Ask HN: Which are the best books on history from ancient times to present? Hey there, I want to read more about history to have a better grasp of the events that marked mankind throughout the centuries and I wonder if you have any suggestions for this kind of books. Thanks! |
http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-by-will-and...
http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-revised-ed/...
Vaclav Smil, Energy in World History. Arguably a far more significant basis for describing what has transpired. Manfred Weissenbacher's Sources of Power covers much the same topic, though at far greater length (not always relevance), and slightly unevenly. Daniel Yergin's The Prize addresses specifically oil's impact (and history), and was mind-opening for me.
Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation. The Industrial Revolution and emergence of the modern technological world.
http://www.worldcat.org/title/origins-of-our-time-the-great-...
David Christian, Big History. This goes back somewhat before ancient times, to the Big Bang.
http://www.worldcat.org/title/big-history/oclc/940282526&ref...
Add to that a good overall outline. H.G. Wells, Outline of History is somewhat in the tradition of David Christian's (and Christian cites it as a prior version of Big History). It's dated and jingoistic, but serves itself to show that viewpoints and perspectives change with time. Arnold Toynbee's History of the World is another, though larger. The Durants' Story of Civilization another.
http://www.worldcat.org/title/outline-of-history-being-a-pla...
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=+au%3Atoynbee+arnold+joseph...
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3Adurant+ti%3Astory+of+c...
Will Durant's Story of Philosophy gets at the ideas which have shaped history. James Burke, Connections and The Day the Universe Changed cover similar ground. Both have extensive bibliographies for further reading.
http://www.worldcat.org/title/story-of-philosophy-the-lives-...
http://www.worldcat.org/title/connections/oclc/145746383&ref...
http://www.worldcat.org/title/day-the-universe-changed/oclc/...
Finally, Reddit's /r/askhistorians has an excellent set of recommendations:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books
This is probably a nonstandard list, but it's a set I'm finding particularly useful in filling in what was missing from my own earlier understanding.
With a general outline, I find I'm diving into specific areas and aspects of history. Less the politics and big events, more the philosophy, technology, energy, and informational aspects. There's some particularly good specific research on times, places, and periods being written. And some amazing online resources, ranging from primary materials (the Internet Archive and Hathi Trust have scans of original texts, Project Gutenberg has those converted to print, Wikisource as well), to compilations -- the History of Information and Basics of Philosophy both strike me as quietly amazing.