Okay, since I've been giving recs for out-of-print/not-cheap paper books that you'd probably have to import/pay shipping/customs on, here's a couple that are available in e-edition, at least in Canada, and maybe overseas.
The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Black Hawks: The Story of the Helicopter by James R. Chiles, $9.29 CAD @ Kobo.
I love history of technology development stuff, which I find tends to be best written in individual volumes by single authors who are devoted to their field. Chiles is no exception, and does a very engaging history of the helicopter (going back to ancient Greek stage devices). He has a
supporting website for the book here, and it turns out I did a
kind-of-review on my old blog entry here.
The Story of French: From Charlemagne to Cirque du Soleil by Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow, $7.79 CAD @ Kobo.
I love history of cultural change stuff, and Nadeau and Barlow's book provides a nifty look at the development and spread of the modern French language from its
langue d'oïl roots through to modern usage as France became more powerful and prominent over time, and then its fortunes waned and so did the use of the language associated with it, which sometimes survives in non-French outpockets in surprising ways. I really liked this book when I read several years ago, and it turns out I gave it a highly recommended
on ye olde blog entry review.
Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone. $10.39 CAD @ Kobo.
I've mentioned I love stuff with diverging paths for similar situations which make actual events practically a built-in What If alternate history scenario? And while I didn't exactly love this book, which came with a few flaws according to
ye olde blog entry, I definitely liked it enough to give a conditional "if the subject already interests you and you'd like to know more, then this is a pretty decent read that'll probably be worth your time unless you're picky".
I recall it had some fairly interesting stuff about the sister-queens' interpersonal relationships and the effect that had on the political relationships between their countries, which were kind of a larger stage for their sibling rivalry.
Kind of like Miranda Carter's recently published
George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I ($11.09 CAD @ Kobo), which I read earlier this year and thought much the same about (although that one was slightly less interesting, because those men had less personality; or less appealing personality, according to
ye newe forum post).
I give both a mild-to-moderate recommend if looking for reading material in that time period/subject area, and the top two books a high recommend for "good introductory read for idly trying out new interests".