Books about History by various authors

c.2025, various publishers, $27.99-$35, various page counts

Sometimes, you just need to get away.

You’ve had enough of this world for a while and you need an escape – but you want something that’s meaty, something that means something. Your brain isn’t up for fantasy, but you crave a new world to explore. So, now’s the time to explore these great history books...

For the lover of the High Seas, “Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal” by Samuel Marquis (Diversion Books, $34.99) is an adventurous read. 

Written by the pirate’s great-grandson-times-nine, this book puts to rest the mythology that surrounds Kidd – and there’s a lot of it. Kidd, as it turns out, was not the villain history paints him as, and this book nicely swashes your buckle, too.

Fans of books about the Old West are in luck this summer: there are two great books that’ll please you.

First, “The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild” by Bryan Burrough (Penguin Press, $35) is about the outlaws and lawmen that come to mind when you think of the West. And if that’s not enough, it’s also about the guns they used, cattle and cowboys, Mexicans and Native Americans, and more. Turn off your daily ration of TV Westerns and read this.

Or take your enjoyment a little wider with “The Undiscovered Country” by Paul Andrew Hutton (Dutton, $35), a book that takes you beyond Texas, from Pennsylvania to the Great Plains to Montana and California. Hutton tells the story through seven lives and many decades, and you won’t be sorry if you tackle this book, too.

If your interests lie a little more east, look for “Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of The Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America” by Scott Ellsworth (Dutton, $32).  As the last months of the Civil War unfolded, both sides scrambled to be the victor and the war escalated. This book takes you there, alongside not just Lincoln but with generals, runaway slaves, spies, and an assassin. This is an immensely enjoyable book that pulls in a series of peripheral figures to give readers a different look at the War.

And finally, if you like to read books that present a unique side of history, one that you don’t often think about, look for “The Roma: A Traveling History” by Madeline Potter (Harper, $27.99). Through the decades, Romani people have had to deal with labels, racism, and a lot of unfair mythology. This book travels through history from the fifteenth century to now, across many continents and through the eyes of an author who tells a story that’s personal and rumor-busting.

Not enough history for you? Then head to your local bookstore or library and ask for more of this, different that, and something you’ve never read about before. And if you don’t know what you’re looking for, the helpers there will know what to offer because finding your next good book is what they do best. So, buckle up, grab a great history book, and go explore.