At its heart, history is really about people. That is why my favorite historical books from 2025 were all biographies. Though they cover very different subjects, they all bring the past to life by focusing on individual stories.
You can read all of the Farewell 2025 posts here:
- Farewell 2025 – New-to-Me Games!
- Farewell 2025 – Historical Fiction!
- Farewell 2025 – Non-Historical Games!
- Farewell 2025 – Historical Non-Fiction!
- Farewell 2025 – Historical Games!
- Farewell 2025 – Best on the Blog!
Betina Anton: Hiding Mengele
The life of Josef Mengele can be split into two clear parts. The first part was his time in Nazi Germany, where he became known for his twisted ideas about race and his terrible experiments on people at the Auschwitz camp. After the war ended in 1945, he disappeared. He lived a quiet, comfortable life in South America, avoiding punishment. Betina Anton’s book looks at both sides of his life. She uses many different sources, including interviews with people who survived his cruelty and others who knew him in Brazil. She even found some of his private letters. This book fills in the missing pieces about his life after the war, showing how he got help to hide.
The book shows a strong contrast. Mengele lived a peaceful life in South America, while his victims continued to suffer. This difference makes the reader wonder how a man like him could escape justice and live freely.
Geoff Mortimer: Wallenstein. The Enigma of the Thirty Years’ War
I have written a lot about Wallenstein this year. Because of that, I have read many books about him, but Geoff Mortimer’s biography is the best. The book tries to clear up the myths about Wallenstein that were created by his enemies after he died. Instead, Mortimer shows him as a normal man for his time. He acted to protect his own property and land. When he had to choose a side, he stayed loyal to the Emperor and his Catholic faith. Wallenstein was tied to the Emperor, but he needed peace to keep the lands he had been given. When the Emperor stopped trusting him, Wallenstein was treated the same way he had treated others—he was killed and his property was taken.
Christopher Duffy: Frederick the Great. A Military Life
Frederick II of Prussia is one of the most interesting people in history to me. He was a ruler, a writer, and a great general. Christopher Duffy’s book focuses on his life as a military leader. It is very detailed and easy to understand. The book covers Frederick’s wars, his battle plans, and how he organized his army. Duffy also points out Frederick’s mistakes. He says that Frederick inherited a great army but left a much weaker one for his successor. However, the book also shows how skilled Frederick was. He made bold but smart plans and moved his army quickly to fight three powerful enemies at once. He held on until his enemies were too tired to keep fighting. The book is written in a smooth style and includes 50 detailed maps of his battles.
