Essential Histories books in order

Essential Histories is a multi-author military history series covering 45 conflicts from the Hundred Years' War to the War in Chechnya, with Adrian Goldsworthy as series editor.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 The Hundred Years’ War: 1337–1453 1992 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
2 The French Revolutionary Wars 2001 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
3 The Korean War: 1950–53 2001 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
4 The Vietnam War 1956–1975 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
5 War in Japan 1467–1615 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
6 The Seven Years’ War 2001 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
7 The Franco-Prussian War: 1870–71 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
8 The Korean War 2001 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
9 The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
10 The Collapse of Yugoslavia: 1991–99 2004 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
11 The Russian Civil War 1918–22 2008 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
12 The Great Islamic Conquests AD 632–750 2009 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
13 The Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Banner 1969–2007 2011 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
14 The Jacobite Rebellion: 1745–46 2011 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
15 The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-89 2012 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
16 The Second War of Italian Unification 1859–61 2012 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
17 Războaiele Punice. 264-146 î.Hr. 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
18 The Rise of Imperial Rome AD 14–193 2013 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
19 The Wars of Spanish American Independence 1809–29 2013 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
20 The War of the Roses: 1455-1485 2014 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
21 The hundred years war 1992 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
22 Russia’s Wars in Chechnya 1994–2009 2014 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
23 The Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988 1989 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
24 Russia’s Five-Day War 2023 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
25 The Hundred Years War: 1337–1453 2023 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
26 The American Revolution: 1774–83 2023 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
27 Russia’s Wars in Chechnya: 1994–2009 2024 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
28 The Soviet–Afghan War: 1979–89 2024 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
29 Alexandru cel Mare. Campaniile din 336-323 î.Hr. 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
30 Razboiul Peloponesiac 431–404 BC 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
31 The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
32 Razboaiele Medice. 499-386 i.Hr. 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
33 The Vietnam War 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
34 The Anglo-Afghan Wars 1839–1919 2009 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
35 Caesar’s Civil War 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy Buy
36 Caesar’s Gallic Wars 58-50 BC 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
37 The French-Indian War 1754-1760 2002 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
38 The Boer War 1899–1902 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
39 The Gulf War 1991 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
40 Genghis Kahn & the Mongol Conquests 1190–1400 2003 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
41 The Collapse of Yugoslavia 1991-1999 2004 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
42 The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913–1922 2006 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
43 The Wars of the Barbary Pirates: To the shores of Tripoli: the rise of the US Navy and Marines 2006 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
44 The Jacobite Rebellion 1745–46 2011 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A
45 Russia’s Wars in Chechnya 1994-2009 2014 Adrian Goldsworthy N/A

Essential Histories is a 45-book series of concise military histories published between the late 1980s and 2024. Each volume covers a single conflict in a compact, accessible format. The series ranges across centuries and continents, from the Hundred Years’ War and Caesar’s Civil War to the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Collapse of Yugoslavia.

Adrian Goldsworthy is the series editor. The books are written by different specialist historians, and the series includes some foreign-language editions alongside the English originals. Recent additions cover the American Revolution and Russia’s Five-Day War.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Essential Histories series?

There are 45 books in the Essential Histories series, published between 1989 and 2024.

What is the first book in the Essential Histories series?

The first book in the Essential Histories series is The Hundred Years’ War: 1337–1453, published in 1992.

What is the Essential Histories series?

It is a 45-book series of concise military histories, each covering a specific war or conflict. Topics range from Caesar’s Civil War and the Hundred Years’ War to the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and Russia’s Wars in Chechnya. The series includes both English originals and foreign-language editions.

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