
Ask HN: Which are the best books on history from ancient times to present? - alinalex
Hey there,<p>I want to read more about history to have a better grasp of the events that marked mankind throughout the centuries and I wonder if you have any suggestions for this kind of books.<p>Thanks!
======
dredmorbius
Will and Ariel Durant's _Lessons of History_. I particularly recommend the
audio recording, which includes additional interviews and asides from the
Durants. Short (~115 pages), but highly informative.

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-by-will-
and...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-by-will-and-ariel-
durant/oclc/935304832&referer=brief_results)

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-revised-
ed/...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-of-history-revised-
ed/oclc/748325064&referer=brief_results)

Vaclav Smil, _Energy in World History_. Arguably a far more significant basis
for describing what has transpired. Manfred Weissenbacher's _Sources of Power_
covers much the same topic, though at far greater length (not always
relevance), and slightly unevenly. Daniel Yergin's _The Prize_ addresses
specifically oil's impact (and history), and was mind-opening for me.

Karl Polanyi, _The Great Transformation_. The Industrial Revolution and
emergence of the modern technological world.

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/origins-of-our-time-the-
great-...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/origins-of-our-time-the-great-
transformation/oclc/3298954&referer=brief_results)

David Christian, _Big History_. This goes back somewhat before ancient times,
to the Big Bang.

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/big-
history/oclc/940282526&ref...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/big-
history/oclc/940282526&referer=brief_results)

Add to that a good overall outline. H.G. Wells, _Outline of History_ is
somewhat in the tradition of David Christian's (and Christian cites it as a
prior version of Big History). It's dated and jingoistic, but serves itself to
show that viewpoints and perspectives change with time. Arnold Toynbee's
_History of the World_ is another, though larger. The Durants' _Story of
Civilization_ another.

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/outline-of-history-being-a-
pla...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/outline-of-history-being-a-plain-
history-of-life-and-mankind/oclc/893202610&referer=brief_results)

[http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=+au%3Atoynbee+arnold+joseph...](http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=+au%3Atoynbee+arnold+joseph+ti%3Astudy+of+history&qt=owc_search)

[http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3Adurant+ti%3Astory+of+c...](http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3Adurant+ti%3Astory+of+civilization&qt=results_page)

Will Durant's _Story of Philosophy_ gets at the _ideas_ which have shaped
history. James Burke, _Connections_ and _The Day the Universe Changed_ cover
similar ground. Both have extensive bibliographies for further reading.

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/story-of-philosophy-the-
lives-...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/story-of-philosophy-the-lives-and-
opinions-of-the-greater-philosophers/oclc/847855310&referer=brief_results)

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/connections/oclc/145746383&ref...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/connections/oclc/145746383&referer=brief_results)

[http://www.worldcat.org/title/day-the-universe-
changed/oclc/...](http://www.worldcat.org/title/day-the-universe-
changed/oclc/883303714/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br)

Finally, Reddit's /r/askhistorians has an excellent set of recommendations:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books)

This is probably a nonstandard list, but it's a set I'm finding particularly
useful in filling in what was missing from my own earlier understanding.

With a general outline, I find I'm diving into specific areas and aspects of
history. Less the politics and big events, more the philosophy, technology,
energy, and informational aspects. There's some particularly good specific
research on times, places, and periods being written. And some amazing online
resources, ranging from primary materials (the Internet Archive and Hathi
Trust have scans of original texts, Project Gutenberg has those converted to
print, Wikisource as well), to compilations -- the History of Information and
Basics of Philosophy both strike me as quietly amazing.

[http://historyofinformation.com](http://historyofinformation.com)

[http://philosophybasics.com](http://philosophybasics.com)

~~~
alinalex
Thanks a lot for your answer! It helps me a big deal.

