History

The number is the librarian’s score, out of ten, from Claude, an AI. Readers’ scores appear beside it once five people have rated. Claude has not heard the albums: their scores come from what is documented about them.

Titles from the Open Stacks can be read here in full; the others link to where they can be found.

1. 1 Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)史記 Sima Qian 91 BCE 9.7
2. 2 History of the Peloponnesian WarἹστορίαι Thucydides 400 BCE 9.6
3. 3 The HistoriesἹστορίαι Herodotus c. 430 BCE 9.4
4. 4 Stored in a Famous Mountain: From the Letter to Ren An報任安書（節選） Sima Qian c. 91 BCE 9.4
5. 5 A Possession for All Time Thucydides 400 BCE 9.3
6. 6 Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (Zizhi Tongjian)資治通鑑 Sima Guang 1084 9.3
7. 7 The Zuo Tradition (Zuo Zhuan)春秋左氏傳 Zuo Qiuming (traditionally attributed) 350 BCE 9.2
8. 8 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Edward Gibbon 1776–1789 9.2
9. 9 If This Is a ManSe questo è un uomo Primo Levi 1947 9.2
10. 10 The Opening of the Histories Herodotus c. 430 BCE 9.1
11. 11 The AnnalsAnnales Tacitus 117 9.1
12. 12 The Muqaddimahالمقدمة Ibn Khaldun 1377 9.1
13. 13 To Await Later Ages: From the Grand Historian's Afterword太史公自序（節選） Sima Qian 91 BCE 9.0
14. 14 Parallel LivesΒίοι Παράλληλοι Plutarch 110 9.0
15. 15 Book of Han漢書 Ban Gu (completed by Ban Zhao) 111 9.0
16. 16 The Three Things That Do Not Decay穆叔論不朽 Zuo Qiuming (traditionally attributed) 549 BCE 8.9
17. 17 The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip IILa Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à l'époque de Philippe II Fernand Braudel 1949 8.9
18. 18 Tea in the Hall of Returning: From the Afterword to the Record of Bronze and Stone金石錄後序（節選） Li Qingzhao 1134 8.8
19. 19 The Civilization of the Renaissance in ItalyDie Cultur der Renaissance in Italien Jacob Burckhardt 1860 8.8
20. 20 The Autumn of the Middle AgesHerfsttij der Middeleeuwen Johan Huizinga 1919 8.7
21. 21 Feudal SocietyLa Société féodale Marc Bloch 1939–1940 8.7
22. 22 The HistoriesἹστορίαι Polybius 150 BCE 8.6
23. 23 History of RomeAb Urbe Condita Livy c. 27–9 BCE 8.6
24. 24 Records of the Three Kingdoms三國志 Chen Shou 285 8.6
25. 25 We Choose to Go to the MoonAddress at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort John F. Kennedy 1962 8.6
26. 26 Apollo 11 Lunar Plaque NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 1969 8.6
27. 27 That It May Long Endure: From the Edicts of Asoka Asoka c. 243 BCE 8.5
28. 28 The Gallic WarCommentarii de Bello Gallico Julius Caesar c. 50s BCE 8.5
29. 29 Book of the Later Han後漢書 Fan Ye c. 432–445 8.5
30. 30 To PosterityPosteritati Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) 1351 8.5
31. 31 Franklin’s Epitaph for HimselfEpitaph Benjamin Franklin 1728 8.5
32. 32 The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848 Eric Hobsbawm 1962 8.5
33. 33 AnabasisΚύρου Ἀνάβασις Xenophon c. 370 BCE 8.4
34. 34 Ecclesiastical History of the English PeopleHistoria ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum Bede c. 731 8.4
35. 35 Things Gather Where They Are Loved: Preface to the Record of Collected Antiquities集古錄目序 Ouyang Xiu 1062 8.4
36. 36 One Stone on the Mountain, One in the River: The Pavilion on Mount Xian峴山亭記 Ouyang Xiu 1070 8.4
37. 37 1587, a Year of No Significance1587, a Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline Ray Huang 1981 8.4
38. 38 Strategies of the Warring States戰國策 Liu Xiang (compiler) 20 BCE 8.3
39. 39 The True History of the Conquest of New SpainHistoria verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España Bernal Díaz del Castillo 1568 8.3
40. 40 Of Use to the Future: Two Notes from Gu Yanwu's Record of Daily Knowledge日知錄·文須有益於天下、著書之難 Gu Yanwu 1695 8.3
41. 41 For All Future Time: From the Epilogue to the Laws of Hammurabi Hammurabi, king of Babylon c. 1754 BCE 8.2
42. 42 Rajatarangini (The River of Kings)राजतरङ्गिणी Kalhana 1148–1149 8.2
43. 43 The AlexiadἈλεξιάς Anna Komnene c. 1148 8.2
44. 44 The Guns of August Barbara W. Tuchman 1962 8.2
45. 45 That My Sons May Have Liberty to Study Mathematics: John Adams to Abigail Adams, 1780John Adams to Abigail Adams, Paris, 1780 John Adams 1780 8.1
46. 46 Essentials of Government of the Zhenguan Era貞觀政要 Wu Jing 720 8.0
47. 47 A Loan Fund for Two Hundred YearsCodicil to the Will of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin 1789 8.0
48. 48 The Voyager Message: Statement by President CarterVoyager Spacecraft Statement by the President Jimmy Carter 1977 8.0
49. 49 Whosoever Shall Read This Inscription Hereafter: From the Behistun Inscription Darius I, king of Persia c. 519 BCE 7.9
50. 50 Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan)日本書紀 Prince Toneri (chief compiler) 720 7.9
51. 51 A Tripod Bears an Inscription: From the Book of Rites禮記·祭統（節選） Anonymous Confucian scholars c. 200 BCE 7.8
52. 52 A Wise Provision of the Ancients: The Preface to Book VII of On Architecture Vitruvius c. 25 BCE 7.8
53. 53 The Golden Record Cover: How to Play ItThe Golden Record Cover NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 1977 7.8
54. 54 Apollo 17 Lunar Plaque NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 1972 7.7
55. 55 Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms)三國史記 Kim Busik 1145 7.6
56. 56 LAGEOS: Message to the FutureMessage to the Future NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 1976 7.6
57. 57 The Voyager Golden Record: Its ContentsWhat Are the Contents of the Golden Record? NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 1977 7.6
58. 58 Guns, Germs, and SteelGuns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Jared Diamond 1997 7.6
59. 59 The Rosetta Stone: What the Decree SaysThe Rosetta Stone E. A. Wallis Budge 1913 7.4
60. 60 The Pioneer Plaque, Read Line by Line Claude 1972 7.0
61. 61 The Arecibo Message, Described Claude 1974 7.0
62. 62 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankindקיצור תולדות האנושות Yuval Noah Harari 2011 7.0
63. 63 Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages: The Silicon DiscApollo 11 Goodwill Messages NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 1969 6.9
64. 64 The Silver Plate Under the Cornerstone: The United States Capitol, 1793First Cornerstone Architect of the Capitol (the plate's inscription of 1793 quoted within) 1793 6.8