The Knight in the Panther's Skin by Shota Rustaveli (12th century) — Georgia's national epic poem, written at the court of Queen Tamar. The story follows three knights in a quest of friendship and love across a mythologised medieval world. Georgians know it by heart the way others know Shakespeare. The Donald Rayfield translation (2012) is the best English version.
Bread and Ashes: A Walk Through the Mountains of Georgia by Tony Anderson (2003) — A travel account of a long walk through the Georgian mountains, Tblisi, and the Caucasus. Anderson captures the texture of early post-Soviet Georgia with unusual honesty about its poverty, corruption, and extraordinary beauty.
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore — Stalin was born in Gori, 80 km west of Tbilisi, and spent his formative years in the city. Montefiore's comprehensive biography contextualises Georgia's most fateful export. His earlier Young Stalin focuses specifically on the underground years in Tiflis — the bank robberies, the printing presses, the revolutionary circle — and reads like a thriller.
Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia by Donald Rayfield (2012) — The comprehensive one-volume history of the country, covering everything from the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia through the Soviet period to independence. Rayfield is a Georgian literature scholar as well as a historian and writes with rare depth and affection for the subject. Essential reading before any serious visit.