8 Fascinating New History Books to Read in 2023

The 1943 meeting of the “Big Three” political leaders in Tehran, Iran established key strategies that ultimately lead to the Allied Powers’ victory over Nazi Germany. Behind the scenes, however, the Nazis caught wind of this meeting and began developing a deadly plot to assassinate FDR, Stalin, and Churchill. If successful, this plot would have changed the course of history as we know it. 

Discover the details behind this conspiracy in Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch’s captivating page turner, which recounts a shocking plot involving body doubles and dangerous rescues. 

One of the most hotly debated topics in America is gun control and reform. In this close look at the country’s long history of gun violence, from the colonial prehistory of the Republic to the tragic mass shootings of today, Paul Auster doesn’t shy away from asking the hard questions. Auster brings to light shocking statistics on gun violence in the US, and forces the reader to consider why gun-related deaths are significantly higher in America than in any other Western country.

The Midnight Kingdom leaves no stone unturned as it delves into centuries’ worth of colonization and oppression. Through diligent research into the darkest corners of our nation’s history, Jared Yates Sexton paints a critical look at the modern world and spotlights the role of white supremacy in getting here. This book presents America as being at the heart of a crossroads between falling into previous patterns or carving out a new, radically different future.

For much of human history, we have searched for a way to reach peace and abundance—a way to reach paradise. Pico Iyer combines history with his own experiences from traveling the world for almost 50 years in order to illuminate myths about utopia. The Half Known Life seeks to answer questions about religion’s presence in the search for paradise, and whether paradise can exist outside of the afterlife. Following Iyer’s travels paints a beautiful and captivating story on spirituality and religious history.

Uncover lesser-known information about one of the most famed women in the history of Christianity: Mary Magdalene, companion and follower of Jesus. Veering away from previous one-dimensional, sanitized views of the Magdalene, this book explores her less chaste “identities” as a sex worker, demoniac, and erotic figure. As the first major work on Mary Magdalene in over 30 years, this book brings a modern take on this key religious and historical figure, and adds important nuance to her legacy.

In Iron and Blood, Peter Wilson questions the common belief that Germany possessed a uniquely aggressive way of waging war by expanding the point of view from Germany, to all German-speaking peoples within the last 500 years. By revealing the implications of consolidating the Holy Roman Empire and exposing Austria’s position as an instigator of military aggression, Wilson challenges misconceptions about the rise of Germany’s military and argues that even today, Germany's strategic position is still misunderstood.

Black history is finally being acknowledged for its massive impact on global history and modern advancements. However, much of Black history has been retold through white perspectives, leaving out important details pertaining to Black culture and dampening the voices of those who lived through the events. The voices of Black storytellers come alive in this book, which restores the missing emotion, culture, and vivacity into critical moments in Black history.

Set back by the Challenger’s explosion and the subsequent grounding of the US space shuttle program, America regained traction in the Cold War when three graduate students and their professor collaborated with the founder of a small startup to get American payloads aboard the Soviet space station MR.

After five years of hard work—and communicating with US government officials to get the plan approved behind the backs of NASA and Congress—February of 1988 saw the plan officially put into action. As one of the graduate students himself, Barry L. Stoddard reveals the intellect, humor, and adventure that went into getting the first American payloads and experiments on Soviet rockets.