A a companion to whatever history book you choose, I'd like to recommend the BBC series
Civilisation. Hosted by art historian Kenneth Clark it gives by far the best overview of the history and development of Western art, philosophy and architecture which has ever been made for TV. It hails from 1969, but don't let that scare you - it really is a masterpiece. It has also recently been issued on
BluRay at only £15, or you can pick up the
DVD version for a tenner or so. Cheapest 11 hours of condensed knowledge you'll ever find.