Born A Crime

I really enjoyed reading Trevor Noah's book Born A Crime. The book recounts Noah’s unconventional upbringing in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. The title refers to the literal crime of his existence: as the son of a Black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father, his birth violated the Immorality Act, which forbade interracial relationships.

Black Jacobins

C.L.R. James’s The Black Jacobins (1938) is one of the most powerful history books ever written. It tells the story of the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolt in history, which overthrew French colonial rule and created the independent nation of Haiti in 1804.

The Guns of August

Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August (1962, Pulitzer Prize winner) examines the first thirty days of World War I, from the outbreak to the Battle of the Marne. The book is highly detailed, covering troop movements, orders, and decisions with precision.