What are some examples of academic historians with an accessible and engaging rather than dry writing style (like Mary Beard, E.P. Thompson...)? Do you know of any who is also an active blogger or journalist?

by sievkd

I'm looking to improve my essay and article writing skills, so I'd be really grateful if you could share some examples of popular authors with accessible, engaging writing styles that could be taken as references. Thanks in advance!

CommodoreCoCo

Some of my favorites include:

  • Michael and Sophie Coe: Quite a prolific pair, Michael's Breaking the Maya Code, about the decipherment of Classic Maya writing, and Sophie's The True History of Chocolate are models of how to write for a public audience

  • Kristina Killgrove is a former senior contributor at Forbes and bioarchaeology PhD who has done a great job writing up archaeology articles for popular press. David Anderson is a similarly excellent example of that.

  • JSTOR Daily regularly publishes blog posts from academics and other experts on a diversity of fascinating and timely topics

  • "History is Bunk": Assembling the Past at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village by Jessie Swigger is probably my favorite book that I've read in order to write an answer on the sub and also one of the most accessible

  • If you don't mind some ethnographies:

    • The Hold Life Has by Catherine Allen is a fantastically written ethnography of a highland Peruvian community, it's the first academic book I recommend to people

    • Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Basso isn't afraid to get into a bit more theory, but retains evocative prose. A good model for balancing heady concepts with accessible writing.