10 books like Scoop

By Evelyn Waugh,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Scoop. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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In Command of History

By David Reynolds,

Book cover of In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War

Steven Casey Author Of The War Beat, Pacific: The American Media at War Against Japan

From the list on understand WW2.

By Steven Casey Author

Who am I?

Steven Casey is Professor in International History at the LSE. A specialist in US foreign policy, he is the author of ten books, including Cautious Crusade, which explored American attitudes toward Nazi Germany during World War II; Selling the Korean War, which won both the Truman Book Award and the Neustadt Prize for best book in American Politics; and When Soldiers Fall which also won the Neustadt Prize. In 2017, he published War Beat, Europe: The American Media at War against Nazi Germany, which won the American Journalism Historians Association 2018 book of the year, the panel judging it “a landmark work.” 

Steven's book list on understand WW2

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Book cover of Scoop Book cover of Brave Men Book cover of Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 Book cover of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 Book cover of In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War

Why did Steven love this book?

“Another book on Churchill?” asks Reynolds on the first page. “Can there be anything new to say?” Yes, is the emphatic answer. Churchill’s magisterial memoir shaped how many readers came to understand World War II. In this equally magisterial book, Reynolds dissects how Churchill wrote his memoir, exploring how the politics of the post-war era were often as important in shaping Churchill’s judgments as the events of the war itself. Methodologically sophisticated and elegantly written.

In Command of History

By David Reynolds,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Command of History as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winston Churchill fought the World War II twice over-first as Prime Minister during the war, and then later as the war's premier historian. From 1948-54, he published six volumes of memoirs. They secured his reputation and shaped our understanding of the conflict to this day. Drawing on the drafts of Churchill's manuscript as well as his correspondence from the period, David Reynolds masterfully reveals Churchill the author. Reynolds shows how the memoirs were censored by the British government to conceal state secrets, and how Churchill himself censored them to avoid offending current world leaders. This book illuminates an unjustly neglected…

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An Army at Dawn

By Rick Atkinson,

Book cover of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943

Steven Casey Author Of The War Beat, Pacific: The American Media at War Against Japan

From the list on understand WW2.

By Steven Casey Author

Who am I?

Steven Casey is Professor in International History at the LSE. A specialist in US foreign policy, he is the author of ten books, including Cautious Crusade, which explored American attitudes toward Nazi Germany during World War II; Selling the Korean War, which won both the Truman Book Award and the Neustadt Prize for best book in American Politics; and When Soldiers Fall which also won the Neustadt Prize. In 2017, he published War Beat, Europe: The American Media at War against Nazi Germany, which won the American Journalism Historians Association 2018 book of the year, the panel judging it “a landmark work.” 

Steven's book list on understand WW2

Discover why each book is one of Steven's favorite books.

Book cover of Scoop Book cover of Brave Men Book cover of Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 Book cover of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 Book cover of In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War

Why did Steven love this book?

Atkinson’s Pulitzer Prize winning opener to his World War II trilogy reads like a novel. It also succeeds in the almost impossible task of bringing military history alive, weaving expertly drawn biographies of individuals at all levels of the US military into a grand narrative of the campaign to liberate North Africa in 1942-43.

An Army at Dawn

By Rick Atkinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked An Army at Dawn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at Dawn follows the British and American armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and Italians in…

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Implacable Foes

By Marc Gallicchio, Waldo Heinrichs,

Book cover of Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

Richard Overy Author Of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War 1931-1945

From the list on key moments in World War II and the soldiers who fought in them.

By Richard Overy Author

Who am I?

I am a professional historian who has been writing books for more than forty years. Most of the books have been about war and dictatorship in the first half of the twentieth century. My last book, The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945, developed my long interest in air war history, which goes back to my first major book written in 1980 on air warfare in World War II.

Richard's book list on key moments in World War II and the soldiers who fought in them

Discover why each book is one of Richard's favorite books.

Book cover of Hitler, the Allies, and the Jews Book cover of The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II Book cover of Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 Book cover of Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East Book cover of China’s War with Japan 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival

Why did Richard love this book?

This is simply one of the finest books to be written on the final critical two years of the Pacific War, with extensive detail on the Japanese side of the conflict and plenty of new insights into the better-known American story. It is a big book, but this was a large conflict both in terms of space, time, and the resources deployed. It was also chiefly a story of amphibious naval warfare, an original and significant development in modern warfare that too often gets understated. By the end of the conflict, the American armed forces had created the shape that they were to employ for the next half-century in projecting power overseas.

Implacable Foes

By Marc Gallicchio, Waldo Heinrichs,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Implacable Foes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day-shortened to "V.E. Day"-brought with it the demise of Nazi Germany. But for the Allies, the war was only half-won. Exhausted but exuberant American soldiers, ready to return home, were sent to join the fighting in the Pacific, which by the spring and summer of 1945 had turned into a grueling campaign of bloody attrition against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Germany had surrendered unconditionally. The Japanese
would clearly make the conditions of victory extraordinarily high.

Following V-E Day, American citizens understandably clamored for their young men to be shipped…

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Brave Men

By Ernie Pyle,

Book cover of Brave Men

Clément Horvath Author Of Till Victory: The Second World War By Those Who Were There

From the list on World War II letters.

By Clément Horvath Author

Who am I?

I'm a Frenchman with a great interest in the history of the Second World War, specializing in the correspondence of Allied soldiers. Almost 20 years of collecting WWII letters led to the publication of my first book Till Victory which was an award-winning bestseller in France, before it was released in English worldwide in 2021. I also host a podcast (Till Victory: a podcast about WWII and Peace), where I interview British and American veterans, and have made documentaries such as Red Beret & Dark Chocolate or The Missing Highlander. It's all about trying to understand what the young men who fought and died to liberate my country went through when they were my age.

Clément's book list on World War II letters

Discover why each book is one of Clément's favorite books.

Book cover of Brave Men Book cover of Last Letters Home Book cover of World War II Letters: A Glimpse into the Heart of the Second World War Through the Eyes of Those Who Were Fighting It Book cover of Letters from the Greatest Generation: Writing Home in WWII Book cover of The Words of War: British Forces' Personal Letters and Diaries During the Second World War

Why did Clément love this book?

Alright, this is not technically a book about WWII letters, but it’s very close, and my favorite historical accounts’ book ever. Just like with wartime correspondence, Ernie Pyle wrote from the battlefield about the daily routine of the regular GI while experiencing it himself. Just like in a personal military letter, you get to know a tired civilian in uniform rather than a multi-medal bearing superhero with a thirst for action. With his exceptional writing, Pyle painted touching and realistic portraits, not of the Generals we've already read all about, but of the simple soldier who simply did his job and won the war with his sweat and blood.

Brave Men

By Ernie Pyle,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Brave Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Europe was in the throes of World War II, and when America joined the fighting, Ernie Pyle went along. Long before television beamed daily images of combat into our living rooms, Pyle's on-the-spot reporting gave the American public a firsthand view of what war was like for the boys on the front. Pyle followed the soldiers into the trenches, battlefields, field hospitals, and beleaguered cities of Europe. What he witnessed he described with a clarity, sympathy, and grit that gave the public back home an immediate sense of the foot soldier's experience. There were really two wars, John Steinbeck wrote…

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The Emperor

By Ryszard Kapuściński,

Book cover of The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Author Of The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics

From the list on rulers behaving badly in Africa.

By Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Author

Who am I?

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith are professors of politics at New York University. They use the mathematical approach of game theory to understand the incentives of leaders in different settings. The Dictator’s Handbook distills decades of academic work into a few essential rules that encapsulate how leaders come to power and remain there.

Bruce's book list on rulers behaving badly in Africa

Discover why each book is one of Bruce's favorite books.

Book cover of Multi-party Politics in Kenya Book cover of Congo: The Epic History of a People Book cover of The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence Book cover of I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation Book cover of The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat

Why did Bruce love this book?

All of Kapuscinski’s books are gems. He traveled Africa and other parts of the developing world as a Soviet journalist. The Emperor describes the rule and decline of the Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie. The dry day-to-dry accounts of the emperor’s benign neglect for his people is chilling. Haile Selassie knew to keep those around him happy and not to worry about the people: “A man starved all his life will never rebel…. No one raised his voice or hand there. But just let the subject start to eat his fill and then try to take the bowl away, and immediately he rises in rebellion. The usefulness of hunger is that a hungry man thinks only of bread.”.

The Emperor

By Ryszard Kapuściński,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A "sensitive, powerful ... history" (The New York Review of Books) of a man living amidst nearly unimaginable pomp and luxury while his people teetered netween hunger and starvation.

Haile Selassie, King of Kings, Elect of God, Lion of Judah, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, reigned from 1930 until he was overthrown by the army in 1974. While the fighting still raged, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Poland's leading foreign correspondent, traveled to Ethiopia to seek out and interview Selassie's servants and closest associates on how the Emperor had ruled and why he fell. This is Kapuscinski's…

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The Seventh Scroll, 2

By Wilbur Smith,

Book cover of The Seventh Scroll, 2

Nektaría Markaki Author Of Unmapped

From the list on to travel back in time and live adventurous.

By Nektaría Markaki Author

Who am I?

History always fascinated me and ancient history even more. I have strong feelings about ancient Greece, Egypt, and ancient Rome, but I also find the medieval times really fascinating and always search for books that are set during that period of time. I feel that by reading these kinds of books, I learn a lot. I do my own research and I’m in awe by how these authors have managed to recreate those times. Although I avoid writing historical fiction, I love the genre so much that I consider it to be my favorite even above romance, which I am an expert in.   

Nektaría's book list on to travel back in time and live adventurous

Discover why each book is one of Nektaría's favorite books.

Book cover of The Silver Pigs: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery Book cover of A Murder on the Appian Way Book cover of The Seventh Scroll, 2 Book cover of Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae Book cover of The Pillars of the Earth

Why did Nektaría love this book?

This book made me fall in love with ancient Egypt. It might not take place in the past but the findings of the main characters take you straight back in time. The descriptions of the places and the way of living in ancient Egypt-Ethiopia-The blue Nile, easily trigger your imagination and you find yourself creating pictures in your head. Also, the adventure is breathtaking. 

The Seventh Scroll, 2

By Wilbur Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Seventh Scroll, 2 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

BOOK 2 IN THE BESTSELLING ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SERIES, BY THE MASTER OF ADVENTURE, WILBUR SMITH

'Best historical novelist' - Stephen King

'A master storyteller' - Sunday Times

'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' - The Times

'No one does adventure quite like Smith' - Daily Mirror

AN ANCIENT SCROLL
A 4000 YEAR OLD LEGACY
A BATTLE FOR THE TRUTH

It is 4000 years since the battle for the Egyptian Kingdom, and Duraid and Royan al Simma have just uncovered the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Queen, Lostris, alongside the secret scrolls of the most…

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The Barefoot Emperor

By Philip Marsden,

Book cover of The Barefoot Emperor

Robert David Author Of Lights, Camera, Jemuru: Ethiopia through the lens of a community film school

From the list on that show you the real Ethiopia.

By Robert David Author

Who am I?

I lived in Ethiopia for 7 years and arrived expecting to find a country beaten down by war and famine, I could not have been more wrong. Ethiopia covers a vast territory and is as deep in history and culture, while its myriad peoples speak over 80 different languages. It remains one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and least visited countries on the planet, and a paradise for both physical and armchair travelers alike to explore one of the last great largely undiscovered places on earth. I continue to write articles for both national and international newspapers and magazines about Ethiopia and its many wonders. 

Robert's book list on that show you the real Ethiopia

Discover why each book is one of Robert's favorite books.

Book cover of The Lure of the Honey Bird: The Storytellers of Ethiopia Book cover of Ethiopia: Through Writers' Eyes Book cover of Orphaned: One Woman's Mission to Save Africa's AIDS Children Book cover of The Barefoot Emperor Book cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Why did Robert love this book?

What William Dalrymple is to India, Philip Marsden is to Ethiopia. They are both inspired travel writers and scholarly historians. What I particularly loved about The Barefoot Emperor was that it actually reads like a page-turning thriller. Central to the story is the towering figure of the Emperor Tewedros, a brilliant military commander, political reformer, and charismatic leader, who was both loved and loathed by the warring factions that made up his kingdom. His rise and fall compare with anything achieved by Julius Ceasar or Genghis Khan, and Marsden captures his incredible, true-life story with bravura writing that leaps off the page. He turns a searing searchlight onto one of the most forgotten episodes in African history and captures it all with a breathtaking sense of spirit of place.        

The Barefoot Emperor

By Philip Marsden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Barefoot Emperor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fascinating narrative excursion into a bizarre episode in 19th century Ethiopian and British imperial history featuring a remote African despot and his monstrous European-built gun.

On one of Addis Ababa's main roundabouts today sits a huge recently installed mortar. This is a replica of 'Sevastopol', a 70-ton lump of ordnance commissioned by one of the most extraordinary leaders Africa has ever produced - King of Kings of Ethiopia, the Emperor Theodore. In 1867, as his kingdom collapsed around him, Theodore retreated to his mountain-top stronghold in Magdala. It took his army six months to haul 'Sevastopol' through the gauges…

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I Didn't Do It for You

By Michela Wrong,

Book cover of I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Author Of The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics

From the list on rulers behaving badly in Africa.

By Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Author

Who am I?

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith are professors of politics at New York University. They use the mathematical approach of game theory to understand the incentives of leaders in different settings. The Dictator’s Handbook distills decades of academic work into a few essential rules that encapsulate how leaders come to power and remain there.

Bruce's book list on rulers behaving badly in Africa

Discover why each book is one of Bruce's favorite books.

Book cover of Multi-party Politics in Kenya Book cover of Congo: The Epic History of a People Book cover of The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence Book cover of I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation Book cover of The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat

Why did Bruce love this book?

Wrong’s account of Eritrea’s bid for independence from Ethiopia highlights the conflict between the needs of the people and the wants of leaders. The title of her book is taken from what a soldier liberating Ethiopia from Italian rule told a local and sets the tone of the book. Time and again Wrong describes how leaders will starve their own people or bomb their own soldiers provide it help keep them in power.

I Didn't Do It for You

By Michela Wrong,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Didn't Do It for You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One small East African country embodies the battered history of the continent: patronised by colonialists, riven by civil war, confused by Cold War manoeuvring, proud, colorful, with Africa's best espresso and worst rail service. Michela Wrong brilliantly reveals the contradictions and comedy, past and present, of Eritrea.

Just as the beat of a butterfly's wings is said to cause hurricanes on the other side of the world, so the affairs of tiny Eritrea reverberate onto the agenda of superpower strategists. This new book on Africa is from the author of the critically acclaimed In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz.

Eritrea…

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Last Gate of the Emperor

By Kwame Mbalia, Prince Joel Makonnen,

Book cover of Last Gate of the Emperor

Catherine Egan Author Of Sneaks

From the list on middle-grade sci fi – with bonus aliens.

By Catherine Egan Author

Who am I?

When I was bored or stressed out at school as a kid, I used to pretend that I was an alien posing as a person and that I’d come to earth to learn about humans. It was fun and helped me to relax. (Look, we all have our own ways of relaxing, I don’t know why “pretending to be an alien” isn’t on more self-care lists these days). Given my tendency to drift toward other worlds, it’s amazing that it took me so long to write a book featuring aliens! The trouble-making Sneaks provide the action in my most recent MG book, which also deals with very real middle-school struggles with friendships and family.  

Catherine's book list on middle-grade sci fi – with bonus aliens

Discover why each book is one of Catherine's favorite books.

Book cover of Last Gate of the Emperor Book cover of The True Meaning of Smekday Book cover of Jillian VS Parasite Planet Book cover of Dragon Pearl Book cover of Bloom

Why did Catherine love this book?

Funny and fast-paced, this story of a boy and his bionic cat will charm avid sci-fi fans and reluctant readers alike. Did I mention the bionic cat? Besa is the star, as far as I’m concerned. Protagonist Yared skips school (with his bionic cat!) to take part in an augmented reality tournament and finds himself at the center of a massive galactic war. Intricate world-building influenced by Ethiopian legend, a tight plot, and an engaging lead trio (including: bionic cat!) make this a delightful read. 

I loved Yared’s voice! Few readers will be able to resist his charm and humor. I certainly couldn’t.

The Aliens: The Werari – terrifying golden-eyed alien invaders with a bionic monster, the Bulgu.

Last Gate of the Emperor

By Kwame Mbalia, Prince Joel Makonnen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Gate of the Emperor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel David Makonnen comes
an action-packed Afrofuturist adventure about a mythical Ethiopian
empire. Sci-fi and fantasy combine in this epic journey to the
stars.

Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime
- a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules,
and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness
Besa are his only family... and his only friends.

Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth,
those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground
augmented reality game, The Hunt for Kaleb's Obelisk. But
when…

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The Lure of the Honey Bird

By Elizabeth Laird,

Book cover of The Lure of the Honey Bird: The Storytellers of Ethiopia

Robert David Author Of Lights, Camera, Jemuru: Ethiopia through the lens of a community film school

From the list on that show you the real Ethiopia.

By Robert David Author

Who am I?

I lived in Ethiopia for 7 years and arrived expecting to find a country beaten down by war and famine, I could not have been more wrong. Ethiopia covers a vast territory and is as deep in history and culture, while its myriad peoples speak over 80 different languages. It remains one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and least visited countries on the planet, and a paradise for both physical and armchair travelers alike to explore one of the last great largely undiscovered places on earth. I continue to write articles for both national and international newspapers and magazines about Ethiopia and its many wonders. 

Robert's book list on that show you the real Ethiopia

Discover why each book is one of Robert's favorite books.

Book cover of The Lure of the Honey Bird: The Storytellers of Ethiopia Book cover of Ethiopia: Through Writers' Eyes Book cover of Orphaned: One Woman's Mission to Save Africa's AIDS Children Book cover of The Barefoot Emperor Book cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Why did Robert love this book?

Ethiopia is a treasure trove of traditional folktales and learning. Elizabeth Laird has travelled the length and breadth of the country digging them out by talking to tribal elders, community leaders, and traditional storytellers. What emerged for me was a fascinating record of an ancient culture and its wisdom that can trace its roots back to the days of the Old Testament but whose lessons still ring true to this today. I loved accompanying Elizabeth on her travels as she went in search of the stories; enjoyed meeting alongside her the storytellers she managed to track down; and most of all was charmed by the stories themselves, which are a match in wit and human insight for anything that was ever penned by Aesop or Hans Christian Andersen. 

The Lure of the Honey Bird

By Elizabeth Laird,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lure of the Honey Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1967, at the age of 23, Elizabeth Laird set off for Addis Ababa to take up her first teaching post. She was introduced to Haile Selassie, made a pilgrimage across the mountains on foot to the ancient city of Lalibela, hitched a ride on an oil tanker across the Danakil Desert, and was arrested for a murder she had not committed. Back in Britain, Laird established herself as a major author of fiction for children and young adults, but she always wanted to return to Ethiopia. Her chance came in the late 1990s, when the British Council in Addis…

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5 book lists we think you will like!

The best books to understand WW2 from eyewitnesses and historians
The best books on the ancient Christian faith of Ethiopia
The best books that show you the real Ethiopia
The best books about American war reporting
The best books about women war correspondents

Interested in Ethiopia, war correspondents, and journalists?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Ethiopia, war correspondents, and journalists.

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