Recommendations based on Cleopatra: A Lifeby Stacy Schiff

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

    by Robert K. Massie
    A biography of Catherine the Great, the powerful and controversial Empress of Russia, who transformed her country and left a lasting legacy.

    “[A] tale of power, perseverance and passion . . . a great story in the hands of a master storyteller.”—,The Wall Street Journal, The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

    by Candice Millard
    The riveting story of the assassination of President Garfield, a tragedy of medical science and mistake.

    James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Six Wives of Henry VIII

    by Alison Weir
    A historical account of the tumultuous lives of Henry VIII's six wives, their political and religious struggles.

    The tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII of England (1509-1547) is one of the most fascinating in all history, not least for his marriage to six extraordinary women. In this ... (Goodreads)

  4. Nicholas and Alexandra

    by Robert K. Massie
    An epic saga about the last Tsar of Russia and the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

    The story of the love that ended an empire. In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Life of Elizabeth I

    by Alison Weir
    Biography of the influential 16th-century English queen, detailing her rise to power and rule.

    NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER Perhaps the most influential sovereign England has ever known, Queen Elizabeth I remained an extremely private person throughout her reign, keeping her own counsel and ... (Goodreads)

  6. John Adams

    by David McCullough
    Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.

    The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)

  7. Zeitoun

    by Dave Eggers
    A man's struggle to survive and reunite with his family amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

    Abdulrahman Zeitoun grew up in Syria. After a few years of apprenticeship in the Syrian port city of Jableh , Zeitoun spent twenty years working at sea as a muscleman, engineer and fisherman. During ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Washington: A Life

    by Ron Chernow
    Intimate biography of George Washington, the nation's first president.

    A gripping portrait of the first president of the United States from the author of, Alexander Hamilton, the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical., Celebrated biographer Ron ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

    by Alison Weir
    A detailed account of the events leading to the execution of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.

    The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in May 1536 was unprecedented in English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

    by Tom Reiss
    Epic biography of the original Count of Monte Cristo, a forgotten black hero of the French Revolution.

    Here is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero who inspired such classics as The Count of Monte ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Witches: Salem, 1692

    by Stacy Schiff
    A detailed account of the Salem witch trials, exploring the social, political, and religious factors that led to the hysteria and persecution of innocent people.

    The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of, Cleopatra, the #1 national bestseller, unpacks the mystery of the Salem Witch Trials. It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

    by Erik Larson
    Story of the 1900 Galveston hurricane, and one man's desperate struggle to save his city.

    September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

    by Siddhartha Mukherjee
    A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.

    An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

    by Stephen Greenblatt
    Uncovering the history of an ancient philosophical poem, and its impact on the modern world.

    One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand ... (Goodreads)

  15. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

    by Bill Bryson
    A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.

    The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

    by Nathaniel Philbrick
    A gripping account of the legendary battle between General Custer and the Lakota Sioux.

    "An engrossing and tautly written account of a critical chapter in American history." —,Los Angeles Times, Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Hurricane's Eye , Pulitzer Prize finalist Mayflower , ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

    by Erik Larson
    A family's struggle to cope with the darkness of Nazi Germany, as seen through one man's courage.

    The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

    by David McCullough
    Story of the American artists, writers, scientists, and others who flocked to Paris in the 19th century, searching for inspiration and creativity.

    The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring - and until now, untold - story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England

    by Dan Jones
    A sweeping account of the tumultuous reigns of England's Plantagenet kings and queens.

    The first Plantagenet king inherited a blood-soaked kingdom from the Normans and transformed it into an empire stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic history, Dan Jones ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Rape of Nanking

    by Iris Chang
    A harrowing account of the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the Nanking Massacre in 1937.

    In December 1937, the Japanese army invaded the ancient city of Nanking, systematically raping, torturing, and murdering more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. This book tells the story from three ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

    by Doris Kearns Goodwin
    A historical account of the friendship and eventual falling out between Roosevelt and Taft, set against the backdrop of the Progressive Era and the rise of investigative journalism.

    Doris Kearns Goodwin, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Team of Rivals , captures the Progressive Era through the story of the broken friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard ... (Goodreads)

  22. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

    by Erik Larson
    Exploration of Lusitania's fateful voyage and its lasting impact on World War I.

    #1 New York Times Bestseller,From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the, Lusitania, On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

    by Nathaniel Philbrick
    Journey of the Pilgrims from England to America, exploring their struggles and successes.

    HOW DID AMERICA BEGIN? This simple question launches acclaimed author Nathaniel Philbrick on an extraordinary journey to understand the truth behind our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

    by David Grann
    Exploring the mysteries of a long-lost Amazonian civilization and an adventurer's obsessive quest to uncover its secrets.

    A grand mystery reaching back centuries. A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve ... (Goodreads)

  25. Marie Antoinette: The Journey

    by Antonia Fraser
    A biography of Marie Antoinette, from her childhood in Austria to her reign as Queen of France and eventual execution during the French Revolution.

    Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine méchante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; ... (Goodreads)

  26. 1776

    by David McCullough
    A riveting account of the events leading up to and during the American Revolution.

    In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American ... (Goodreads)

  27. Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power

    by Rachel Maddow
    Investigation of the US military's unchecked growth and its consequences for American democracy.

    "One of my favorite ideas is, never to keep an unnecessary soldier," Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1792. Neither Jefferson nor the other Found­ers could ever have envisioned the modern national security ... (Goodreads)

  28. Einstein: His Life and Universe

    by Walter Isaacson
    A comprehensive biography of Albert Einstein, exploring his personal life, scientific achievements, and impact on the world.

    Einstein was a rebel and nonconformist from boyhood days, and these character traits drove both his life and his science. In this narrative, Walter Isaacson explains how his mind worked and the ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Prince

    by Niccolò Machiavelli
    A timeless political treatise on the art of acquiring and maintaining power.

    Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the ... (Goodreads)

  30. My Beloved World

    by Sonia Sotomayor
    Autobiographical account of a Latina's path to the Supreme Court, overcoming personal and systemic obstacles.

    The first Latinx (Puerto Rican) and third woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting ... (Goodreads)