Jagran Josh
UPSC History Books: As per the data every year approximately 700 – 800 candidates prefer history as their optional. Check the list of best History Books for UPSC including ancient history, world history, modern history, and Indian History along with the best preparation strategy
The UPSC History Books are majorly categorized into four subjects such as ancient history, modern history, Indian history, and world history. In the UPSC civil service exam, History plays an important role as this subject is part of prelims, mains, and optional syllabus.
As per the recommendation of IAS toppers, the best UPSC History Books CSE preparation are A Brief History Of Modern India By Spectrum, India’s Ancient Past, Brief History of Modern India, and, The Story of Civilization
History is one of the scoring subjects of the UPSC exam and it is important for the candidates to get their hands on the best UPSC history books in order to fetch good marks.
Hence, we have compiled the best UPSC History Books for all the sections and exam stages along with the best preparation strategy in this article.
UPSC History Books
Candidates should check the UPSC history syllabus thoroughly before they finalize the history books for the IAS preparation. Additionally, the history subject is included in prelims, mains, and optional exams. Thus, all the aspirants should analyze the syllabus carefully and pick the UPSC History Books accordingly.
UPSC History Books PDF
To ease the preparation of the aspirants, we have divided the UPSC History books into four parts. The category-wise UPSC History Books recommended by experts are as follows:
- Ancient History Books
- World History Books
- Medieval History Books
- Modern History Books
- Indian History Books
UPSC Ancient History Books
Ancient history covers topics related to past events from the initial phase of the writing era and discusses human history till the start of the Middle Ages. Let’s look at the list of the best UPSC History Books to prepare for the ancient history section.
- NCERT Class XI Ancient India
- NCERT Class XII Theme in Indian History- I
- India’s Ancient Past by Ram Sharan Sharma
- The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham
UPSC World History Book
The World UPSC History Books cover sub-sections from world history events including Europe Unification, World War, etc. Let’s look at the list of best UPSC History Books to cover exam-relevant topics from world history.
- Contemporary World History for class XII (Old NCERT Book)
- Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
- Europe Since Napoleon by David Thompson
- Europe Since 1815 by W.C. Craig
- Europe Since 1870 by James Joll.
- The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT
UPSC Medieval History Books
The Medieval UPSC History Books cover sub-sections from medieval history events including Delhi Sultanate, Mughals etc. Let’s look at the list of best UPSC History Books to cover exam-relevant topics from world history.
- Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals by Satish Chandra
- The Mughal Empire by John F. Richards
- The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History by Peter Jackson
- Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King by Audrey Truschke
UPSC Modern History Book
Modern history covers topics from the history of the world beginning after the Middle Ages. Let’s look at the list of best UPSC History Books to cover exam-relevant topics from modern history.
- NCERT Class XI Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- A Brief History of Modern India
- India After Gandhi by Ramchandra Guha
- History Of Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
- Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
- History of Modern World by Jain and Mathu
Indian UPSC History Books
Indian history is a major part of the History Syllabus, so you need to adhere to the unique preparation strategy to excel in this section. Let’s look at the list of best UPSC History Books to cover exam-relevant topics from Indian history.
- India’s Ancient Past by RS Sharma
- History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- India’s Struggle For Independence by Bipan Chandra
- History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
- The Wonder That Was India by AL Basham
- India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
- Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
- India After Independence by Bipan Chandra
- Ancient and Medieval India by Poonam Dalal Dahiya
UPSC History Books for Prelims, Mains, and Optional
The UPSC History Syllabus is a part of prelims, mains, and optional exams. Hence, one should pick the best books recommended by the experts and previous year toppers. Let’s look at the list of best UPSC History Books to cover exam-relevant topics for all the selection stages.
UPSC History Books Prelims Examination
The UPSC History Prelims Syllabus is divided into three parts i.e. ancient history, modern history, and medieval history. Let’s discuss the list of best UPSC History Books to prepare well for the prelim exam.
- NCERT Class XI Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- India’s Ancient Past by R. S. Sharma
- A Brief History of Modern India
- History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
UPSC History Books Mains Paper
NCERT History Books are sufficient for UPSC prelims preparation, but to prepare for the UPSC Mains exam, one needs to refer to a few more history books to cover the advanced level questions to gain detailed knowledge of the subject. The UPSC history mains syllabus is divided into parts like ancient Indian history, medieval history, modern history, modern Indian history, and modern world history. Let’s discuss the list of best UPSC History Books to prepare well for the main exam.
- History of Modern World by Jain and Mathur
- History Of Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
- India After Gandhi by Ramchandra Guha
- India’s Ancient Past by RS Sharma
- Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
- The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham
UPSC History Indian Books for Optional Paper
Aspirants who have selected history as their optional subject need to choose the best UPSC History Books. Going by the previous trend and analysis, it is found that the questions asked from the history optional were moderate to difficult level. Thus, the candidates should build a robust strategy by using the best history optional books for the Mains exam as shared below:
- History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra
- History Of Modern India by Bipan Chandra
- Age of Revolution 1789-1848 by Eric Hobsbawm
- Age Of Capital: 1848-1875 (History of Civilization) by Eric Hobsbawm
- India’s Ancient Past by Ram Sharan Sharma
- A New Look at Modern Indian History From 1707 to the Modern Times by Alka Mehta and B L Grover S
- Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
- Contemporary World History (NCERT) by Arjun Dev
- The Penguin History Of Early India: From The Origins To AD 1300 by Romila Thapar
- Age of Empires by E.J. Hobsbawm
- Age of Revolution by E.J. Hobsbawm
- Modern Indian History by Bipan Chandra
- The Social Basis of Democracy & Dictatorship by B.J. Moore
How to Cover the History for the UPSC?
When reading UPSC History Books, many candidates commit the mistake of referring to the advanced level books without clearing their basic concepts. To fetch high marks in the history subject, it is important to develop conceptual clarity of all the topics. Hence, we have compiled a robust strategy to guide you on how to cover the UPSC History Books in the right manner.
- The first step is to check the UPSC history syllabus thoroughly to understand the topics important from the exam perspective.
- The next strategy is that you should commence the preparation with the NCERT books to learn the fundamentals properly.
- Once you have covered the entire NCERT history books, then you can refer to the subject-specific books to cover the advanced-level topics.
- Download and check the UPSC PYQ Papers to understand the exam requirements and prepare for the exam accordingly.
- Make sure to use limited books for every topic as reading too many books could create conceptual confusion.
- Practice unlimited UPSC Mocks tests for history subjects to identify the areas that require improvement. It will also boost your question-solving speed, accuracy, and problem-solving skills
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