Greetings!
I recommend all the books on this list. While all of them are non-fiction volumes for our own real-world, besides most of them being excellent reading, and fun, too!--they will provide a starting point with a plethora of knowledge and inspiration for campaigns, stories, characters, religions, spirituality, and world-building for many different styles of campaigns.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
THE SHARK LIBRARY
The SHARK Library list is currently updated to 125 volumes.
Medieval History(31 Books Listed)
A History of The Vikings; Jones, Gwyn. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); 504 pages.
Medieval Technology and Social Change; White, Jr, Lynn. (New York/London/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964); 194 pages.
The Medieval Military Tradition: State, Society, and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Europe; Ayton, Andrew and J.L. Price, Eds. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1998); 208 pages.
Witchcraft In Europe: 400-1700 A Documentary History, Second Edition; Kors, Alan Charles and Edward Peters, Eds. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001); 451 pages.
Fighting Techniques of The Medieval World AD 500-AD 1500: Equipment, Combat Skills, And Tactics; Bennett, Matthew; Bradbury, Devries, Dickie and Jestice; (New York: St. Martins Press/Amber Books, 2005); 256 pages.
1066: The Hidden History of The Bayeux Tapestry; Bridgeford, Andrew. (New York: Walker and Company, 2005); 354 pages.
The Bayeux Tapestry; Musset, Lucian. (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005); 266 pages.
Crusades; Madden, F. Thomas, ed. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005); 224 pages.
The Crusades: A History; Riley-Smith, Jonathan. (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 2005); 353 pages.
The First Crusade; Asbridge, Thomas. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); 408 pages.
The Oxford Illustrated History of The Crusades; Riley-Smith, Jonathan. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); 436 pages.
Historical Atlas of the Crusades; Konstam, Angus. (London: Mercury Books/Thalamus Publishing, 2004); 191 pages.
The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims; Bostom, Andrew G. Ed. (Amherst/New York: Prometheus Books, 2005); 759 pages.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval England; Saul, Nigel. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); 308 pages.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe; Holmes, George, Ed. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); 398 pages.
Dungeon, Fire, & Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades; Robinson, J. John. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1991); 494 pages.
A History of Engineering in Classical and Medieval Times: Important Technological Achievements, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450; Hill, Donald. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1984); 263 pages.
Daily Life in Medieval Times: Life in a Medieval Castle, Life in a Medieval City, and Life in a Medieval Village; Gies, Frances and Joseph. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1990); 397 pages.
Atlas of the Medieval World; McKitterick, Rosamond. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); 304 pages.
The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success; Stark, Rodney. (New York: Random House, 2005); 281 pages.
The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason; Freeman, Charles. (New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 2002); 432 pages.
Medieval Europe: A Short History; Bennett, M. Judith and C. Warren Hollister. (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006); 383 pages.
The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present—A Narrative History; Fraser, Rebecca. (New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005); 829 pages.
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance; Manchester, William. (Boston/New York/London: Back Bay Books, 1993); 322 pages.
Readings In Medieval History, Volume I: The Early Middle Ages, Third Edition; Geary, Patrick J. Ed. (New York: Broadview Press, 2003); 352 pages.
Readings In Medieval History, Volume II: The Later Middle Ages, Third Edition; Geary, Patrick J. Ed. (New York: Broadview Press, 2003); 520 pages.
The Byzantines; Cavallo, Guglielmo, Ed. (Chicago/London: The University of Chicago Press, 1992); 293 pages.
The Oxford History of Byzantium; Mango, Cyril, Ed. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2002); 334 pages.
Theodora: Empress of Byzantium; Cesaretti, Paolo. (New York: Magowan Publishing, 2004); 400 pages.
A Chronicle History of Knights; Hopkins, Andrea. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2004); 191 pages.
Medieval Worlds: A Sourcebook; Anderson, Roberta and Dominic Aidan Bellenger, Eds. (London/New York: Routledge, 2003); 328 pages.
Asian History(8 Books Listed)
A New History of India: Seventh Edition; Wolpert, Stanley. (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004); 530 pages.
India: A History; Keay, John. (New York: Grove Press, 2000); 576 pages.
All Under Heaven: A Complete History of China; Kruger, Rayne. (Southern Gate/Chichester/West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons, 2004); 422 pages.
1421: The Year China Discovered America; Menzies, Gavin. (New York: Harper Collins, 2003); 649 pages.
Ancient China; Fitzgerald, C.P. (New York: American Heritage/iBooks, 2006); 298 pages.
China: Empire and Civilization; Shaughnessy, Edward L. Ed. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); 256 pages.
The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years In The Heart of Asia; Wood, Frances. (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002); 270 pages.
The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia; Grousset, Rene. (New Brunswick/New Jersey/London: Rutgers University Press, 2002); 687 pages.
Middle Eastern/Near Eastern History
(11 Books Listed)
Chronicle of The Pharaohs: A Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt; Clayton, Peter A. (New York/London: Thames & Hudson, 2001); 224 pages.
The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt; Manley, Bill, Ed. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003); 304 pages.
Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Reference to the Myths, Religions, Pyramids and Temples of the Land of the Pharaohs; Oakes, Lorna and Lucia Gahlin. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003); 512 pages.
Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia; Hunt, Norman Bancroft. (New York: Checkmark Books/Thalamus Publishing, 2004); 190 pages.
Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?; Dever, William G. (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003); 255 pages.
Battles of The Bible: A Military History of Ancient Israel; Herzog, Chaim and Mordechai Gichon. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1997); 320 pages.
The Babylonians: An Introduction; Leick, Gwendolyn. (London/New York: Routledge, 2003); 182 pages.
God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism; Kirsch, Jonathan. (New York: Viking Compass, 2004); 336 pages.
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth; Her Stories and Hymns From Sumer; Wolkstein, Diane, and Samuel Noah Kramer. (New York: Harper & Row, 1983); 227 pages.
The Ancient Gods; James, E.O. (Edison: Castle Books, 2004); 359 pages.
Phoenicians: Lebanon’s Epic Heritage; Holst, Sanford. (Los Angeles: Cambridge and Boston Press, 2005); 374 pages.
General History(23 Books Listed)
Quest For The Past; Kramer, Ann and Lindy Newton, Eds. (New York: Reader’s Digest Association, 1984); 320 pages.
Warfare In The Classical World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in the Ancient Civilizations of Greece and Rome; Warry, John. (London: Salamander Books, 1980); 224 pages.
Roots of Strategy: The 5 Greatest Military Classics of All Time; Sun Tzu, Vegetius, De Saxe, Frederick The Great, and Napoleon; Phillips, T.R. Ed. (New York: MJF Books, 1940); 448 pages.
The Myth of The Goddess: Evolution of an Image; Baring, Anne, and Jules Cashford. (New York: Penguin Group, 1993); 782 pages.
The Warrior Queens: The Legends and Lives of the Women Who Have Led Their Nations in War; Fraser, Antonia. (New York: Vintage Books, 1994); 383 pages.
Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed; Diamond, Jared. (New York: Viking, 2005); 575 pages.
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies; Diamond, Jared. (New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999); 494 pages.
The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, How Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny; Hanson, Victor Davis. (New York: Anchor Books, 1999); 480 pages.
Ripples of Battle: How Wars of the Past Still Determine How We Fight, How We Live, and How We Think; Hanson, Victor Davis. (New York: Doubleday, 2003); 278 pages.
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power; Hanson, Victor Davis. (New York: Anchor Books, 2002); 506 pages.
Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud; Watson, Peter. (New York: Harper Collins, 2005); 822 pages.
Ideas That Changed The World; Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. (London/New York/Melbourne/Munich/Delhi: DK Publishing, 2003); 400 pages.
Druids: Their Origins and History; Spence, Lewis. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1949); 199 pages.
The Great Human Diasporas: The History of Diversity and Evolution; Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca, and Francesco Cavalli-Sforza. (New York: Basic Books/Perseus Books, 1995); 300 pages.
Timelines of World History; Teeple, John B. (London/New York/Munich/Melbourne/Delhi: DK Publishing, 2002); 666 pages.
In Search of Myths & Heroes: Exploring Four Epic Legends of the World; Wood, Michael. (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005); 272 pages.
The Encyclopedia of Mythology: Norse, Classical, Celtic; Cotterell, Arthur. (London: Hermes House, 1996); 256 pages.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology; Cotterell, Arthur and Rachel Storm. (London: Hermes House, 2005); 512 pages.
Ancient Civilizations: The Illustrated Guide To Belief, Mythology and Art; Woolf, Greg, Ed. (London: Duncan Baird Publsihers, 2005); 688 pages.
Panorama of The Classical World; Spivey, Nigel and Michael Squire. (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004); 368 pages.
The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World; Fagan, Brian M. Ed. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2004); 304 pages.
Egypt, Greece And Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean, Second Edition; Freeman, Charles. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2004); 714 pages.
A History of The Ancient World, Fourth Edition; Starr, Chester G. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1991); 742 pages.
History of Ancient Greece(20 Books Listed)
Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History; Pomeroy, Sarah B. and Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999); 512 pages.
The Histories; Herodotus. (London: Penguin Books, 2003); 716 pages.
History of The Peloponnesian War; Thucydides. (London: Penguin Books, 1972); 648 pages.
The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives; Plutarch. (London: Penguin Books, 1960); 318 pages.
The Life of Alexander The Great; Plutarch. (New York: Modern Library, 2004); 72 pages.
The Campaigns of Alexander; Arrian. (London: Penguin Books, 1971); 430 pages.
The Peloponnesian War; Kagan, Donald. (London: Penguin Books, 2003); 511 pages.
The Hellenistic World; Walbank, F.W. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992); 288 pages.
The World of Odysseus; Finley, M.I. (New York: New York Review Books, 2002); 205 pages.
The Greeks At War: From Athens To Alexander; Souza, Philip de, Waldemar Heckel and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2004); 285 pages.
Ancient Greece; Hale, William Harlan. (New York: iBooks, 2001); 254 pages.
Alexander The Great; Cartledge, Paul. (Woodstock/New York: The Overlook Press, 2004); 368 pages.
The Spartans: The World of The Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece; Cartledge, Paul. (New York: Vintage Books, 2003); 306 pages.
In The Footsteps of Alexander The Great; Wood, Michael. (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001); 256 pages.
In Search of The Trojan War; Wood, Michael. (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998); 288 pages.
Alexander The Great: Son of The Gods; Fildes, Alan and Joann Fletcher. (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002); 176 pages.
History of Ancient Greece; Harris, Nathaniel. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2004); 192 pages.
The Iliad and The Odyssey: Troy; Demont, Paul. (London: Octopus Publishing, 2004); 254 pages.
A War Like No Other: How The Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War; Hanson, Victor Davis. (New York: Random House, 2005); 397 pages.
The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece, Second Edition; Hanson, Victor Davis. (Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 1989); 271 pages.
History of Ancient Rome(32 Books Listed)
The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146 BC; Goldsworthy, Adrian. (London: Cassell, 2003); 412 pages.
The Early History of Rome; Livy. (London: Penguin Books, 1971); 487 pages.
Fall of The Roman Republic; Plutarch. (London: Penguin Books, 1972); 361 pages.
Plutarch’s Lives, Volume One; Clough, Arthur Hugh, Ed. (New York: Modern Library, 2001); 766 pages.
Plutarch’s Lives, Volume Two; Clough, Arthur Hugh, Ed. (New York: Modern Library, 2001); 706 pages.
The Rise of the Roman Empire; Polybius. (London: Penguin Books, 1979); 574 pages.
Ancient Rome: An Introductory History; Zoch, Paul A. (Norman: Oklahoma University Press, 1998); 300 pages.
Following Hadrian: A Second-Century Journey Through The Roman Empire; Speller, Elizabeth. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2003); 328 pages.
A History of the Roman People, Fourth Edition; Ward, Allen M, Fritz M. Heichelheim, and Cedric A. Yeo; (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003); 579 pages.
The Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire; Gibbon, Edward. (New York: The Modern Library, 2003); 1258 pages.
The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome; Parenti, Michael. (New York/London: The New Press, 2003); 276 pages.
The History and Conquests of Ancient Rome: An Illustrated military and political chronicle of the world’s greatest empire: its leaders and generals, wars and campaigns; Rodgers, Nigel and Hazel Dodge. (London: Hermes House, 2005); 256 pages.
History of Ancient Rome; Harris, Nathaniel. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2004); 192 pages.
Roman Britain; Bedoyere, Guy De. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2006); 288 pages.
The Complete Roman Army; Goldsworthy, Adrian. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003); 224 pages.
Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome From Romulus To Augustus; Matyszak, Philip. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003); 240 pages.
Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome; Scarre, Chris. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2002); 240 pages.
A Dictionary of the Roman Empire; Bunson, Matthew. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); 494 pages.
Cannae: The Experience of Battle In The Second Punic War; Daly, Gregory. (London/New York: Routledge, 2003); 253 pages.
The Antonines: The Roman Empire In Transition; Grant, Michael. (London/New York: Routledge, 1996); 210 pages.
Rome At War: Caesar and His Legacy; Gilliver, Kate, Adrian Goldsworthy, and Michael Whitby. (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2005); 288 pages.
Roman Warfare; Goldsworthy, Adrian. (New York: Harper Collins, 2005); 240 pages.
The Punic Wars; Goldsworthy, Adrian. (London: Cassell, 2000); 412 pages.
In The Name of Rome: The Men Who Won The Roman Empire; Goldsworthy, Adrian. (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003); 415 pages.
The Middle East Under Rome; Sartre, Maurice. (London/Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005); 665 pages.
Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle In Classical Antiquity; Lendon, J.E. (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 2005); 468 pages.
The Last Frontier: The Roman Invasions of Scotland; Kamm, Anthony. (Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, 2004); 192 pages.
Ancient Rome; Payne, Robert. (New York: iBooks, 2001); 278 pages.
The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal To Attila The Hun; Matyszak, Philip. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2004); 296 pages.
The Fall of The Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians; Heather, Peter. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2006); 572 pages.
The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization; Ward-Perkins, Bryan. (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); 239 pages.
The Provinces of The Roman Empire, Two Volumes; Mommsen, Theodor. (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1909, 1996); Volume One 367 pages; Volume Two 374 pages.
