The best books that help us understand Shakespeare and his times

Stephen Kinzer Author Of The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War
By Stephen Kinzer

Who am I?

My book is about political intrigue, violence, war, heroes and villains, libels and dreams, secret plots to overthrow governments, and murders most foul. It unfolds during a tense era of cultural upheaval and radical social change. A lifetime immersed in the works of Shakespeare helped prepare me to write it. I spent more than 20 years working for the New York Times, most of it as a foreign correspondent. My foreign postings placed me at the center of historic events and, at times, in the line of fire.

I wrote...

The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War

By Stephen Kinzer,

Book cover of The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War

What is my book about?

During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the United States into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world. John Foster Dulles was secretary of state while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Stephen Kinzer places their extraordinary lives against the background of American culture and history. He uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world?

The Brothers explores hidden forces that shape the national psyche, from religious piety to Western movies—many of which are about a noble gunman who cleans up a lawless town by killing bad guys. This is how the Dulles brothers saw themselves, and how many Americans still see their country's role in the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission. 

The books I picked & why

Shakespeare, Our Contemporary

By Jan Kott,

Book cover of Shakespeare, Our Contemporary

Why did I love this book?

This classic work, first published in the 1960s, interprets Shakespeare’s work as portraying societies corrupted by injustice, cynical political maneuvering, and government surveillance. When it first appeared in the 1960s, it made Shakespeare’s plays seem chillingly relevant. It has the same effect today.

Shakespeare, Our Contemporary

By Jan Kott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shakespeare, Our Contemporary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Penelope is about to turn eleven and can't wait to see what life has in store. But on the morning of her birthday, Pen- elope wakens to discover she can no longer hear, just as the Pied Piper, leads the other children of Hamelin out of town. Now Penelope must set out to rescue the children. Age 10 plus.

Explore
Topics
Genres

Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare

By Jonathan Bate,

Book cover of Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare

Why did I love this book?

A uniquely insightful literary scholar leads readers on a wonderfully rich ride through Shakespeare’s life, showing at each point how his experiences shaped his writing. No book brings the Bard so vividly to life, and none more masterfully shows how his work sprung from the turbulent world of Elizabethan England.

Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare

By Jonathan Bate,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Soul of the Age as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“One man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

In this illuminating, innovative biography, Jonathan Bate, one of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, has found a fascinating new way to tell the story of the great dramatist. Using the Bard’s own immortal list of a man’s seven ages in As You Like It, Bate deduces the crucial events of Shakespeare’s life and connects them to his world and work as never before.

Here is the author as an infant, born into a world of plague and syphillis, diseases with which he became closely familiar; as a…

Explore
Topics
Genres

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

By Stephen Greenblatt,

Book cover of Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

Why did I love this book?

This book is shaped by a frank admission that much about Shakespeare’s life remains unknown, and sets out to fill in the blanks.  The author is as qualified as anyone to write a book about Shakespeare full of phrases like “may have,” “must-have,” and “probably did.” It brings the world of Elizabethan theater to vivid life, and is enriched by provocative speculation about Hamlet. 

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

By Stephen Greenblatt,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Will in the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A young man from a small provincial town moves to London in the late 1580s and, in a remarkably short time, becomes the greatest playwright not of his age alone but of all time. How is an achievement of this magnitude to be explained? Stephen Greenblatt brings us down to earth to see, hear, and feel how an acutely sensitive and talented boy, surrounded by the rich tapestry of Elizabethan life, could have become the world's greatest playwright.

Explore
Topics
Genres

Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485

By John Julius Norwich,

Book cover of Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485

Why did I love this book?

Shakespeare’s magnificent history plays have been described as “a feast of Henrys and Richards.” Who were those kings in real life? This book tells their true stories, and compares those stories to what Shakespeare wrote about them. Turns out he stuck pretty close to history!

Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485

By John Julius Norwich,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shakespeare's Kings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Synopsis coming soon.......

Explore
Topics
Genres

Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

By James Shapiro,

Book cover of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

Why did I love this book?

Shakespeare scholars hate discussing the “authorship question” for the same reason astronomers hate discussing whether space aliens kidnap human beings. There is no real “question.” But because guessing who wrote the plays has become such a parlor game, James Shapiro took on the challenge. His book tells the crazy history of the “authorship question” and makes irrefutably clear that yes, the fellow from Stratford really did write those plays. This should settle the issue forever—but of course it won’t.

Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

By James Shapiro,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Contested Will as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For two hundred years after William Shakespeare's death, no one thought to argue that somebody else had written his plays.

Since then dozens of rival candidates - including The Earl of Oxford, Sir Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe - have been proposed as their true author. Contested Will unravels the mystery of when and why so many people began to question whether Shakespeare wrote the plays (among them such leading writers and artists as Sigmund Freud, Henry James, Mark Twain, Helen Keller, Orson Welles, and Sir Derek Jacobi)

Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro's fascinating search for the source of this controversy…

Explore
Topics
Genres

5 book lists we think you will like!

The best biography books that tell the truth
The best books to understand and enjoy Shakespeare in the twenty-first century
The best novels relating to Shakespeare
The best books on how Shakespeare thought about the mind
The best books about medieval warfare globally

Interested in William Shakespeare, theatres, and the Middle Ages?

9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about William Shakespeare, theatres, and the Middle Ages.

William Shakespeare Explore 165 books about William Shakespeare
Theatres Explore 74 books about theatres
The Middle Ages Explore 362 books about the Middle Ages

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like William Shakespeare, Shakespeare the Player, and The Millionaire and the Bard if you like this list.

Book cover of William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life Book cover of Shakespeare the Player: A Life in the Theatre Book cover of The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio