Do you know a Canadian historian? (::nods::) Are they impossible to shop for because they already own all the books? (::nods vigorously::) Then have we got just the thing for you!
As promised, we’re back with our Fourth Annual Holiday Gift Guide for Historians and History Professionals! This is becoming a veritable Canadian history holiday tradition. I’ll keep the preamble short, but as usual, standard caveats apply:
- Warning to loved ones of historians and history professionals: It is so lovely that you remembered that we love history and that most of us love reading. However, we strongly recommend against the purchase of history books for holiday gifts, unless they are specifically requested. If you are dead-set on buying a history book for your loved-one, at least make sure that it is: from an academic press (it will say the word University in the title of the publisher) and it is by a person with a Ph.D. in history (Google is your friend – just put their name and the word history to find out). You may also want to make sure that your loved-one doesn’t already own the book in question, or have easy access to it from their institutional library. We have provided a couple of suggestions for non-history books that might be a better fit.
- While I am Canadian, and many of the recommendations I’ve included down below are specific to Canadian history, this list should be helpful to history professionals no matter their country of origin or residence.
- Finally, while there are plenty of options here for history enthusiasts, this guide is specifically intended for individuals who are shopping for historians and historical professionals.
I also know that our gift guide is out rather late this year, mostly because I wasn’t planning to do one. And I’m sure that all of my fellow historians and history professionals have already completed their holiday shopping, so this guide is entirely unnecessary, right? 😉
Don’t forget to check out our guides from 2016, 2017, and 2018. While not all of the links work anymore, there are still plenty of fantastic ideas to be found. The leather book weight from 2018 is still a highlight. And don’t forget that the 2017 guide contains additional information if you will be purchasing or making gifts for your Jewish friends.
Once again, I have cheekily divided this list according to academic rank, mostly because I still think it’s funny. Enjoy!
