Viewing History through a wide-angle lens

A Shelf Talk post last month called Viewing History with a tightly focused lens generated a lot of comments and great book suggestions from readers.  That post looked at the growing popularity of history books that focus on a single thing—salt, baseball bat, pencil—and trace its impact (huge, according to the author) over time.  Our reviewer dubbed this genre “mono-history” and several readers were quick to mention that the term “microhistory” is often used to describe these readable histories of singular things. 

As a counterpoint to the tightly focused microhistory books, I would point out that the sprawling wide-angled lens history books—macrohistory, anyone?—have not breathed their last gasp.  Here are a few, old and new, that have grabbed my attention recently:

Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present by Cynthia Stokes Brown

This readable book is an ambitious, exciting history of Earth, from its origins to the development of civilizations to the spread of computers.  I brought this book on vacation, and I have to admit that I felt a bit smug that I was learning about 13.7 billion years of history—all in one volume!  Not even too long of a volume.  (Okay, it didn’t go into each year in depth…).

The Mental Floss History of the World: An Irreverent Romp through Civilization’s Best Bits by Erik Sass

Mental Floss bills itself as the magazine “where knowledge junkies get their fix” for interesting facts and trivia.  The magazine editors have produced a number of interesting books including this “irreverent romp” through 60,000 years of human history, filled with fascinating facts, big and small.

A Short History of Nearly Everything  by Bill Bryson

With his trademark humor and entertaining style, Bryson tackles a vast subject: the history of life on earth.  The focus is on the physical history of the planet more than the rise and fall of civilizations.  Bryson, in his chatty way, introduces us to key scientists and their discoveries about planet earth and its life forms.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

This sweeping account of trends which led to European dominance in recent human history makes a compelling, thought-provoking and highly readable case for environment as opposed to biology.

And finally, although I started off this post as an ode to the Macrohistory, I still can’t resist including my favorite Microhistory book:

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield
The author traces the intriguing (and surprisingly large) impact of red dye on world history.  When Spanish Conquistadores discovered a red dye made from ground insect shells being sold in the Aztec marketplaces of Mexico in 1519, this set off a global competition – complete with spies, pirates and scientists – to obtain the material, for it was far superior to the pale red dye that was prone to fading and running that was in use at the time in Europe.

So, what about you? Do you have any favorite “history of everything” books?  Or favorite history books of any stripe?  Please share!