An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

Highly Praised Books

Books described as "brilliant," "best," "recommend," and other praise words

Britain at Bay

Alan Alport

"Described as 'a very good history of the Second World War, brilliant history of the Second World War, which kicks off with Tolkien'"

7. The Lessons of History

African Trilogy

Alan Moorhead

"Described as 'a brilliant book about the war in the desert' when discussing British perceptions of Italian soldiers in WWII North Africa, quoting descriptions of Italian camps"

73. England v Italy

Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop

Bob Stanley

"Tom mentions reading Bob Stanley's 'short article on disco in his brilliant history of pop music' in preparation for the episode. This refers to Bob Stanley's comprehensive history of pop music, where he discusses disco's rise and fall."

439. Disco: Sex and Race in Seventies America

Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World

Alec Ryrie

"Described as 'a brilliant historian of Protestantism' who 'wrote a wonderful book about it' - referring to a book about Protestantism. The host references a story from this book about a servant girl named Elizabeth Andrews refusing to curtsy."

316: The First Abolitionist

Collected Short Stories

Stefan Zweig

"Hans was caught reading books by Stefan Zweig, described as 'the great Jewish writer.' The hosts specifically mention his short stories as 'fantastically readable and brilliant, perfectly formed.' This was forbidden reading under the Nazi regime."

256. Germany: The White Rose

Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

Annette Dunbach and Judd Newborn

"Dominic recommends 'a wonderful book about the Shoal family by Annette Dunbach and Judd Newborn' as 'a brilliant window into their kind of world.' This is his source for details about the Scholl family story."

256. Germany: The White Rose

Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall

Spike Milligan

"Referred to as 'a brilliant series of books about what it was like to be a not very enthusiastic fighter in these wars' - his war memoirs"

247. Monty & Patton vs. the Nazis

On Buildings

Procopius

"Explicitly mentioned as one of Procopius's works - 'he also writes a book about the monuments that Justinian raises. With a brilliant title, On Buildings.'"

220. Justinian & Theodora: The Secret History (Part 3)

Dominion

CJ Sansom

"Referenced as a brilliant counterfactual novel depicting a 'Finlandized' Britain as a Nazi satellite state, described as possibly the best counterfactual novel"

32. What if?

The Lost Books of the Odyssey

Zachary Mason

"Described as 'a wonderful collection of short stories about the Odyssey' and 'highly recommended' when discussing Athena's relationship with Odysseus."

59. The World Cup of Gods - Part 2