Book cover of The End of Everything

Book description

A New York Times-bestselling historian charts how and why societies from ancient Greece to the modern era chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time

War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of civilization-sometimes to the breaking…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The End of Everything as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

How can a civilization be abruptly destroyed?

In The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation, acclaimed military historian Victor Davis Hanson posits how an imperialistic power through catastrophic defeat mingled with hubris, failing resources, technological disparities, inequities in war, and naiveté—like underestimating the prowess and determination of one’s foe—can rapidly perish.

For proof, VDH analyzes how the total military, cultural, and societal losses of four empires—Alexander’s razing of Thebes, Rome’s obliteration of Carthage, Islam’s reordering of Constantinople, and Spain’s erasure of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan—resulted in their abrupt disappearance.

Reading this well-researched, harrowing work of imagination and…

If you love The End of Everything...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like The End of Everything?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 12 books like The End of Everything.

Browse books like The End of Everything

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

164

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The End of Everything, you might also like...

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

Book cover of Big Ideas... For Small Businesses: Simple, Practical Tools and Tactics to Help Your Small Business Grow

Big Ideas... For Small Businesses by John Lamerton,

Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…