The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World by Steven Saylor is a collection of short stories starring the youthful, wise cracking Gordianus.

Richard I, “Lionheart”, takes his vows seriously including the one to free Jerusalem from Salah-a-Din. He leaves his kingdom with his armies to the holy land.

Starting with the early Roman settlers, salt traders, the book introduces readers to fascinus, the winged phallus which becomes a family heirloom & each chapter

While this is certainly not a history book, the lives of the women follow the national struggles (civil rights for example) which got national attention

The book touches on a part of American history which is rarely talked about, the internment camps built for Japanese Americans

We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen is a spellbinding, award winning novel spanning 100 years in a small Danish coastal town Marstal, and its inhabitats

The making of a writer. Daniel Baciagalupo and his father flee a 1950’s New Hampshire logging town after Daniel accidentally killed his father’s lover.