This year marked a transformative period in my reading life, with audiobooks becoming my primary mode of historical engagement while physical and digital formats served different purposes. Below is a complete accounting of my reading organized by format, along with recommendations for educators and history enthusiasts who might benefit from these works.

Part One: Historic Audiobook Listens

These audiobooks dominated my commute time and transformed how I engage with historical scholarship. The audio format brought authentic pronunciation to diverse historical content while allowing me to reclaim what would otherwise be lost time.

Alan Taylor Trilogy:

1. “The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies” – Taylor’s continental approach examining how the War of 1812 involved competing visions for North America’s future across multiple groups and nations.
2. “American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850” – Hemispheric examination of how the United States, Mexico, Canada, Haiti, and Caribbean colonies developed their republican experiments in dialogue and conflict.
3. “American Civil Wars: A Continental History, 1850-1873” ⭐ My favorite Alan Taylor work – Expands the “Civil War” concept to include simultaneous conflicts across North America, revealing patterns invisible when studying these events in isolation.

Hispanic Studies:

4. María Rosa Menocal – “The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain” ⭐ Favorite re-read of the year – Chronicles five centuries of multicultural achievement in Al-Andalus and its systematic destruction. The audiobook brings Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin pronunciation to life beautifully.
5. Ada Ferrer – “Cuba: An American History” – Traces 150 years of entangled Cuban-American history with balanced treatment that documents Castro’s failures while explaining revolutionary support.
6. Simon Hall – “Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys That Changed the World” – Innovative dual biography pairing Lenin, Mao, and Castro with the American journalists who brought their stories to Western audiences.
7. Podcast: “The Great Histories: The History of Spain” – Provided essential context for understanding Spanish imperial ambitions growing from the monarchy that destroyed Al-Andalus’s multicultural civilization.

Leadership Studies: 

8. Elizabeth Varon – “Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South” – Groundbreaking rehabilitation of James Longstreet showing both his tactical brilliance and post-war moral courage in supporting Reconstruction.
9. David L. Roll – “Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt’s Shadow and Remade the World”– Examines 1944-1948 transition showing how FDR’s paralysis created space for Truman’s decisive leadership.
10. David I. Kertzer – “The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler” – Devastating documentation of papal failure, showing how fear of retribution transformed the Church into obstacle rather than champion of justice.
11. Rachel Chrastil – “Bismarck’s War: The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe” – Human-centered history weaving personal accounts from both sides to examine Bismarck’s strategic genius and its costs.
12. Simon Elliott – “The African Emperor: The Life and Times of Septimius Severus” – Well-researched biography explaining the Roman world that enabled an African provincial’s rise to imperial power.

Science, Economics, and Social Analysis: 

13. Andrew Ross Sorkin – “1929: The Year That Changed Everything” – Examination of Wall Street leadership during the crash, demonstrating institutional blindness and inability to recognize systemic risk.
14. Malcolm Gladwell – “Revenge of the Tipping Point” – Analysis of how small changes create large effects, providing frameworks for understanding historical transformation.
15. John Green – “Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection” – ⭐ Favorite book of the year -Hopeful narrative about scientific collaboration and human persistence in fighting disease, offering optimistic contrast to political leadership failures.

Recommendations for Historic Audiobooks:

For High School Teachers: The Alan Taylor trilogy is essential for any educator teaching American history beyond nationalist narratives. His continental perspective helps students understand the United States as part of larger systems rather than exceptional nation developing in isolation. “American Civil Wars” in particular provides rich material for AP U.S. History courses.

For Educators Teaching Difficult History: “They Called Us Enemy” (graphic novel) and Kertzer’s “The Pope at War” offer contrasting approaches to teaching about institutional failure and moral courage. Both demonstrate how to handle difficult historical content with sophistication appropriate for advanced students.

For Professional Development: Menocal’s “The Ornament of the World” should be required reading for any educator working in diverse schools. The five centuries of successful multicultural collaboration it documents provides powerful counter-narratives to assumptions about inevitable cultural conflict.

For Understanding Leadership: The contrast between Varon’s Longstreet, Roll’s Truman, and Kertzer’s Pius XII offers masterclass in leadership during crisis. Use these together to help students analyze what enables some leaders to rise while others fail catastrophically.

Audiobook-Specific Recommendation: Alan Taylor’s works and Menocal’s “Ornament” particularly benefit from audio format due to authentic pronunciation of Native American, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin terms that enriches the historical content.

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Part Two: Fiction Audiobook Listens

After months immersed in serious historical scholarship, thriller fiction provided both escapist relief and different perspectives on how history shapes contemporary challenges.

1. “The Atlas Maneuver” ⭐ 4.5/5 stars – Highly Recommended – Cotton Malone investigates Yamashita’s Gold while uncovering cryptocurrency manipulation schemes. Exceptional explanation of fiat money, reserve currencies, and financial systems makes this educational thriller that deserves high rating.
2. “The Medici Return” – Renaissance Florence intrigue involving art authentication and political manipulation. Solid Berry thriller demonstrating his range across historical periods.
3. Clive Cussler Novels: 3. “The Titanic Secret” – Classic Cussler formula applying WWII secrets to famous maritime disaster. Delivers expected adventure without transcending genre conventions. 3/5 stars
4. “Desolation Code” – Reliable Cussler adventure following established patterns. Competent entertainment without particular distinction. 3/5 stars

Recommendations for Fiction Listens:

For Understanding Financial Systems: Berry’s “The Atlas Maneuver” stands out for making complex economic concepts accessible without sacrificing thriller pacing. Excellent for anyone wanting to understand cryptocurrency vulnerabilities and reserve currency markets through entertaining narrative.

For Pure Escapism: Cussler’s novels deliver exactly what they promise—straightforward adventure fiction perfect for commute listening when you want entertainment without demanding intense engagement.

For Sophisticated Thrillers: Berry’s commitment to historical accuracy within fictional frameworks creates trust with readers while maintaining creative freedom. His detailed author’s notes explaining factual versus invented elements model intellectual honesty.

Teaching Connection: Berry’s educational approach demonstrates how to make complex topics accessible without oversimplification—valuable model for educators explaining difficult concepts to students.

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Part Three: Physical and Digital Book Reading

Physical and digital formats served different purposes than audiobooks, with graphic novels providing both serious educational content and personal entertainment.

Graphic Novels – Educational Texts:

1. George Takei – “They Called Us Enemy” – Powerful memoir of Japanese American internment combining child perspective with adult constitutional analysis. Essential for teaching about civil liberties and wartime injustice.
2. John Lewis – “March” trilogy (re-read) – Definitive graphic memoir of the Civil Rights Movement. Second reading revealed even deeper appreciation for Powell’s artwork and Lewis’s strategic framing.

Graphic Novels – Personal Reading (Batman Project): 

3. Grant Morrison – “Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Batman Reborn” – Dick Grayson as Batman with Damian Wayne as Robin. Morrison’s lighter take explores what Batman means beyond Bruce Wayne’s specific trauma.

4. Grant Morrison – “Batman and Robin Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin” – Deepens Dick and Damian’s relationship while questioning whether heroism can be taught to someone raised as a weapon.
5. Frank Miller – “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” (hardback re-read) – Landmark 1986 work revisited in physical format. Still remarkably relevant forty years later in its commentary on media saturation and political polarization.

Graphic Novels – Personal Reading (Star Wars): 

6. “Star Wars Vol. 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger” – Rebel Alliance dealing with major losses between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Solid franchise storytelling.
7. “Star Wars Vol. 5: Yoda’s Secret Mission” – Dual timeline exploring Yoda’s Clone Wars missions while Luke discovers records in present. Competent expansion of beloved characters.

Recommendations for Physical/Digital Reading:

For Classroom Use – Essential Texts: Both “They Called Us Enemy” and “March” trilogy are must-have resources for any social studies or English language arts teacher. These aren’t supplementary materials—they’re primary texts capable of carrying significant curriculum weight.

For Teaching Visual Literacy: Morrison’s “Batman and Robin” demonstrates sophisticated sequential art storytelling perfect for teaching how images and text create meaning together. Accessible enough for high school while complex enough for genuine analysis.

For Understanding the Medium: Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” remains essential reading for anyone wanting to understand modern comics and superhero storytelling. Read in physical format to appreciate artwork at proper scale.

For Personal Enjoyment: The Batman and Star Wars comics remind us that reading for pure pleasure serves important purposes. Not all reading needs professional justification—sometimes enjoyment is reason enough.

Balance Recommendation: Maintain healthy mix of educational texts selected for classroom use and personal reading chosen purely for interest. Teachers who read only for professional development risk burnout; those who never engage with new educational materials risk stagnation.

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Trends and Observations

Several clear patterns emerged across this year’s reading that inform both my teaching practice and my approach to continued learning:

Continental and Hemispheric Perspectives: Alan Taylor’s trilogy demonstrated the power of refusing nationalist boundaries in historical analysis. His continental approach—seeing the United States as part of larger North American and Atlantic world systems—represents exactly the sophisticated thinking I want students to develop. This perspective challenges American exceptionalism while revealing patterns invisible when studying nations in isolation.

Leadership Under Crisis: Whether examining Longstreet’s moral courage, Truman’s decisive action, Pius XII’s tragic paralysis, or Bismarck’s calculated strategy, this year’s reading offered masterclass in how leaders respond when circumstances demand action. The contrast between those who chose difficult action despite personal costs (Longstreet, Truman, Lewis) and those who chose inaction despite moral costs (Pius XII, Wall Street 1929) provides powerful framework for analyzing leadership across historical periods.

The Power of Re-reading: Both Menocal’s “Ornament of the World” and Lewis’s “March” trilogy revealed new depths on second encounter. Re-reading isn’t regression but opportunity for deeper engagement with complex texts. What I missed or undervalued on first reading became clear and significant on return. This insight applies to teaching as well—students benefit from returning to important texts rather than always pushing forward to new material.

Audiobooks Transform Historical Engagement: The shift to audiobooks didn’t just change consumption method; it fundamentally altered my relationship with historical scholarship. Authentic pronunciation brought diverse historical content to life in ways silent reading couldn’t achieve. The narrative flow well-narrated history creates makes complex arguments more accessible and memorable.

Genre Balance Matters: Balancing serious historical scholarship with thriller fiction, educational graphic novels with personal entertainment reading, prevented intellectual narrowing while maintaining engagement with diverse content. The best reading life includes room for texts that challenge and educate alongside material that entertains and refreshes.

Visual Storytelling’s Unique Capabilities: Graphic novels proved capable of handling any subject matter—from constitutional law and civil rights history to superhero mythology and franchise entertainment. The medium’s combination of visual and textual storytelling creates effects impossible in pure prose, making complex content accessible without simplification.

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Looking Ahead: Next Reads

My reading queue for the coming months reflects themes that emerged from this year while branching into new areas:

Simon Winchester – “Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World” – Winchester’s examination of land ownership, property rights, and how humans have claimed and divided territory promises to complement Taylor’s continental histories by exploring the underlying question of who owns North America and by what right.

Simon Winchester – “Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories” – Winchester’s biographical approach to the Atlantic Ocean itself should provide fascinating complement to Taylor’s Atlantic world histories, examining how the ocean shaped human history and connection.

John Lewis Gaddis – “The Cold War: A New History” – After this year’s deep dive into leadership during WWII and its immediate aftermath (Truman, Pope Pius XII), Gaddis’s comprehensive Cold War history seems like natural progression, examining how the post-war world order developed and how leaders navigated decades of nuclear tension.

Ryan Holiday – “The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph” – After analyzing various historical leaders’ responses to crisis and obstacle, Holiday’s exploration of Stoic philosophy and how to transform obstacles into opportunities promises practical frameworks for applying historical lessons to contemporary challenges.

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This year in books reminded me that reading serves multiple purposes: professional development and personal pleasure, intellectual challenge and emotional relief, learning from past and imagining different futures. The best reading life resists narrow focus, embracing instead the full range of what books—in all their formats and genres—can offer. Whether listening to Alan Taylor’s continental histories during morning commute, diving into Steve Berry’s financial thrillers for evening entertainment, or analyzing John Lewis’s graphic memoir for classroom application, each book contributed to understanding how humans navigate challenges, make choices, and shape the world they inhabit.

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This is part of a collection of book and movie reviews intended to help educators. I have read/screened of of these books and at times included excerpts in my classroom over the years and highly recommend them. Keep in mind that not all classrooms are the same and every educator should evaluate school and district recommendations before using any book, movie, or podcast in classes.
To read more of my reviews follow the link.