Larry Alex Taunton offers American Spectator readers a list of his choices for history’s top 10 most influential books.

10. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890), Alfred Thayer Mahan

My first entry will surprise some readers. It is also the most recent work to be included on our list. But Mahan’s thesis had a brief, yet vast, influence on world events. Mahan, a professor at the Naval War College, put forth his theory that national greatness is inextricably linked to the strength of one’s navy. …

9. History of the Peloponnesian War (5th century B.C.), Thucydides

It would be easy to complete our list with Greeks of the Classical era: Homer, Herodotus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristotle, and others. But in the name of diversity, I include only two, the first of whom is the great historian Thucydides. The exiled Athenian general’s history of the war between Athens and Sparta set the standard for how subsequent histories would be written, and we may thank him for it. …

8. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543), Nicolaus Copernicus

A Polish astronomer, Copernicus is generally regarded as the father of the theory of heliocentricity, and, as a consequence, he is likewise regarded as the father of modern astronomy. Although Copernicus was not, in fact, the first to posit the theory of heliocentricity — Aristarchus of Samos had suggested as much in the 3rd century B.C. — he gave it credibility and popularized it.

Follow the link above to access the rest of the list. Follow the link ahead to learn about history’s most destructive books.