The English Teacher Reflects: Favorite Books on History

Although I am by trade a Theatre Director and a Brit. Lit. Teacher, I also am a devout reader of history. Partly it's because I am a contextualist when it comes to teaching literature - I don't believe one can understand a literary work unless one has some understanding of the circumstances under which the work was created. Most of the ancient and medieval histories on the list are there for that reason. Partly, however, it's because my father was an amateur historian who had a knack for turning history into stories. Since he was a WWII veteran ( as was my mother ), he made that period come alive for me, and I have been fascinated by it ever since. Both he and my mother took part in The Bulge, so that has been a particular fascination for me. The Civil War was my father's major interest, and it became mine as well. Anyway, here are 100 personal favorites; I arbitrarily omitted anything more recent than Watergate, figuring 50 years ago was enough to make it history.