Good Reads for AP Euro
Looking for some fun books that will also introduce you to the content in the AP European History exam? Look no further than Circa’s list of AP Euro reads!
Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956
This riveting read explores the history of how the Soviet Union came to dominate eastern Europe in the years at the close of World War II. It describes how states across central Europe fell under Soviet dominion and how new communist governments were set up in the early postwar years.
James Barr, A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948
This book is about the politics and power of Europe beyond the continent. A Line in the Sand traces the conflict between France and Britain—allies in other aspects at this time—for control over the Middle East. The book sheds light on the workings of imperialism and the mandate system in the 20th century and also helps explain the long histories behind conflicts that continue today.
Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845–1850
This book tells the story of the disastrous Potato Famine in Ireland, which claimed the lives of one million people and encouraged perhaps twice as many to emigrate from the country. Bartoletti humanizes the disaster and tells the stories of the Irish men, women, and children who struggled to survive the agricultural catastrophe.
John Darwin, The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830–1970
This study shows the inner workings of the British Empire, its various methods at asserting and expanding its power, and what forces eventually caused the empire to collapse. Global in scope, this book gives insight to how European history and especially imperialism affected lives across the globe.
Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations
This book takes an usual historical perspective: it explores the histories of places that are no longer countries. Learn about states that no longer exist—like Rosenau, Galicia, and Sabaudia—and explore histories of what might have been with the map of Europe.
Dean Jobb, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer
Step into the middle of Victorian England, where a serial killer is responsible for a series of poisonings and the police must rely on the new science of forensics to stop him. This true story illuminates various systems of power in the 19th-century, from the medical profession to the legal system, while giving a glimpse into a world becoming more aware of the science behind detective work.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History
This detailed book covers the great religious transformation across Europe that began in the 1500s as the rise of Protestantism began to dismantle the firm control that the Catholic Church had once held over kings and peasants alike. Discover the many actors in the story of the Reformation—priests, lay persons, scholars, politicians, and kings—as well as the many actors who fought this rising tide of religious change through the Counter-Reformation.
Thomas Pakenham, The Scramble for Africa
This book explores the devastating history of the massive expanse in European imperialism in Africa. In just a matter of decades, European countries (along with one individual, the king of Belgium) carved up the entire continent among them, creating chaos, violence, cultural upheaval, and political destruction.
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914
This book dives into a continent on the brink of massive change. In the decades before World War I, European society was on edge: new ideologies like socialism were on the rise, an old aristocracy was losing its grip on power, and both nationalism and anarchism were growing in strength. Come discover this turn-of-the-century culture, which would be swept away by World War I.
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