Historical Nonfiction Authors

David McCullough

David McCullough (1933–2022) twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. 

Read any of his historical fiction titles.

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1776

John Adams

Truman

The Pioneers

The Great Bridge

Mornings on Horseback

The Path Between the Seas

The Johnstown Flood

The Wright Brothers

Brave Companions

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David Grann

David Grann is an American journalist, a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, and a best-selling author.

Grann has a reputation as a workhorse reporter which has made him a popular journalist who inspires devotion in readers that can border on the obsessive. His first book, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, was published by Doubleday in February 2009. After its first week of publication, it debuted on The New York Times bestseller list at #4. 

Read any of his historical fiction titles.

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The Wager

The Lost City of Z

Killers of the Flower Moon

The White Darkness

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Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick was born in Boston and raised in Pittsburg, PA.  In 1986, Philbrick moved to Nantucket with his wife and their two children.  In 1994, he published his first book about the island’s history, Away Off Shore, followed in 1998 by a study of the Nantucket’s native legacy, Abram’s Eyes. He was the founding director of Nantucket’s Egan Maritime Institute and is a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association. In 2000, Philbrick published the New York Times bestseller, In the Heart of the Sea, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction. 

Read any of his historical nonfiction titles.

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In The Heart of the Sea

Valiant Ambition

Mayflower

The Last Stand

Bunker Hill

In the Hurricane's Eye

Sea of Glory

Erik Larson

Erik Larson has established himself as a master of narrative non-fiction, skillfully blending history and storytelling to create compelling and immersive reading experiences. With books like “The Devil in the White City” and “In the Garden of Beasts,” Larson transports readers to different eras and offers vivid insights into historical events. Larson’s books have garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following due to his unique ability to make history come alive. He expertly combines extensive research with a flair for storytelling, creating narratives that are informative, suspenseful, and deeply human. 

Read any of his historical nonfiction titles.

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The Devil in the White City

The Demon of Unrest

In the Garden of Beasts

The Splendid and the Vile

Dead Wake

Isaac's Storm

Thunderstruck​