Herodotus (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC) has been called the “father of history.”
This is a list of some books on history that I have read and recommend. For more information click on one of the links below.
• Richard Carrier ~ Science Education in the Early Roman Empire
• Richard Carrier ~ Scientist in the Early Roman Empire
• Will & Ariel Durant ~ The Lessons of History
• Will & Ariel Durant ~ The Story of Civilization (11 Volume Set)
• Will & Ariel Durant ~ The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time
• Yuval Noah Harari ~ Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
• Yuval Noah Harari ~ Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
• Arnold Toynbee ~ A Study of History, (Complete 2 Volume Set)
This isn’t the ideal place to express this thought, but I feel a sudden, strong compulsion to let it out:
It is so frustrating to witness mass media whipping up a fear in the population for rare yet spectacular events that pose much less of a threat to them than their common lifestyle choices.
Completely agree. So much to say but I did a post on the issue.
https://reasonandmeaning.com/2015/12/18/what-should-we-be-afraid-of/
This is a great list. Durant’s series is easily the best presentation of Western civilization for the general reader. I’ve read all of it at least once and some volumes twice.
Toynbee, on the other hand, is a real slog. You shouldn’t read him until AFTER you’ve read at least the equivalent of Durant’s series. Even then, he’s pretty dense. His challenge-response thesis is impressive.
really impressive that you’ve read all of Durant. I had all the volumes on my shelf for years and would nibble at them. I did find his lessons of history very good too. Toynbee is more academic you are right.