Ancient Greece

Hopeful Monsters Interplay of biology, physics, philosophy and politics. Going beyond the usual banal comparisons, the author presents the period between the world wars as a political and human investigation into uncertainty, quantum mechanics and relativity. Following 2 young people, a British boy and a German girl, the book proceeds in a series of backlooking narratives that take place in the major cockpits of the 20th century - from Berlin in the 20's to Russia and Spain in the 30's; politics plays a strong part, with Fascism and Communism playing for dominance across the continent. Through all this the characters try to find a way to create a meaningful life. Significant characters whose views permeate the book include the Lamarckian scientists Kammerer and Lysenko, Wittgenstein, Heideigger, Einstein, and many others. Never does the book bog down in didactic presentation, while still presenting a clear understanding of the major intellectual trends of the 20th century. Many other books have used this period as a background, but in this case, it's an essential element to the plot.

Great for book club discussions - you'll find no end of ways to interpret and discuss this book.

Another book along these lines is the Calcutta Chromosome

Neal Stephenson  -Cryptonomicon  - known more for excellent cyberpunk scifi, he's also written great historical fiction -- intelligent, complex and captivating- WWII submarine thriller with modern day techno-adventure Nazi subs, filled with gold, unbreakable codes, and enough paranoia and conspiracy to keep you reading and wishing the book was even longer!

India  during and after the partition.

What McCullough does for Rome, Sharon Kay Penman does for medieval England. 

Dorothy Dunnett  Lymond Chronicles & Niccolo Series -does the Renaissance as masterfully as McCullough portrays Rome. These books are thickly plotted, with characters who develop and mature over the course of many adventures and volumes. The history is solid, and the backgrounds highlight various less well known features of history -- for example, the last gasps of the Byzantine Empire from its toehold in Trabzond in the Eastern Black Sea, or the early explorations of the African coast. Dorothy Dunnett's earlier series of Lymond chronicles is another great read -- set in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, the action begins along the Scottish borders but expands to the entire Mediterranean basin.  Long out of print, they've been republished at last..

King Hereafter - Dunnett's unique retelling of the Macbeth story

The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte 1990 – An appetizing but ultimately unsatisfying murder mystery. Julia is an art restorer who finds clues to a 500 year old murder in a little known painting. When she tries to investigate, a modern day murderer appears to have an interest in her activities. The book revolves around the game of chess that is portrayed in the painting and plays out on multiple levels. Good concept, and it works for the first half of the book, but then the plot seems to run out of steam and it meanders thru the second half before coming to its conclusion. If you’re interested in Renaissance painting, art restoration or chess puzzles, I’d recommend this book, but otherwise there are better contenders in the genre.

My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk - intrigue and murder in the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent.

Neal Stephenson   known more for excellent cyberpunk SciFi, he's also written great historical fiction -- intelligent, complex and captivating-

Baroque Cycle Volume 1:Quicksilver -17th century science - historical fiction

Baroque Cycle Volume 2: Confusion

Baroque Cycle Volume 3: The System of the World