You'll have to be a little more specific about what you're looking for. Are you looking for world history? US history? Philosophy? History in tech?
I can't say much about world history, but I've been reading some books to get a better understanding of American politics:
- "War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires": Interesting analysis on the rise and fall of conquering civilizations. Tons of parallels between dead empires and the US empire.
- "The Death and Life of Great American Cities": Nations are built on cities, and America's cities are very poorly built. What are we doing wrong, what could we do better?
- "The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War": Very dense, lots of data. Suggests that our current political turmoil is due to our economy and society expecting unrealistic growth, and a disconnect between reality and the expectation of citizens.
- The Origins of Totalitarianism: "Slippery slope" gets thrown around a lot w.r.t. suspicious legislation. This book provides context on past societies that slipped, and where we stand on that slope.
- "Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization": Optimistic look at the future of globalism.
- "1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed": An analysis of the cascade failure that took out almost all the great bronze-age civilizations around the Mediterranean region in 1177BC.
"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" - I haven't read this, but this is the #1 book that pops up in conversations.
Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding your questions:
I don't even know what I'm looking for. So, on some level I'm looking to begin addressing my broad ignorance of human history, and then see where that takes me.
Read 'Guns, Germs and Steel' then. I think its engaging and broad enough in it's scope of the development of different parts of the world to illuminate what more particular aspects of human history you're interested in. The main subject is technological development and its spread across the globe, so it may appeal to a technology-oriented person.
Seconded. I know parts of it have come under criticism, but the way the author attempted to weave a narrative based on so many sciences and studies just blew my mind.
Comments
You'll have to be a little more specific about what you're looking for. Are you looking for world history? US history? Philosophy? History in tech?
I can't say much about world history, but I've been reading some books to get a better understanding of American politics:
- "War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires": Interesting analysis on the rise and fall of conquering civilizations. Tons of parallels between dead empires and the US empire.
- "The Death and Life of Great American Cities": Nations are built on cities, and America's cities are very poorly built. What are we doing wrong, what could we do better?
- "The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War": Very dense, lots of data. Suggests that our current political turmoil is due to our economy and society expecting unrealistic growth, and a disconnect between reality and the expectation of citizens.
- The Origins of Totalitarianism: "Slippery slope" gets thrown around a lot w.r.t. suspicious legislation. This book provides context on past societies that slipped, and where we stand on that slope.
- "Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization": Optimistic look at the future of globalism.
- "1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed": An analysis of the cascade failure that took out almost all the great bronze-age civilizations around the Mediterranean region in 1177BC.
"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" - I haven't read this, but this is the #1 book that pops up in conversations.
Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding your questions:
I don't even know what I'm looking for. So, on some level I'm looking to begin addressing my broad ignorance of human history, and then see where that takes me.
Read 'Guns, Germs and Steel' then. I think its engaging and broad enough in it's scope of the development of different parts of the world to illuminate what more particular aspects of human history you're interested in. The main subject is technological development and its spread across the globe, so it may appeal to a technology-oriented person.
Seconded. I know parts of it have come under criticism, but the way the author attempted to weave a narrative based on so many sciences and studies just blew my mind.