Books: Niall Ferguson

A professor at Harvard University, the Scottish-born Ferguson is renowned in the field of counterfactual history. His three-part series on WWII, "War of the World," recently aired on PBS. His picks:

My Five Most Important Books

1. "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy. The book that, more than any other, persuaded me to be a historian.

2. "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon. The greatest achievement of historical writing. The irony of Gibbon's prose is the literary equiva lent of Turkish delight.

3. "Diaries" by Viktor Klemperer. A unique view of the Third Reich and Holocaust from the view of a German-Jewish academic.

4. "Gold and Iron" by Fritz Stern. A masterpiece of scholarship sheds light on the relationship between Bismarck and his banker.

5. "At Swim-Two Birds" by Flann O'Brien. Probably the book that has made me laugh the most.

A book you hope parents will read to their kids:J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." There is no greater work of fiction for young readers.

A classic that, upon revisiting, disappointed: Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." I've lost that youthful exuberance that once made me tolerant of his monumental self-indulgence.

© 2008