04-25-2011, 05:58 AM | #1 |
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Best "History Overview" Book?
Hi
I was wondering if any of you know of some good books that simply give an overview of the entire human history - similar to how the book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" gives an overview of the history of natural science. Obviously such a book can't go into much detail, but I would really like to read something that could give me a general overview on the chronology of events. Thanks! |
04-25-2011, 08:44 AM | #2 |
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I haven't read it myself but it seems like "Guns Germs and Steel" might be what you're looking for?
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04-25-2011, 08:54 AM | #3 |
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I read this book. It really is a good overview of the last thousand years.
Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium by Ronald Findlay |
04-25-2011, 12:21 PM | #4 |
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Outline of History -H.G. Wells
Have not got around to reading this yet but it has been highly recomended. I have yet to read anything by Wells I did not like except for parts of The Invisible man. |
04-25-2011, 01:01 PM | #5 |
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E.H. Gombrich's _A Little History of the World_ --- pair it up w/ _1491_ to get the missing bits of Native American pre-history and say Geronimo's auto-biography to bet the post-Columbus viewpoint.
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04-25-2011, 02:26 PM | #6 |
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Thanks a lot. Great recommendations!
As far as I can see, "A Little History of the World" is a childrens book, though? Maybe I should stress that I am 29 years old - so I am looking for adult-level books But maybe it is fine to read by adults too? |
04-25-2011, 10:24 PM | #7 | |
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To take a completely different tack, have you considered historical atlases? They often show historical overviews of various areas and periods very well, recounting events in a straightforward historical manner, and have maps of countries and kingdoms long gone by and little heard of. I can't recommend any of those personally, as the ones I have are probably too old to be still sold. I've heard the Oxford and Times editions come highly recommended though. |
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04-26-2011, 11:37 AM | #8 |
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Gombrich's book is quite fine for adults --- the material which is overtly left out in consideration of the youth of the intended audience is minimal, and I believe more than adequately covered in the two books which I mentioned (though you might also want to read _Empire of the Summer Moon_ as well, and maybe a book or two on World War II).
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04-26-2011, 09:08 PM | #9 |
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Roberts is a good writer. I like his history of ancient greece and history of ancient rome books. Most of the history of the world type books that I have run across are college text books, which means they are pretty dry reading. If you are looking for ebooks, then you might check out Susan Bauer's books _The History of the Ancient World_ and _The History of the Medieval World_.
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05-01-2011, 01:47 PM | #10 | |
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However, such books are a bit cumbersome to read as they are heavy and their layout makes it a bit confusing. I would simply like a pure text book, something to read back-to-back, and also something that fits on my eReader of course. |
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05-01-2011, 04:32 PM | #11 | |
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The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers sticks to modern, post-1500, history, but I thought it was a really great read.
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05-01-2011, 08:25 PM | #12 | |
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05-04-2011, 07:02 AM | #13 |
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05-04-2011, 02:16 PM | #14 |
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Thanks for the recommendations :-)
Great forum, this! |
05-04-2011, 09:57 PM | #15 |
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Asimov's chronology of the world is quite nice and written in his simple, clear and engaging style. Bryson's short history is quite good also .
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