Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 1980 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 2 | Communism | 1994 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 3 | London | 1995 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 4 | The Balkans | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 5 | The German Empire | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 6 | The Catholic Church | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 7 | Peoples and Empires | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 8 | Hitler and the Holocaust | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 9 | Law in America | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 10 | The American Revolution | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 11 | Inventing Japan | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 12 | The Americas | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 13 | The Boys’ Crusade | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 14 | The Reformation | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 15 | The Company | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 16 | The Age of Shakespeare | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 17 | The Age of Napoleon | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 18 | Infinite Ascent | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 19 | Evolution | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 20 | Nazism and War | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 21 | The City | 2005 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 22 | A Short History of Medicine | 2006 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 23 | Storm from the East | 2006 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 24 | Baseball | 2006 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 25 | The Hellenistic Age | 2007 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 26 | Prehistory | 2007 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 27 | The Renaissance | 2007 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 28 | Islam | 2007 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 29 | The Christian World | 2008 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 30 | Dangerous Games | 2008 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 31 | The Romantic Revolution | 2010 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 32 | The Korean War | 2010 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
The Modern Library Chronicles series sets out to make serious history accessible. At around 200 pages per volume, each book is long enough to treat its subject with intellectual honesty and short enough to read in a weekend. The thirty-two volumes cover an unusually wide range: political history (The American Revolution, The Balkans), cultural history (The Age of Shakespeare, The Romantic Revolution), and science (Evolution, Infinite Ascent).
Karen Armstrong’s contribution to the series reflects her standing as a writer who can reach general readers on difficult topics. The broader series represents a model of popular history at its best — commissioned from genuine experts, written without condescension, and designed to be read rather than consulted.