The Browser updates its books page — on which experts and enthusiasts of various stripes recommend books on a given subject — with alarming frequency. The latest is worth reading not just because the interviewee has the unbeatable name of Peregrine Worsthorne. The subject is the French Revolution, and you can find out what two books cause Worsthorne to say:

They’re a model of how history should be written. You don’t just find out about the French Revolution (and this is true of all great histories), you find out much more about politics in general, society in general, human nature in general. You broaden your knowledge not only of the particular subject - you begin to understand the richness of the human condition, and how interesting it is to study.