909. World history

Further reading:

Samuel P. Huntington The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, 1996.

If you want to understand world affairs, this is a classic work on international relations. The clashing goals of many different cultures and civilizations make the establishment of a common code of ethics and behavior essential to the harmony of the world. Recent changes in demographics and shifts in economic power make this book more crucial to understand today than ever before.

“Every civilization sees itself as the center of the world and writes its history as the central drama of human history.” –Samuel P. Huntington The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order.

Paul Kennedy The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, 1987.

Since the Renaissance, the past five hundred years have seen major world powers come and go. British historian Paul Kennedy seeks to explain why.

Sebastian Maisel, ed. The Kurds: An Encyclopedia of Life, Culture, and Society, 2018.

This reference work on the Kurds, their history, and their culture, is aimed at students, journalists, and interested readers. Various ethnic populations are covered along with their economics, religion, geography, and art. Excepts from primary sources are included.

Edmund de Waal The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss, 2010.

When ceramicist Edmund de Waal inherited a small collection of netsuke, he decided to trace how his family of ultra-rich bankers in nineteenth-century Europe came to own them. The story of how they rubbed shoulders with the artistic elite of Paris is interesting on its own. But the story of how the Jewish family held on to them during the Holocaust is riveting.

Simon Winchester Pacific: The Ocean of the Future, 2015.

Acclaimed writer Simon Winchester travels around the entire Pacific Rim to look at the history, geography, science, and politics of the vast ocean region. With China’s rise in power and North Korea’s threats, the Pacific is increasingly becoming the focus of global attention. Using his findings, Winchester speculates on the future of the region.

For more books on world history, see Part 1.

For more information on the Further Reading Series, see Further Reading: Start Here.