Best History Books of 2023

History comes to life in the Barnes & Noble list of the Best History Books of 2023! From long-awaited biographies such as King: A Life - depicting the life of influential minister and monumental civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - to natural history books such as Blood Memory - the poignant and epic story of near mass extinction and unlikely comeback of the American Buffalo. The often-overlooked stories of marginalized groups come to the forefront in the Rediscovery of America and Black AF History, which offer hard-hitting looks into Native American & Black history, respectively. One of the best and most widely-known classicists, Mary Beard, regales us with a fantastic exploration of quotidian life in Roman times in Emperor of Rome. War buffs will love November 1942, which examines the most important month in WWII. Pore over America’s dark past in A Fever in the Heartland, a historical thriller which explores the KKK’s plot to take over America at the height of their influence. No matter what your historical passion, there is something for everyone from military history to natural history (and everything in between) in the Best History Books of the Year 2023!

Set sail on a high seas adventure with Book of the Year Finalist, The Wager, an 18th century real life "Lord of the Flies" intrigue from David Grann, the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and the Barnes & Noble Author of 2023. Rousing and downright savage, it is the fateful tale of a shipwreck, the subsequent descent into madness and the gripping courtroom drama that followed.

View art history in a whole new light thanks to The Story of Art Without Men, a reframing of past events with the focal point shifted on the other half. Glittering and astonishing, take a comprehensive glance at previously overlooked female artists from the Renaissance to the present day and have your eyes opened to a whole new side of art history.

Mary Beard gives us a bird’s eye view on the sexual, social and political world of Ancient Rome in Emperor of Rome. A foremost scholar in Roman History, Beard takes us inside the arena of the emperors starting with Caesar, covering 30 emperors and spanning nearly three centuries, to give us a complete look into what Rome was like during its most prosperous and powerful time.

American History unfolds in full color in Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. Acclaimed columnist and political commentator, Michael Harriot, gifts us with a meticulously researched and complete portrayal of U.S. History – the version they left out of the history books. Sprinkled with a dash of humor and devoid of white sugarcoating, this history is Black AF.

Seasoned historians and new history buffs alike will rejoice in our complete selection of the popular and bestselling history books at Barnes & Noble. We have the best history books on featured wars such as World War II, the U.S. Civil War & American Revolution in our Military History section. Browse our monthly non-fiction picks, bookseller favorites and new releases and start reading now!