10 best history books

Despite the past staying firmly where it is, that doesn’t stop great scholars from endlessly returning to excavate old terrain, to carefully study it from all angles and prod it gently with a stick. As a result, there have been some fantastic history books written in the last couple of years, from Mary Beard’s energetic, fresh look at Ancient Rome, to Andrew Roberts’ enormously impressive new study of a certain Monsieur Bonaparte. Here, we select some recently published page-turners for anyone with a thirst for knowledge.