What books can guide me through the long, tangled story of world history? Its rise and ruins, its wars and wisdom so that I can maybe get a gist of how we became who we are?
man i struggled with this same question few years back when i got obsessed with understanding how everything connects. sapiens by harari is probably the most popular choice and for good reason – covers everything from stone age to modern times in really digestible way. but if you want something more detailed, i really loved “a little history of the world” by gombrich, it reads almost like storytelling rather than dry textbook. also guns germs and steel by diamond explains a lot about why civilizations developed so differently in different places, which was mind-blowing for me. just warning though – once you start reading about history seriously, you’ll probably end up with like 50 more books in your wishlist because each topic opens up ten new questions
HeirOfRhoads on
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
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man i struggled with this same question few years back when i got obsessed with understanding how everything connects. sapiens by harari is probably the most popular choice and for good reason – covers everything from stone age to modern times in really digestible way. but if you want something more detailed, i really loved “a little history of the world” by gombrich, it reads almost like storytelling rather than dry textbook. also guns germs and steel by diamond explains a lot about why civilizations developed so differently in different places, which was mind-blowing for me. just warning though – once you start reading about history seriously, you’ll probably end up with like 50 more books in your wishlist because each topic opens up ten new questions
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond