[BenKenobi]

11 would be Condorcets’ “Spirit of the Laws”. :)

That’s a pretty good grounding, I think.

My schooling had me read all of these at one point in time.

[Verginius Rufus]

That should be Montesquieu, not Condorcet, for The Spirit of the Laws.

I'd recommend Herodotus but I'm not sure if he's fiction or non-fiction.

H. W. Brands, Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence, is a great read.