Reddit reviews The Great Siege, Malta 1565: Clash of Cultures: Christian Knights Defend Western Civilization Against the Moslem Tide

The Great Siege: Malta, 1565 by Ernle Bradford. 40,000 Turks in 200 ships attack the tiny island of Malta. This is one of the most exciting historical books ever written. You may not particularly care about Malta, but you get pulled in pretty fast.

Endurance by Alfred Lansing. The Shackleton expedition tried to make landfall on Antarctica in 1915, but got trapped in the pack ice 100s of miles from shore. The crew was able to debark before the ship was crushed by the shifting ice. There was no rescue mission...because it was 1915. And there was no point in trying to make it to shore, so they had to walk out to the edge of the pack ice. They were on the pack ice for more than 2 years, through 2 Antarctic winters, surviving on sea leopards, burning sea leopard fat.

The Abominable by Dan Simmons. This is fiction, but it's in the same vein. It's about an undisclosed summiting of Mt. Everest in 1924. Simmons has some climbing experience, and meticulously researched his material. The book takes it's time setting things up, but the 2nd half, once they get near the mountain, is pretty riveting. And there are a couple twists.

If you're looking for must reads /r/AskHistorians has a great list.

My all time favorite history book is A History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill. It's a little dated in all it's facts but it is written beautifully and I love reading his description on America's Revolutionary and Civil Wars. You can find it in a 4 volume unabridged or 1 book abridged set.

My favorite peoples in all of history are the Normans, and I enjoyed The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris. It's not just about the Battle of Hastings, but everything that lead up to that point and the resolutions which followed it. Plus the Normans were just badasses.

You ever learned about the Siege of Malta? One of the greatest stands in history, and a merging of the old world and the new (melee mixing with gunpowder), makes for an amazing story.

Maybe something lighter (sort of...)? I enjoyed German Wars: A Concise History, 1859-1945. Cheap book and gives you a simple understanding of how Germany became a country and it's mindset leading all the way to 1945. It focuses on the battles but gives lots of information on all the participants, their capabilities (and how they were able to reach those capabilities), and lots of the little deciding factors like the weather, roads, logistics, etc.

1700-1800's is an amazing time period to read because it was documented so thoroughly. I would recommend perusing that askhistorians list, going to your local bookstore and giving some of them a read, as some historians will write much different then others, and see which book you can sit through. The French Revolution and the age of Napoleon would be mandatory reading. Another is the subject of how Italy became a state; after the western Roman Empire fell it was one of the few places in Europe that still recorded it's history, and how all the city-states interacted and warred with each other is very interesting.