Paperback)

In this New York Times bestseller, award-winning author Simon Schama presents an ebullient country, vital and inventive, infatuated with novelty and technology--a strikingly fresh view of Louis XVI's France. One of the great landmarks of modern history publishing, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution is the most authoritative social, cultural, and narrative history of the French Revolution ever produced.

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, (Paperback) Author: Vintage ISBN: 9780679726104 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1990-03-17 Page Count: 976

3. Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century, (Paperback)

An unflinching and intelligent alternative history of the twentieth century that provides a provocative vision of Europe's past, present, and future. "[A] splendid book." --The New York Times Book Review Dark Continent provides an alternative history of the twentieth century, one in which the triumph of democracy was anything but a forgone conclusion and fascism and communism provided rival political solutions that battled and sometimes triumphed in an effort to determine the course the continent would take. Mark Mazower strips away myths that have comforted us since World War II, revealing Europe as an entity constantly engaged in a bloody project of self-invention. Here is a history not of inevitable victories and forward marches, but of narrow squeaks and unexpected twists, where townships boast a bronze of Mussolini on horseback one moment, only to melt it down and recast it as a pair of noble partisans the next.

Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century, (Paperback) Author: Vintage ISBN: 9780679757047 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2000-03-14 Page Count: 512

4. Dover Thrift Editions: Economics: The Theory of the Leisure Class (Paperback)

Classic of economic and social theory offers satiric examination of the hollowness and falsity suggested by the term "conspicuous consumption," exposing the emptiness of many standards of taste, education, dress, and culture.

"The most impressive satirist of his day." — Time Magazine With devastating satiric wit, this book examines the hollowness and falsity suggested by the term "conspicuous consumption" (coined by Veblen) and exposes the emptiness of many cherished standards of taste, education, dress, and culture. Since its original publication in 1899, the work has become a classic of social and economic thought and policy and exerted an influence widely felt beyond the sphere of economics. For Veblen, the shallowness and superficiality of society resulted from the tendency to believe that true accomplishment lay in arriving at a condition of ostentatious wealth and status. In developing this thesis, he traces the origins and development of ownership and property, offering extraordinary insights into the phenomenon of consumerism, the evolution of class structure, the rise of leisure time and how modern societal goals are grounded in pecuniary aspirations and achievements. Students, sociologists, historians, economists — anyone interested in the motives and behavior of human beings within a large-scale social context — will find this time-honored investigation still relevant and readable over a century after its first appearance. It belongs in the library of every thinking person.

5. Dover Maritime A General History of the Pyrates, (Paperback)

Famed for his enduring fictional masterpieces Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe also possessed considerable expertise in maritime affairs. As a commission merchant, importer, shipowner, and an active journalist who reported "ship news" and interviewed surviving pirates, Defoe achieved a high degree of authority on the subject of buccaneers. His knowledge was such that his book, A General History of the Pyrates, remains the major source of information about piracy in the first quarter of the 18th century. Reprinted here in its entirety, this fascinating history abounds in tales of flamboyant outlaws and their bloody deeds: Captain Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard; Captain William Kidd, whose trial and execution created a sensation throughout London and the world; Bartholomew Roberts, one of the most successful pirates of the era, whose crews captured an estimated 400 prizes in three years; Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who disguised themselves as men to sail under the Jolly Roger with the ill-fated Captain John Rackham; and many more. An engrossing blend of fact and fiction -- incorporating Defoe's celebrated flair for journalistic detail -- these lively tales of seafaring rogues and rascals and their ill-gotten gains will captivate armchair sailors, maritime enthusiasts and any lover of adventure on the high seas. This unique work has been edited by noted scholar Manuel Schonhorn, who has also supplied a provocative Postscript to the Dover Edition offering insights into the vast popularity of this subject in today's theater, movies, TV specials, magazine articles, lavish books, and maritime exhibitions. In an added "Note on the Author and the Text," Professor Schonhorn also examines the arguments for and against Defoe's very authorship of this important book.

Dover Maritime A General History of the Pyrates, (Paperback) Author: Dover Publications ISBN: 9780486404882 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1999-01-26 Page Count: 800

6. Between Two Fires: Europe's Path in the 1930s, (Paperback)

A collection of essays on various incidents of European history that occurred in the 1930s which build up an image of Europe on the brink. Episodes are linked to illustrate this, such as the Stavinsky affair in France, the murder of Ernst Roehm, and the civil war in the red quarters of Vienna.

Between Two Fires: Europe's Path in the 1930s, (Paperback) Author: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 9780393307573 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1991-05-01 Page Count: 426

7. The Age of Reform, (Paperback)

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE - From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and preeminent historian comes a landmark in American political thought that examines the passion for progress and reform during 1890 to 1940. The Age of Reform searches out the moral and emotional motives of the reformers the myths and dreams in which they believed, and the realities with which they had to compromise.

The Age of Reform, (Paperback) Author: Vintage ISBN: 9780394700953 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1960-02-12 Page Count: 352

8. The Future of Nostalgia, (Paperback)

From an award-winning cultural theorist, the classic work on the intricate relationship between longing and belonging "A remarkable book... brilliant."―New York Times Can one be nostalgic for the home one never had? Why is it that the age of globalization is accompanied by a no less global epidemic of nostalgia? Can we know what we are nostalgic for? In the seventeenth century, Swiss doctors believed that opium, leeches, and a trek through the Alps would cure nostalgia. In 1733 a Russian commander, disgusted with the debilitating homesickness rampant among his troops, buried a soldier alive as a deterrent to nostalgia. In The Future of Nostalgia, Svetlana Boym develops a comprehensive approach to this elusive ailment. Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century.

The Future of Nostalgia, (Paperback) Author: Basic Books ISBN: 9780465007080 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2002-03-28 Page Count: 432

9. Dover Maritime: The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors (Paperback)

Panic, despair, shocking inefficiency, and a dash of heroism. Two lengthy narratives by passengers who had a thorough knowledge of the sea and by members of the ship's crew. 26 illustrations.

Why does the sinking of the Titanic hold such fascination for us? Many reasons have been advanced for the continuing fascination of this epic tragedy, but none, we think, can contribute as much to an understanding of it as the four accounts collected in this volume. All four authors were survivors, and each presents the catastrophe from his own viewpoint; the icy waters, the cries of the drowning, the confusion, and the heroism, are given an intensely personal immediacy. This volume contains, complete and unabridged, "The Loss of the S.S. Titanic," by Lawrence Beesley, and "The Truth about the Titanic," by Col. Archibald Gracie. Both are full-length books published soon after the disaster. Each has become extremely rare today. The third story in this volume, "Titanic," was written by one of the only officers to survive the catastrophe, Commander Lightoller. It includes the story of the "white-washing" inquiries into the Titanic's safety measures. The last section is a dramatic tale by the Titanic's surviving wireless operator, Harold Bride.

10. Dover Architectural The Chicago World's Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record, (Paperback)

Originally conceived to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was one of the largest (633 acres) and most influential aggregations of human talent, energy, and industry ever assembled. More than 27 million visitors entered the grounds (now Jackson Park) to marvel at the exhibits and displays housed in some 200 buildings, including those of 79 foreign governments and 38 states. Although the Fair had its share of "firsts" (original Ferris wheel, first midway, Edison's kinetoscope, etc.), its chief marvel was its architecture. It is that aspect which is emphasized in this striking photographic record. Beginning with an overview of the fair's planning and conceptual stages, Stanley Appelbaum's well-researched text then proceeds to a fascinating discussion of the personalities, regional rivalries, and intense controversy surrounding the Beaux-Arts architecture (the "White City" style) of the fair, including its enormous impact on subsequent American architecture. The contributions of such outstanding architects and firms as R. M. Hunt; McKim, Mead and White; Frederick Law Olmsted; and Peabody and Stearns are described. The book then becomes a building-by-building walking tour of the fair -- imaginatively reconstructed with the help of 128 sharply reproduced rare contemporary photographs, printed on fine coated stock, and a concise, fact-filled text. The placid basins, ponds, and Lagoon that graced the fairgrounds lend a serene aura to these priceless views of the great buildings and sights of the fair: the Beaux-Arts glories of the Administration and Agriculture Buildings; Daniel Chester French's statue of the Republic; the Columbian Fountain by Frederick MacMonnies; the Golden Door of Louis Sullivan's Transportation Building; the Peristyle; Mary Cassatt's mural in the Woman's Building; the pure classicism of the Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Industry); numerous state and foreign pavilions, and of course, the Midway -- the first separate amusement area at a World's Fair, and the reputed location of Little Egypt's celebrated danse du ventre. In the concluding section, the author touches on other memorable aspects of the fair and its times: the Panic of 1893; the Pullman Strike; famous visitors (Archduke Ferdinand, the Spanish Infanta, etc.); cultural and social congresses, and finally, the disastrous fires that ultimately destroyed many of the buildings. For social and cultural historians, Chicagoans, and anyone interested in the special magic of a world's fair, this book is a loving and nostalgic look back -- to a time bathed in the golden light of the fin-de-siècle years, when a colossal spectacle of human achievement in art, science, and industry captured the world's attention for one magic and unforgettable moment.

Dover Architectural The Chicago World's Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record, (Paperback) Author: Dover Publications ISBN: 9780486239903 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1980-06-01 Page Count: 128