Every episode comes with two books for going deeper. These are the books behind the stories, picked to match each episode.
Prefer audiobooks? Try Audible free for 30 days: https://link.amazon/A0gz5Cuo8
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Read the story · Watch the video
The classic "what was everyday medieval life actually like" book, and the episode's own source list draws on Mortimer's approach to daily life.
See it on AmazonCovers castles and their garderobes, the very toilets the episode opens on, plus daily life inside a medieval household.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The definitive modern book on human waste and sanitation, the episode's subject from every angle.
See it on AmazonA history of washing, bathing, and attitudes to cleanliness, the other half of the episode's story.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The classic on how maps distort the truth, directly behind the episode's Mercator argument.
See it on AmazonThe full story of Mercator's projection, the map at the center of the episode.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
A history of washing and hygiene from the ancient world to the present, the episode's subject in book form.
See it on AmazonThe episode's most famous bather: Charlemagne swimming with a hundred courtiers in the hot springs of Aachen.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
Coffee's journey from banned substance to daily ritual, the episode's arc, and a source the episode itself cites.
See it on AmazonThe standard history of coffee, from its origins to the modern coffeehouse.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The great narrative history of the Revolution, from 1789 through the Terror.
See it on AmazonA clear, readable single-volume account, a good next step after the episode's 11-minute overview.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The best-known single-volume history of the war, covering every front the episode touches.
See it on AmazonA one-volume history that stresses the human cost, matching the episode's focus on what the war meant for ordinary people.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
A tour of a medieval town in 1250, streets, markets, and trades included, the setting the episode walks through.
See it on AmazonDaily life in the 14th century, the episode's own century, from gutters to great halls.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The scholarly survey of what medieval people ate and how, by the leading authority on medieval cuisine. (Academic hardcover, pricier than a trade paperback.)
See it on AmazonFifty medieval recipes, including ones from the Forme of Cury the episode cites, in the original Middle English and adapted for a modern kitchen.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
A short, readable history of the whole Cold War by its leading historian, the natural next step after the episode.
See it on AmazonThe Cold War as a global story, including the proxy wars and decolonization the episode covers.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
A short, clear guide to what the UN is and what it does, in the same explain-it-simply spirit as the episode.
See it on AmazonThe full history of the UN, from its founding to its peacekeeping and reform debates.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The sweeping story of the continent itself, its geography, peoples, and history, the real Africa behind the distorted map.
See it on AmazonA fun, accessible book about maps and the people obsessed with them, a light follow-up to the Map Lies episode.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The sweeping novel of Alaska from its origins to statehood, the human story behind the episode's numbers.
See it on AmazonThe true story of Chris McCandless in the Alaskan wilderness, the most famous modern Alaska story.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The classic telling of Shackleton's 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition, the ship crushed by pack ice and the survival of every man, the story the episode tells in Act 3.
See it on AmazonA first-hand account of Scott's Terra Nova expedition and the race for the South Pole, the episode's other great Antarctic story.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The chapter on Russia explains exactly what the episode shows: how Russia's geography, its size, its flat borders and its Arctic coast, drives its history.
See it on AmazonThe story of the dynasty that pushed Russia east across Siberia to the Pacific, the expansion the episode tells in Act 3.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The story of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the line whose last spike the episode follows across the country.
See it on AmazonA broad history of Canada, from the name kanata to Confederation and beyond.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The first-hand account of the Spanish conquest that ended the Aztec world the episode visits.
See it on AmazonThe deep history of Mexico, from the Olmecs to the Aztecs and Tenochtitlan.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The story of the holiday itself, from the 1621 feast to the modern table.
See it on AmazonThe Wampanoag side of the Thanksgiving story, and the troubled history behind the feast.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The full story of the Pantheon, the concrete dome at the heart of the episode.
See it on AmazonThe century-long hunt to understand the Antikythera mechanism.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
The history of the holiday, from its Roman date to the Victorian Christmas.
See it on AmazonHow Christmas became the holiday we know, and who fought over it along the way.
See it on AmazonRead the story · Watch the video
Everyday medieval life in detail, the world this episode walks through.
See it on AmazonVillage life in the Middle Ages, from the harvest to the hunger gap.
See it on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The book links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. Buying through them supports the channel at no extra cost to you.
Updated: November 14, 2026