Best UPSC Books for History Optional
History is considered the standout subject among all optional subjects for the UPSC Civil Service Examination. As it gives the data from the past, the subject is a mix of culture and tradition. The UPSC optional history subject has great importance in the UPSC Prelims and Mains examinations. Here are some best IAS books for history for preparing the UPSC Optional subject paper.
Books of Ancient Indian History for UPSC Preparation
Ancient India – Upinder Singh | Ancient India (NCERT) -Prof. R.S. Sharma |
History of India ( Volume-I) – Romila Thapar | The Wonder That Was India -A.L. Basham |
Books of Medieval Indian History for UPSC Preparation
A History of South India -K.A. Nilkantha Sastri | The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707 -Irfan Habib |
Ashoka & Decline of the Maurya -Romila Thapar | The Mughal Empire -J.F. Richards |
Indian Feudalism -R.S. Sharma | The Wonder That was India (Volume.2) -S.A.A. Rizvi |
Material Culture & Social Formation in Ancient India -R.S. Sharma | Urban Dynamics -H.C. Verma |
Medieval India (Macmillan) -Satish Chandra | Medieval India (NCERT) -Satish Chandra |
Books of Modern Indian History for UPSC Preparation
Anatomy of the Raj (PPH) -Suhash Chakravarty | Freedom Struggle (NbT) -Bipan Chandra & others |
Gandhi -B.R. Nanda | Gandhi -Judith Brown |
India’s Struggle for Independence -Bipan Chandra | Modern India (Macmillan) -Sumit Sarkar |
Modern India (NCERT) -Bipan Chandra | Modern India (NCERT) -Bipan Chandra |
The Raj Syndrome (Penguins) -Suhash Chakravarty | VAID’s Fundamentals of History Series |
Constitutional History -Pravin Kumar | Freedom Struggle -Pravin Kumar |
Administrative History -Pravin Kumar | Social History -Pravin Kumar |
Books of World History for UPSC Preparation
Age of Revolution- E.J. Hobsbawm | Age of Empires -E.J. Hobsbawm |
Europe Since 1815 -W.C. Craig | Europe Since Napoleon -David Thompson |
The Social Basis of Democracy & Dictatorship -B.J. Moore | Contemporary World History (NCERT) -Arjun Dev – |
Europe Since 1870 -James Joll | Industry & Empire -E.J. Hobsbawm |
Age of Capital -E.J. Hobsbawm | The Story of Civilization, Vol. 2 (NCERT) -Arjun Dev |