PRE-HISTORY:

The PEOPLE OF THE WOLF series by W. Michael Gear,Kathleen O'Neal Gear. But build a bookshelf: there are 43 books now in the series. All from about 12,000 B.C. ending about 1,200 A.D.

Jean Auel - 4 Books, starting with clan of the Cave Bear

Norman Mailer: ANCIENT EVENINGS

Gore Vidal: CREATION

Wilbur Smith: The Egyptian Series - RIVER GOD, SEVENTH SCROLL, WARLOCK, THE QUEST

THE ODYSSEY: A MODERN SEQUEL, by Nikos Kazantzakis

THE ILIAD, THE ODYSSEY, by Homer

BIBLICAL:

THE SOURCE, by James Michener

BEN-HUR, by Lew Wallace

DEAR & GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN, GREAT LION OF GOD, I,JUDAS by Taylor Caldwell

THE ROBE, Lloyd Douglas

JUDAS, by Frank Yerby

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, by Nikos Kazantzakis (He also wrote ZORBA THE GREEK)

ROMAN EMPIRE TO THE RENAISSANCE:

A PILLAR OF IRON, by Taylor Caldwell

SPARTACUS, by Howard Fast or Lewis Gibbons (2 books same title)

THE GLADIATORS, by A Koestler

FORTUNE'S FAVORITES, by Colleen McCullough (yes, she wrote THE THORN BIRDS, too)

AN ODOR OF SANCTITY, Frank Yerby

THE JESTER, by James Patterson

THE WALKING DRUM, by Louis L'Amour

NAME OF THE ROSE, Umberto Ecco

This should be enough to get someone started... I'll cover Renaissance to 1700's, then Revolutionary War, then French Revolution, then early expansion into America AND Australia, then Civil War, then the Westerns, 20th Century through end of Cold War in later posts. I'm so tired (waaah)...

Happy Reading!

I know some of these, but some authors here are completely new to me. I'm sure we'll all enjoy the recommendations.

I just discovered a site that lists time periods and the categorizes historical mysteries by those time periods. Check it out at http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/HistoryCats/index.html

WOW! Never heard of this site -- THANK YOU!! I'm going to send the link to all my reader-y friends, and then dive in, myself.

Be careful Barbara, you can really get lost there :-)

Thank-you for this site, Talia, and for the suggestions,LanSr. I love reading historical fiction myself, and I use it also to introduce a love of history to my younger son(age 17). We are planning a trip to Great Britain next year, and are reading our way through British history. Edward Rutherfurd is one of my favorite authors, but I am always on the lookout for others.

Enjoy the trip - and the Rutherford books! It is so nice when parents can find a way to shar interests wth teems - it is often not easy.