Here are 100 books that Inferno fans have personally recommended if you like Inferno. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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

Book cover of The Fall of Berlin 1945

Andrew C. Piazza Author Of One Last Gasp

From my list on WW2 books I used as research for my horror novel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Andrew is a long-time WWII history buff and writer who looks for any excuse to do a deep dive into his favorite history topics. For his WWII horror novel One Last Gasp, he spent over a year researching the Battle of the Bulge, from first-hand accounts of front-line soldiers to official U.S. Army documents.

Andrew's book list on WW2 books I used as research for my horror novel

Andrew C. Piazza Why Andrew loves this book

A bit dry and occasionally over-focused on rattling off official numbers and unit designations, The Fall Of Berlin is also a low-key horror novel. Surrounded on all sides by a massive Russian army hell-bent on revenge, the people of Berlin are caught between those invaders and their own leadership forcing them into a suicidal last stand. The scale of brutality is numbing; this is a battle fought without mercy by two adversaries locked in a death struggle.

By Antony Beevor ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Fall of Berlin 1945 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A tale drenched in drama and blood, heroism and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc-tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.

Antony Beevor, renowned…


If you love Inferno...

Ad

Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Book cover of The Day of Battle

Glyn Harper Author Of The Battle for North Africa: El Alamein and the Turning Point for World War II

From my list on Great WW2 books published after 2000.

Why am I passionate about this?

Glyn Harper has been researching and writing military history for over forty years. He is the author of numerous best-selling books on military history and is also an award-winning author of books for children and young adults. A former army officer, Glyn is New Zealand’s only Professor of War Studies.

Glyn's book list on Great WW2 books published after 2000

Glyn Harper Why Glyn loves this book

The Day of Battle was Volume Two of Rick Atkinson’s acclaimed Liberation Trilogy. While all three volumes of this series are well worth reading, Atkinson was at his best in the second volume which deals with the much-neglected campaigns of Sicily and Italy. The doyen of British military history and a veteran of the Italian campaign, the late Sir Michael Howard wrote that The Day of Battle was ‘one of the truly outstanding records of the Second World War’. I think it is too.

By Rick Atkinson ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In An Army at Dawn - winner of the Pulitzer Prize - Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of the Battle, he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north. The Italian campaign's outcome was never certain; in fact, Roosevelt, Churchill and their military advisors engaged in heated debate about whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea. But once underway, the commitment to…


Book cover of Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein

Glyn Harper Author Of The Battle for North Africa: El Alamein and the Turning Point for World War II

From my list on Great WW2 books published after 2000.

Why am I passionate about this?

Glyn Harper has been researching and writing military history for over forty years. He is the author of numerous best-selling books on military history and is also an award-winning author of books for children and young adults. A former army officer, Glyn is New Zealand’s only Professor of War Studies.

Glyn's book list on Great WW2 books published after 2000

Glyn Harper Why Glyn loves this book

This was the book that established Niall Barr’s reputation as one of the United Kingdom’s leading historians of the Second World War. Meticulously researched, thoroughly readable, and compelling, Niall Barr’s Pendulum of War has become the recognised standard work on the desert war in 1942. Anyone interested in the battles of El Alamein must read this book.

By Niall Barr ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In late June 1942, the dispirited and defeated British Eighth Army was pouring back towards the tiny railway halt of El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. Tobruk had fallen and Eighth Army had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous bombardment opened the Eighth Army's own offensive which destroyed the Axis threat to Egypt. Explanations for the remarkable change of fortune have generally been sought in the abrasive personality of the new army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery. But the long running controversies surrounding the commanders of…


If you love Max Hastings...

Ad

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…

Book cover of The Blood of Free Men: The Liberation of Paris, 1944

Steven H. Jaffe Author Of New York at War: Four Centuries of Combat, Fear, and Intrigue in Gotham

From my list on cities at war.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian, curator, and writer born and raised in New York City, a place whose history intrigued me from an early age. With a mother who moved from small-town New Jersey to Greenwich Village in the 1950s, and a father who had childhood memories of World War I in the Bronx, I think my interest was sort of preordained. I remain fascinated by cities as engines of change, as flashpoints for conflict, and as places that are simultaneously powerful and vulnerable. 

Steven's book list on cities at war

Steven H. Jaffe Why Steven loves this book

Written with crystal clarity and a flair for the telling anecdote, this book unfolds the multi-dimensional chess game that culminated in the liberation of Paris after four long years of Nazi occupation. Neiberg shows how diverse actorsleftist resistance fighters bent on liberating the city from within, Allied officials fearing just such a “red” takeover, a willful Charles de Gaulle determined to dominate the victory, anxious collaborationists, and German officersfueled a volatile crisis that changed from moment to moment in the city’s streets.

By Michael Neiberg ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

As the Allies struggled inland from Normandy in August of 1944, the fate of Paris hung in the balance. Other jewels of Europe,sites like Warsaw, Antwerp, and Monte Cassino,were, or would soon be, reduced to rubble during attempts to liberate them. But Paris endured, thanks to a fractious cast of characters, from Resistance cells to Free French operatives to an unlikely assortment of diplomats, Allied generals, and governmental officials. Their efforts, and those of the German forces fighting to maintain control of the city, would shape the course of the battle for Europe and colour popular memory of the conflict…


Book cover of Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship

Lawrence J. Haas Author Of Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World

From my list on America and the age-old fight for freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved history, especially U.S. history, and, as a White House official for President Clinton, I saw it made up close. As a historian, I have focused in particular on America’s role in the world ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when I came to recognize that President Kennedy was right: “Domestic policy can hurt you, but foreign policy can kill you.” Over the last quarter-century, I’ve concentrated my work on America’s efforts to lead the West and promote freedom around the world. I read voraciously, write a column on foreign policy for leading outlets, and discuss global affairs often on TV and radio.

Lawrence's book list on America and the age-old fight for freedom

Lawrence J. Haas Why Lawrence loves this book

I love this book, which is warm and beautifully written, because it tells the story of the most vital and consequential political partnership of the last century. Roosevelt and Churchill, both heroes of mine, saved freedom by steering the Allies to victory in World War II over the mighty, ravenous, bloodthirsty, and seemingly invincible Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

This book brings Roosevelt and Churchill to life, showcasing their astounding brilliance and strength, along with their very human pettiness, impatience, and skullduggery, as they work in close concert with one another, press one another, and, when necessary, even work around one another. It’s a marvelous story and a gripping read.

By Jon Meacham ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Franklin and Winston as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The most complete portrait ever drawn of the complex emotional connection between two of history’s towering leaders

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were the greatest leaders of “the Greatest Generation.” In Franklin and Winston, Jon Meacham explores the fascinating relationship between the two men who piloted the free world to victory in World War II. It was a crucial friendship, and a unique one—a president and a prime minister spending enormous amounts of time together (113 days during the war) and exchanging nearly two thousand messages. Amid cocktails, cigarettes, and cigars, they met, often secretly, in…


Book cover of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made

Lawrence J. Haas Author Of Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World

From my list on America and the age-old fight for freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved history, especially U.S. history, and, as a White House official for President Clinton, I saw it made up close. As a historian, I have focused in particular on America’s role in the world ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when I came to recognize that President Kennedy was right: “Domestic policy can hurt you, but foreign policy can kill you.” Over the last quarter-century, I’ve concentrated my work on America’s efforts to lead the West and promote freedom around the world. I read voraciously, write a column on foreign policy for leading outlets, and discuss global affairs often on TV and radio.

Lawrence's book list on America and the age-old fight for freedom

Lawrence J. Haas Why Lawrence loves this book

I love this book because it’s an inspiring story of selfless patriotism, of six men of great wealth and accomplishment who set aside their private careers and personal ambitions to serve their country at a time of awesome need.

Averell Harriman, Robert Lovett, Dean Acheson, John McCloy, George Kennan, Charles Bohlen–as America emerged victorious in World War II but uncertain about the future, these friends and colleagues crafted the policies that created what later became known as the “American Century.”

This book is a deeply researched, fast-paced story of unsung heroes that left me nostalgic about the nation’s glorious past and, even after 741 pages, thirsting for more.

By Walter Isaacson , Evan Thomas ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Wise Men introduces the original brightest and best, leaders whose outsized personalities and actions brought order to postwar chaos: Averell Harriman, freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt's special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, author of Containment; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense during the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation's most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.


If you love Inferno...

Ad

Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Candy Bombers

Lawrence J. Haas Author Of Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World

From my list on America and the age-old fight for freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved history, especially U.S. history, and, as a White House official for President Clinton, I saw it made up close. As a historian, I have focused in particular on America’s role in the world ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when I came to recognize that President Kennedy was right: “Domestic policy can hurt you, but foreign policy can kill you.” Over the last quarter-century, I’ve concentrated my work on America’s efforts to lead the West and promote freedom around the world. I read voraciously, write a column on foreign policy for leading outlets, and discuss global affairs often on TV and radio.

Lawrence's book list on America and the age-old fight for freedom

Lawrence J. Haas Why Lawrence loves this book

I love stories about America at its best, its most uplifting, its most inspiring, and I can’t imagine anyone telling the story of the Berlin airlift and what he calls “America’s finest hour” in more gripping detail than Andrei Cherny in The Candy Bombers.

With style and elegance, he takes you into the White House, where Truman decides to save West Berlin from Stalin’s attempted conquest, and he puts you in the cockpits of the pilots who delivered food and other necessities on a round-the-clock basis to the desperate people of that city. How good is this book? I wish I had written this book myself.

By Andrei Cherny ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In the tradition of the great narrative storytellers, Andrei Cherny recounts the exhilarating saga of the unlikely men who made the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history.

The Candy Bombers is a remarkable story with profound implications for our own time. Cherny tells the tale of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and secondstringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat, but also won the hearts of America’s defeated enemies, inspired people around the world to believe in America’s fundamental goodness, avoided World War III, and won the greatest…


Book cover of The Hawk and the Dove

Lawrence J. Haas Author Of Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World

From my list on America and the age-old fight for freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved history, especially U.S. history, and, as a White House official for President Clinton, I saw it made up close. As a historian, I have focused in particular on America’s role in the world ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when I came to recognize that President Kennedy was right: “Domestic policy can hurt you, but foreign policy can kill you.” Over the last quarter-century, I’ve concentrated my work on America’s efforts to lead the West and promote freedom around the world. I read voraciously, write a column on foreign policy for leading outlets, and discuss global affairs often on TV and radio.

Lawrence's book list on America and the age-old fight for freedom

Lawrence J. Haas Why Lawrence loves this book

I love this book because I miss the days when people of great influence in America disagreed vociferously about important matters but remained good friends. Top State and Defense Department official Paul Nitze and legendary diplomat and writer George Kennan were the ying and yang of America’s post-World War II foreign policy–the former a brusque “hawk,” the latter a soft-spoken “dove.”

They battled in the halls of power and in public forums throughout the Cold War, each hoping to implant his views on U.S. foreign policy. Nitze lived to 97, Kennan to 101, and they were close pals to the very end. I wish we’d see more of that warm and friendly competition in Washington today.

By Nicholas Thompson ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A brilliant and revealing biography of the two most important Americans during the Cold War era—written by the grandson of one of them

Only two Americans held positions of great influence throughout the Cold War; ironically, they were the chief advocates for the opposing strategies for winning—and surviving—that harrowing conflict. Both men came to power during World War II, reached their professional peaks during the Cold War’s most frightening moments, and fought epic political battles that spanned decades. Yet despite their very different views, Paul Nitze and George Kennan dined together, attended the weddings of each other’s children, and remained…


Book cover of The UNtied Kingdom

Melody Johnson Author Of Beyond the Next Star

From my list on sci-fi that will melt your heart.

Why am I passionate about this?

Science fiction is a wonderful genre and a fun one to write because it offers authors the opportunity to explore age-old topics from a fresh perspective. For me, as both a writer and a voracious reader, the one thing that ties me to a great story—no matter the genre—is romance. Whether the hero is an alien from a faraway world or a werewolf with mechanical organs, the heart of a story is its characters, the relationships they form, and the healing power of love. Below are my top five recommended reads in science fiction that are sure to melt your heart!

Melody's book list on sci-fi that will melt your heart

Melody Johnson Why Melody loves this book

A similar concept to Man in the High Castle, The UNtied Kingdom explores an alternate reality in which the Axis won World War II. The book begins in modern-day England where down-on-her-luck and former pop star, Eve, suffers a hang-gliding accident while filming a has-been “where are they now” reality TV show. She falls through a wormhole into the WWII alternate reality and is saved by Major Harker, only to be arrested as a potential Axis spy. When Harker embarks on a mission to infiltrate enemy lines, he drags Eve along on his mission for her Axis intelligence, and so begins their exciting, adventure-filled romance. Will he ever believe that she came from a different reality? Will she be able to help right the wrongs in his? Is this world the one she belongs in—with him? The questions that Johnson (no relation!) explores are intriguing, heart-wrenching, and kept me riveted…

By Kate Johnson ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When Eve Carpenter lands with a splash in the Thames, it's not the London or England she's used to. No one has a telephone or knows what a computer is. England's a third world country and Princess Di is still alive. But worst of all, everyone thinks Eve's a spy. Including Major Harker who has his own problems. His sworn enemy is looking for a promotion. The general wants him to undertake some ridiculous mission to capture a computer, which Harker vaguely envisions running wild somewhere in Yorkshire. Turns out the best person to help him is Eve. She claims…


If you love Max Hastings...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Sailor's Heart

Rona Simmons Author Of A Gathering of Men

From my list on untold stories from World War II.

Why am I passionate about this?

I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories. 

Rona's book list on untold stories from World War II

Rona Simmons Why Rona loves this book

Not just another book on World War II—Sailor’s Heart by Martin Campbell is a story that has not been told before. It is the fictionalized (but heavily and exhaustively researched) story of three Royal Navy sailors who experienced traumas that rendered them unable to go on. Campbell says the condition “sailor’s heart” is the loss of interest in the battle and then the will to fight or the will to live.” With no end to the war in sight, the men are sentenced to an undefined period of rehabilitation in a Royal Navy hospital that has anything but the men’s best interests at heart. Their plight and struggle to survive are palpable and gripping.

By Martin Campbell ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Sailor's Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

1942. The war at sea is being lost. One per cent of all naval personnel are being referred as psychiatric casualties. The British Admiralty introduces the Stone Frigate approach.
Three men fight for their country in the Arctic convoys of World War II, then for their sanity and dignity, labelled as cowards and subjected to experimental psychiatry at an isolated facility set up to recycle men back into battle.
To the Navy they are faulty parts, not constitutionally suited to operate at sea. To the public they are poltroons, malingerers and psychiatric cases.
The places in this story are real,…


Book cover of The Fall of Berlin 1945
Book cover of The Day of Battle
Book cover of Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

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

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Soviet Union, the British Royal Navy, and presidential biography?

The Soviet Union 394 books