Understanding humans
2. 
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
by:
Dava Sobel
3.99 avg rating — 75,022 ratings 
4. 
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by:
Jared Diamond
4.04 avg rating — 445,033 ratings 5. 
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
by:
Bart D. Ehrman
3.93 avg rating — 19,884 ratings 
7. 
How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America 4.31 avg rating — 4,662 ratings
11. 
White Robe, Black Robe: Pope Leo X, Martin Luther, and the Birth of the Reformation 4.04 avg rating — 126 ratings
12. 
A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization
by:
Jonathan Kirsch
3.63 avg rating — 449 ratings 12. 
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
by:
Maya Angelou
4.30 avg rating — 568,942 ratings 
14. 
The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan
by:
Jenny Nordberg
4.11 avg rating — 13,993 ratings 16. 
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by:
Ibram X. Kendi
4.53 avg rating — 37,882 ratings 16. 
The Five: The Lives of Jack the Ripper's Women
by:
Hallie Rubenhold
4.09 avg rating — 64,220 ratings 
18. 
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
by:
Adam Hochschild
4.19 avg rating — 66,211 ratings 20. 
Where God Was Born: A Daring Adventure Through the Bible's Greatest Stories
by:
Bruce Feiler
3.81 avg rating — 828 ratings 21. 
Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses
by:
Bruce Feiler
3.88 avg rating — 3,625 ratings 
23. 
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America
by:
Nancy Isenberg
3.76 avg rating — 24,555 ratings 
25. 
Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity 3.39 avg rating — 1,032 ratings
27. 
One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America
by:
Kevin M. Kruse
3.96 avg rating — 2,552 ratings 28. 
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by:
Naomi Klein
4.29 avg rating — 51,932 ratings 
31. 
Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image
by:
Toby Lester
3.64 avg rating — 1,166 ratings 32. 
Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations
by:
Nigel Cliff
4.13 avg rating — 1,300 ratings 33. 
34. 
A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
by:
Karen Armstrong
3.89 avg rating — 51,733 ratings 35. 
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe 4.18 avg rating — 18,438 ratings
36. 
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
by:
Jack Weatherford
4.06 avg rating — 81,003 ratings 37. 
