10 Terrific True Stories From Throughout History

	Title	Author	Subject	More by the Author
1.	When Women Ruled the World	Kara Cooney	Six Queens of Ancient Egypt	The Woman Who Would Be King
2.	The Invention of Nature	Andrea Wulf	Alexander von Humboldt	Founding Gardeners
3.	Fantasyland	Kurt Andersen	American History	True Believers
4.	Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy	Karen Abbott	Four Women Undercover in the Civil War	American Rose
5.	Last Hope Island	Lynne Olson	World War II	Citizens of London
6.	Sons and Soldiers	Bruce Henderson	World War II	Hero Found
7.	Who We Be	Jeff Chang	Race in America	Can't Stop Won't Stop
8.	The Last Castle	Denise Kiernan	The Biltmore Estate	The Girls of Atomic City
9.	Lost in Shangri-La	Mitchell Zuckoff	World War II	Frozen in Time
10.	The Silk Roads	Peter Frankopan	The History of the World	The First Crusade

5 Amazing People Who Changed History

Claudette Colvin: Teenage civil rights activist
Rosalind Franklin: Made ground-breaking discoveries about DNA
Nelson Mandela: Peace activist and President of South Africa
Indira Gandhi: First female prime minister of India
Alexander Hamilton: Profoundly shaped America's financial system

What is History For?

5 Fantastic Historical Films

Literature isn't the only medium that explores past settings. There are plenty of amazing films that tackle different eras as well. Here are five examples that all history fans and cinephiles should watch:

In Depth

One of the best ways to prepare for the future is to learn from events in the past. That's why studying history is so important. And with the right book, it can be fun and entertaining as well. With that in mind, we have selected ten of the most remarkable true stories from throughout history. In no particular order, here are our top picks.

#1 on our list is Kara Cooney's "When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt." This is an interesting tale of women who were in power during ancient times. It also delves into the reasons why men have dominated society throughout history. This fascinating read will take you into the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, who reigned supreme thousands of years ago in Egypt, including the famous Cleopatra.

At #2 is "The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World." This is an exciting piece about an explorer's daring expeditions to different places, including Russia, South America, and the highest peaks of the Himalayas. Author Andrea Wulf talks about the life of Humboldt, whose primary insight is that the Earth is an interconnected organism that can be terribly damaged by humanity's abusive actions. His work is put into the spotlight, showing the fundamental ways in which he formed our modern understanding of the natural world.

Author Andrea Wulf talks about the life of Humboldt, whose primary insight is that the Earth is an interconnected organism that can be terribly damaged by humanity's abusive actions.

Next, at #3 is "Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History." In the pages, Kurt Andersen traces five hundred years of America's cultural history. He explores how Americans got to their current society, where reason and rational thinking are replaced by gut feelings and fake news. The author explains why it is hard for us to distinguish the line between illusion and reality.

At #4 is "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War." This volume by Karen Abbott weaves the lives of four remarkable and courageous women into the complex history of the Civil War. Distinct stories of a socialite, a farm girl, an abolitionist, and a widow are presented. These four heroic women who became spies, are put together into one tale of daring undercover adventures during tumultuous years of the war.

At the #5 spot is "Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War." The book delves into the story of the leaders and citizens of the countries that were overrun by the Nazis. They fled to London in a desperate struggle to continue their fight. There, they took refuge, but also carefully planned to take back their lands from Hitler. Written by Lynne Olson, this is an epic narrative of how the British and their European guests joined forces to combat a powerful military regime.

They fled to London in a desperate struggle to continue their fight.

Following at #6 is "Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler." Bruce Henderson shares the story of six young Jewish men who managed to escape the Nazis and immigrate to America, leaving their families behind. These lads joined the U.S. Army and were sent to Maryland to undergo intensive training. They were later named Ritchie Boys after the camp they trained in. Their contributions to the war were invaluable as they mustered vital information of Nazi strategy and movements from the prisoners.

At #7 is "Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post-Civil Rights America." Here, award-winning author Jeff Chang examines the greatest social rift in America, from the height of the civil rights period to the colorization and conflict of the Obama years. Culture wars never ceased, even after the country elected its first African-American president. This is an extensive review of how the American people have responded to increasing racial and demographic diversity.

#8 on the list is "The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home." In the pages, Denise Kiernan takes us back into the Gilded Age, an era of untold wealth. It features the life of George Washington Vanderbilt II who built the largest and grandest home in America. The magnificent Biltmore estate has a 175,000-square-foot chateau built on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness. The book also tells the story of Vanderbilt's devoted wife who endured everything to secure her husband's legacy.

In the pages, Denise Kiernan takes us back into the Gilded Age, an era of untold wealth.

Next at #9 is "Lost in Shangri-La" by bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff. This is an extraordinary real life adventure of three survivors in a set of twenty-four officers and enlisted men and women who boarded a military plane for a sightseeing trip. The aircraft crashed in "Shangri-La," a mysterious valley in Papua New Guinea. This piece narrates the unimaginable struggles of the survivors and the efforts of the paratroopers who took them out of the cannibal-infested mountain valley they landed in during the crash.

Finally, at #10 is "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World." It offers an alternative view of ancient events, attempting to change our perceptions of the past. Author Peter Frankopan asserts that as people traveled and traded on the Silk Road, early scholars from the East were more advanced than their Western counterparts. The book contemplates the richness of the Eastern culture and their natural resources.