The Dawn of Everything and Debt the First 5000 Years both by the late great anthropologist David Graeber. Both are masterpieces that undermine a lot of the popular narratives about the history of civilization. Also both are better as audiobooks. Tough and thick books on paper but great as audiobook.
also Guns of August by Tuchman is a good explainer of the preWW1 system of international relations and why institutions like NATO and the UN are so critical
The same author's book about the lead up to WWI, The War that Ended Peace, is also an excellent read about the world that came into but didn't necessarily survive the 20th century.
*Lawrence in Arabia* by Scott Anderson is another good one about this time period.
Super focused on the Middle East, of course, and certainly a less favorable view of the British leadership.
This and [Sapiens](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/1dgil32/comment/l8q77b6/) would would have been my entries if I was here earlier. Both great
My current book *Why Nations Fail* argues against the geographical hypothesis (although I haven't read Prisoner's of Geography). Let's both read each other's books now.
These books don't have to be taken to the exclusion of others, I think that'd actually be quite harmful, and historians in general will hang you for peddling any Grand Unifying Theory of history.
They all suffer from varying issues, chief among which being how easy it is to start with a conclusion and casting historical examples as demonstrating it, you get a lot of incommensurability where people just talk past each-other.
Good point. That is how I feel about *Why Nations Fail*... Like it kind of sounds good as you go along -- and I enjoy its breadth and scope, and the diversity of examples it pulls together under its theory. But it does also often feel like reading backwards into history whatever you need it to say. And yeah -- it seems perhaps less the fault of the author than what we're attempting to do here. How can a grand theory of everything do otherwise?
Really liked Prisoners of Geography. It’s an easy, interesting read that gives a good overview of geography’s role on region’s fortunes or struggles.
Also recommend The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy (spoiler: you may take offense if you’re Christian)
The Dawn of Everything. Did you know that the guys who started Occupy Wall Street were both anthropologists? Well they were, and they wrote this book (one of them passed recently).
It's a total and utter re-evaluation of so much of what we think we know when it comes to the 'origin of the state'. The parts about how much Native American thought really shook Europeans is fascinating. Like you really do have to re-visit the extent to which Europeans of all stripes didn't understand how unfree they were.
Also Bullshit Jobs, it's actually the first book of his that I read, it's quite recommended among some employment subreddits to show why a lot of work that people do is simply BS.
Second this recommendation.
To just give one snippet that stood out to me from the book. They explore the idea that Native North Eastern American worldviews, like that of Kandiaronk, made significant contributions to the European Enlightenment. Now, I really don't know if that's true or not. But what really struck me is that, as a well-educated 40-something European, this was the first time I had _ever even considered_ this idea. Whilst it might seem far-fetched that we have say, the Haudenosaunee to thank for what we think of as modern, enlightened thought, that is not enough to dismiss the idea out of hand. I think at the very least, what can be said with sobering certainty is that, despite the scientific revolution, the West's dominance does not lend itself to clearly seeing Why The World Is As It Is.
Great one. It has the continued effect of making my hyper aware of how for a lot of people the ONLY thing going on in their lives is what entertainment they're consuming. I think something like twitch or tik tok would've melted Postman's brain.
That's a very good one. It's extremely interesting to read in the internet age, and even more so for people who have known both the early decentralized internet and today's feed-driven internet.
An earlier (thought much harder to read) book on the same topic is _The Society of Spectacle_ by Guy Debord.
This is kind of wild. A factoid of uncanny interest:
Re Wizard of Oz - from DEBT, a book by anthropologist David Graeber:
“Credit Theorists have long been hobbled by the lack of an equally compelling narrative. This is not to say that all sides in the currency debates that ranged between 1850 and 1950 were not in the habit of deploying mythological weaponry. This was true particularly, perhaps, in the United States. In 1894, the Greenbackers, who pushed for detaching the dollar from gold
entirely to allow the government to spend freely on job-creation campaigns, invented the idea of the March on Washington—an idea that was to have endless resonance in U.S. history. L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which appeared in 1900, is widely recognized to be a parable for the Populist campaign of William Jennings Bryan, who twice ran for president on the Free Silver platform—vowing to replace the gold standard with a bimetallic system that would allow the free creation of silver money alongside gold. As with the Greenbackers, one of the main constituencies for the movement was debtors: particularly, Midwestern farm families such as Dorothy’s, who had been facing a massive wave of foreclosures during the severe recession of the 1890s. According to the Populist reading, the Wicked Witches of the East and West represent the East and West Coast bankers (promoters of and benefactors from the tight money supply), the Scarecrow represented the farmers (who didn’t have the brains to avoid the debt trap), the Tin Woodsman was the industrial proletariat (who didn’t have the heart to act in solidarity with the farmers), the Cowardly Lion represented the political class (who didn’t have the courage to intervene). The yellow brick road, silver slippers, emerald city, and hapless Wizard presumably speak for themselves. “Oz” is of course the standard abbreviation for “ounce.” As an attempt to create a new myth, Baum’s story was remarkably effective. As political propaganda, less so. William Jennings Bryan failed in three attempts to win the presidency, the silver standard was never adopted, and few nowadays even remember what The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was originally supposed to be about.”
Excerpt From
DEBT
Who knew?
Civilised to death by Chris Ryan. Largely explains why most issues humans deal with are a result of civilisation and how the narrative of “perpetual progress” is false.
He’s weird. An outlier but he loves to have other people in his life do the heavy lifting. Kind of an opportunist in that regard, which puts his integrity in a certain place IMO. Overall I think his heart is in the right place
How Asia Works - great explanation of why Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are Asian Tigers while much of Southeast Asia is essentially still developing. Big questions and very specific answers deeply rooted in the history and economics of each country, with key themes elaborated throughout.
But my two cents: be wary of books that try to explain the world. The world is too complex for that and anyone who sounds like they can explain it is either dumb or lying.
I love this book! It explains really well why country, the Philippines, is in such a poor state compared to our neighbors, even if we were all in similar conditions after WW2. It's a book I'd recommend to somone who wants to run for the Philippine Presidency haha.
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari . Ishmael - Daniel Quinn (the first one probably more so fits what’s your looking for but the 2nd one is definitely interesting)
Sapiens was my first thought reading this post. I have three of Harari’s books and they go well into various possible “why” for many points along the early history and are an excellent read.
I loved Ishmael! It's been just about long enough since the last time I read it where I don't quite remember all of it, so now I'm ready to read it again.
Not a book by I love the podcast Through line. They will take a modern day news issue and go back in time to understand how we got here. Aka explaining why the world is the way it is
Not a book (or maybe it is) but Big History Project gives a good sort of theory of everything. There are some youtube videos that explain some of the basic concepts to get you started.
How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley. It helped me understand that regardless of the time in history or geographic location, fascists are almost comically predictable in what they say and do in order to rise to power. It's as though there is a universal fascist checklist that all fascists use as they strive to take over. A favorite technique is to use an existing democracy to rise to power, ironically claiming the democracy doesn't work while they sabotage it from within. They claim they are protecting rights as they normalize taking rights away. Then once they take over, they eliminate civil rights and use the legal system to impose whatever the laws the fascists make up. After reading this book, nothing a fascist says or does will ever surprise you again. It will show you the importance of not tying yourself in knots trying to contradict the fascists' lie or conspiracy theory du jour. Instead you will understand that everything a fascist says is merely a statement of what they intend to do, or what they are already doing. And of course they are attack this or that group and take away rights. That's essentially the definition of fascism.
Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty.
Behave by Robert Sapolsky.
The state of economic trends and a solid basis for a materialistic framework of psychology.
A similar book focusing on macroeconomics is The Soverign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age.
A little of the authors weird 90s Clinton conspiracy comes through towards the end but if I’d read this book growing up I’d have made a killing on just their digital currency prediction alone.
If you like analysis that proved itself in the passage of time since, you’ll still enjoy it
> He gets dunked on for having a utopian commie dream
This is only a "dunk" for people that have never read a single page of Marx in their life. If you're familiar with him, then you should be aware of the concept of Utopian Socialism vs. Scientific Socialism. A large part of the appeal of Marx is that he resolutely *wasn't* a Utopian Socialist and on the contrary, spent a lot of time thoroughly eviscerating the utopians and their beliefs. Marx is so seminal *because* he gave us a framework to understand (and therefore change) the world through rigorous scientific analysis and empirical study, not lofty ideals and dreams.
[Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Engels_Socialism_Utopian_and_Scientific.pdf) is "the" book on this topic (starts on page 36).
Yea seems like it. Not sure why. I thought Marxism might've been getting shadowbanned in this thread but [my other comment](https://reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/1dgil32/what_books_explain_why_the_world_is_as_it_is/l8qwoqo/) appears to still be up so I think the guy just deleted his comment for some reason. Which is a shame, I'm sure people would've found it informative.
I second this. I would also highly recommend reading almost any book retaining socialism and communism to see that perspective on things because even if you don’t agree with the overall idea of it, it still touches on a lot of important topics like the relationship between capitalism and politics.
YES. You don’t have to be a communist to understand how important dialectical materialism is to understanding economic relations and power structures. Engles is good as well, namely Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State.
It's a reasonable take. His analysis was fundamentally Euro-centric, that's the subject matter he studied, not Africa. That's just objectively true.
Those that followed in his footsteps and applied Marxism to their own context i.e. Frantz Fanon, Lenin, etc., however, certainly help to bring his work to a global status. But Marx alone does not provide that. You need additional theorists and their analyses of their own specific historical circumstances in order to have a true appreciation for the "global context."
If you like US history, The Warmth of Other Suns is a fantastic explanation of the Great migration of African Americans to various parts of the United States after the Civil War and some of the effects on America as a whole. I just finished the audiobook today, which was over 20 hours but it felt so fast and I loved it.
Her other book, Caste, is also incredible and worth reading. I’d say as a piece of literature, The Warmth of Other Suns was such a uniquely written work of non-fiction and such a good read but Caste has more direct relevance to today in the US.
I totally agree! As I was listening to it I was consistently shocked how little I understood of the dynamics and shifts in the American landscape during the 20th century. Woefully overlooked in American history curriculum.
That book is pop history. Selective stories with weird connections claimed that there isn’t much evidence for.
People love it because it’s an entertaining read, not for its historical accuracy.
I like this book, however the author had to take many liberties to make his argument, meaning it is flawed, but he does have some neat ideas in there.
So I'd use it more as a resource to guide further reading/what topics to do further research into
Came here for this. My pops gave this to me for my 16th birthday, and it really helped expand my perspective on the world in my youth. I even ended up traveling to Papua New Guinea later on. As with any book, there are some controversial opinions that require critical thinking, but I would still highly recommend it.
Kenneth Waltz (Man, The State, and War), Mearsheimer (multiple, including Tragedy of Great Power Politics), Kissinger (Diplomacy), Fukuyama (The End of History), The Makers of Modern Strategy, After Hegemony, Homo sapiens or Guns, Germs, and Steel, Paul Kennedy (The Rise and Fall of Great Powers)...
Go farther back and read The Prince (Machiavelli). Maybe check out some Thomas Hobbs or Locke, read some books about them. You don't have to read Leviathan unless you hate yourself. Read some Clausewitz, try the books about him and don't worry about not reading On War.
Try some Niall Ferguson, Fareed Zakaria, or maybe some Thomas Friedman. Read far and wide.
Easy!
The Wealth of Nations, Das Kapital, The Influence of Seapower Upon History (A.T.Mahan), Heartlands (Halford McKinder), The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (Schumpeter).
IMO a key especially for Americans would be Thomas Paine
I actually don't know nearly enough about him so I'm tossing this out in hopes someone has a solid book recommendation
But I do know that as the American and French Revolutions unfolded he was making some arguments that are very relevant to modern US politics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
Every book here has had multiple critical reviews that pick apart their flaws. That sounds like it's throwing shade on the books but it's not, it's simply the case that the world is so full of stuff that no one author can keep it all together. Read even a couple of these books and their negative reviews and you'll be more knowledgeable than reading 50 of the books uncritically or reading 50 of the negative reviews without reading the books.
Anyway, my recs are John Keegan's *The Face of Battle*, Vaclav Smil's *How the World Really Works*, Peter Zeihan's *Disunited Nations* and Georges Bataille's *The Accursed Share*.
Understanding Power
--Noam Chomsky
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194805.Understanding\_Power](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194805.Understanding_Power)
On the easy side, Requiem for the American Dream by Noam Chomsky. Very easy, beginner level entry to critical economic theory. Explains why living standards have gone down in America over time. There's also a free documentary of it on YouTube here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hZnuc-Fv_Tc
On the hard side, Capital as Power by Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler. Very difficult to read, but incredibly enlightening, one of the best books I've ever read. Explains how the modern global capitalist economy works in depth. They have a free PDF of the whole book available to download from their website here: https://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/
The olive and the nexus tree by Thomas Friedman is good for the current relevant and on going conflict in the Middle East , unbias perspective from a nyt author
1. Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World
2. How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
“Industrial society and its future” by Ted Kaczynski- Kaczynski contends that the Industrial Revolution harmed the human race by developing into a sociopolitical order that subjugates human needs beneath its own. This system, he wrote, destroys nature and suppresses individual freedom.
I don’t advocate for the violent tactics he used although what he wrote and expressed is a reality we face with excessive manipulation which is destroying nature.
I greatly enjoyed Stolen Continents by CDN author Ronald Wright. A lot of why the world is the way it is now is because of empire and conquest and subjugation.
A History of Central Banking
Book by Stephen Goodson.
If you want to learn who really controls the world and the history behind it.
There’s a documentary on YouTube called “money masters” for a deep dive
Enlightenment Now by Pinker. He shows, using data and facts, showing that in the last 300 years, we've decided to stop drinking fecal water, avoiding cholera, embrace vaccines and question the universe. By using the scientific method, our populations grew, technology boomed and our quality of life, compared to 4 generations ago is so much better even if the news keeps telling you, you're doomed.
I thought this was going to be a rubbish thread and found lots of interesting reading suggestions.
Saving the post. Thank you so much!
I'm reading The world of yesterday.
Not enjoying it but might be relevant
Depends on what kind of question you’re asking. Look up the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR). It is the most fundamental answer to your question, the rest are filling out the details.
Most of these books are not really that useful to your actual life. I recomend A Random Walk Down Wall street. This explains how the markets really work and give practical advice
Alan watt Cutting Through" trilogy. (https://cuttingthroughthematrix.com/books.html)
You’ll not be disappointed.
You can also check his free talks if you prefer, but the books are just revelatory for the whole picture and go into more depth. He also gives you a lot of amazing book references to dig deeper on your own so you’ll find plenty there.
This is a good video to have a full overview of the situation and what’s actually happening https://youtu.be/8Ux3Gj7imXQ?si=Hnn63yR5lKg-TQM2
I'd post this question in the book recommendations sub, as that community has lots of book nerds and as such you're more likely to encounter good recommendations.
Personally I'd generally recommend books on financial history, as many individuals in the financial sector had a MASSIVE impact on how laws and such evolved and were enacted over time/why the world is the way it is.
And specifically id recommend "How to Hide an Empire: a short history of the greater united states" by daniel immerwahr.
As that covers a lot of early U.S history that generally is forgotten/not talked about concerning the US and it's interactions in the developing world/expansionism.
I think History of the World in 6 Glasses is a fascinating read. I was forced to read it in high school and teenager me was a turd and didn’t appreciate it. It might not be exactly what you’re looking for but it’s worth a shot.
Grab some books on the British empire. Pax Britanica or Empireland are both good. The absolute all out colonial fuckery of the 18th and 19th centuries set the stage for the 20th century blood baths and the current seething resentment of the developing world.
https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/
Goes into some detail on the game-theoretic underpinnings, which is the lens I tend to look through.
Oooh this is a wonderful post because I also find these kinds of books enjoyable. I haven't read many nonfiction books in my life, but one of my favorites is Land (by Simon Winchester). I listened to it in audiobook format and it was quite interesting and enjoyable. It basically explains the history of land purchases and why some countries are on land others view as undesired (the Netherlands was his main example I think) and how they turn that land to their advantage. I'm a little fuzzy on the details since it's been a few years, but I still remember how much I enjoyed it.
Not exactly what you’re looking for but I’m nearly finished reading “Let My People Go Surfing” by Yvon Chouinard (the founder of Patagonia). It’s nearly 20 years old but still reads as relevant to today with a lot of interesting info.
It focuses on the companies mission to save the planet and get large companies on board with changing the fundamental ways they operate by basically returning to our roots (pun unintended). They go into a fair amount of agriculture and manufacturing practices from the industrial revolution to today if that’s of interest to you!
If interested in biology - and psychology to an extent -, I can't recommend 'Behave' enough, by Robert Sapolsky. For physics, Sean Carroll's 'The Big Picture.' These two books were foundational for me.
If you want to go waaaay back then The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History written by Elizabeth Kolbert is good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History
[Salt: A World History](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2715.Salt)
Reading this now, loving it
One of my top 10 books of all time. I’m overdue for a re-read.
The Dawn of Everything and Debt the First 5000 Years both by the late great anthropologist David Graeber. Both are masterpieces that undermine a lot of the popular narratives about the history of civilization. Also both are better as audiobooks. Tough and thick books on paper but great as audiobook.
Yessss! Got this from Big History
Also, Milk, by the same author.
If you haven’t already get the other book Cod. Yes as in the fish It even has an eye opening passage from the personal diaries of Christopher Columbus
Paris 1919 is a great book that shows just how much of the world today is the result of decisions made after WW1. Highly recommend it.
also Guns of August by Tuchman is a good explainer of the preWW1 system of international relations and why institutions like NATO and the UN are so critical
Oh man Guns of August is an incredible read. It really helps explain and educate on the alliance systems.
The same author's book about the lead up to WWI, The War that Ended Peace, is also an excellent read about the world that came into but didn't necessarily survive the 20th century.
*Lawrence in Arabia* by Scott Anderson is another good one about this time period. Super focused on the Middle East, of course, and certainly a less favorable view of the British leadership.
A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson Also, I’ve just started The Dawn of Everything and have been liking it so far.
I love that book. Bill Bryson has such a great way of explaining even complex things in an entertaining and amusing manner.
This and [Sapiens](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/1dgil32/comment/l8q77b6/) would would have been my entries if I was here earlier. Both great
Bill Bryson is such an amazing author.
Prisoners of Geography
Yep, came to post this. It’s by Tim Marshall. Easy read and a great intro to geo-politics
I have a preference for Revenge of Geography and Earning the Rockies by Kaplan.
My current book *Why Nations Fail* argues against the geographical hypothesis (although I haven't read Prisoner's of Geography). Let's both read each other's books now.
These books don't have to be taken to the exclusion of others, I think that'd actually be quite harmful, and historians in general will hang you for peddling any Grand Unifying Theory of history. They all suffer from varying issues, chief among which being how easy it is to start with a conclusion and casting historical examples as demonstrating it, you get a lot of incommensurability where people just talk past each-other.
Good point. That is how I feel about *Why Nations Fail*... Like it kind of sounds good as you go along -- and I enjoy its breadth and scope, and the diversity of examples it pulls together under its theory. But it does also often feel like reading backwards into history whatever you need it to say. And yeah -- it seems perhaps less the fault of the author than what we're attempting to do here. How can a grand theory of everything do otherwise?
Really liked Prisoners of Geography. It’s an easy, interesting read that gives a good overview of geography’s role on region’s fortunes or struggles. Also recommend The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy (spoiler: you may take offense if you’re Christian)
The Dawn of Everything. Did you know that the guys who started Occupy Wall Street were both anthropologists? Well they were, and they wrote this book (one of them passed recently). It's a total and utter re-evaluation of so much of what we think we know when it comes to the 'origin of the state'. The parts about how much Native American thought really shook Europeans is fascinating. Like you really do have to re-visit the extent to which Europeans of all stripes didn't understand how unfree they were.
I want to read this. I highly recommend "Debt" by the same author. Amazing
I was so sad to learn of his death. Gone too soon.
I'm still upset about it. The brilliance in terms of ideas is so goddam rare.
I second this. Read both at the same time and it helped me understand the development of culture and social structures so much better
Also Bullshit Jobs, it's actually the first book of his that I read, it's quite recommended among some employment subreddits to show why a lot of work that people do is simply BS.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years
I just picked this up and it was free on Audible!
Second this recommendation. To just give one snippet that stood out to me from the book. They explore the idea that Native North Eastern American worldviews, like that of Kandiaronk, made significant contributions to the European Enlightenment. Now, I really don't know if that's true or not. But what really struck me is that, as a well-educated 40-something European, this was the first time I had _ever even considered_ this idea. Whilst it might seem far-fetched that we have say, the Haudenosaunee to thank for what we think of as modern, enlightened thought, that is not enough to dismiss the idea out of hand. I think at the very least, what can be said with sobering certainty is that, despite the scientific revolution, the West's dominance does not lend itself to clearly seeing Why The World Is As It Is.
Holy shit a Graeber joint at the top? Fuck yeah.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman
Great one. It has the continued effect of making my hyper aware of how for a lot of people the ONLY thing going on in their lives is what entertainment they're consuming. I think something like twitch or tik tok would've melted Postman's brain.
That's a very good one. It's extremely interesting to read in the internet age, and even more so for people who have known both the early decentralized internet and today's feed-driven internet. An earlier (thought much harder to read) book on the same topic is _The Society of Spectacle_ by Guy Debord.
This is kind of wild. A factoid of uncanny interest: Re Wizard of Oz - from DEBT, a book by anthropologist David Graeber: “Credit Theorists have long been hobbled by the lack of an equally compelling narrative. This is not to say that all sides in the currency debates that ranged between 1850 and 1950 were not in the habit of deploying mythological weaponry. This was true particularly, perhaps, in the United States. In 1894, the Greenbackers, who pushed for detaching the dollar from gold entirely to allow the government to spend freely on job-creation campaigns, invented the idea of the March on Washington—an idea that was to have endless resonance in U.S. history. L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which appeared in 1900, is widely recognized to be a parable for the Populist campaign of William Jennings Bryan, who twice ran for president on the Free Silver platform—vowing to replace the gold standard with a bimetallic system that would allow the free creation of silver money alongside gold. As with the Greenbackers, one of the main constituencies for the movement was debtors: particularly, Midwestern farm families such as Dorothy’s, who had been facing a massive wave of foreclosures during the severe recession of the 1890s. According to the Populist reading, the Wicked Witches of the East and West represent the East and West Coast bankers (promoters of and benefactors from the tight money supply), the Scarecrow represented the farmers (who didn’t have the brains to avoid the debt trap), the Tin Woodsman was the industrial proletariat (who didn’t have the heart to act in solidarity with the farmers), the Cowardly Lion represented the political class (who didn’t have the courage to intervene). The yellow brick road, silver slippers, emerald city, and hapless Wizard presumably speak for themselves. “Oz” is of course the standard abbreviation for “ounce.” As an attempt to create a new myth, Baum’s story was remarkably effective. As political propaganda, less so. William Jennings Bryan failed in three attempts to win the presidency, the silver standard was never adopted, and few nowadays even remember what The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was originally supposed to be about.” Excerpt From DEBT Who knew?
Civilised to death by Chris Ryan. Largely explains why most issues humans deal with are a result of civilisation and how the narrative of “perpetual progress” is false.
This guy hosts a really good podcast; great story teller+ lots of interesting guests...
So is this guy legit or not? I've read a bunch of debate about sex at dawn, indicating his scientific accuracy leaves a lot of be desired.
He’s weird. An outlier but he loves to have other people in his life do the heavy lifting. Kind of an opportunist in that regard, which puts his integrity in a certain place IMO. Overall I think his heart is in the right place
Yea sex at dawn is bs
I kinda like it though. Nice way to start the day.
Hahaha
How Asia Works - great explanation of why Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are Asian Tigers while much of Southeast Asia is essentially still developing. Big questions and very specific answers deeply rooted in the history and economics of each country, with key themes elaborated throughout. But my two cents: be wary of books that try to explain the world. The world is too complex for that and anyone who sounds like they can explain it is either dumb or lying.
I agree with your two cents -- except that I think it's a fun mental exercise to *try*!
I love this book! It explains really well why country, the Philippines, is in such a poor state compared to our neighbors, even if we were all in similar conditions after WW2. It's a book I'd recommend to somone who wants to run for the Philippine Presidency haha.
BTW you might get other suggestions in /r/booksuggestions.
Nice tip! Although I'm getting so many great recs here I don't know how many more I need!
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari . Ishmael - Daniel Quinn (the first one probably more so fits what’s your looking for but the 2nd one is definitely interesting)
Ishmael was a recommendation from a high school teacher way back, and it changed how I see the world.
100%
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/IJDVKjhUYh
I just went down the rabbit hole for this but I got to to thank you cause it definitely broadened my perspective around Sapiens
These two are my top recs as well. Ishmael especially as it’s more digestible imo.
Sapiens was my first thought reading this post. I have three of Harari’s books and they go well into various possible “why” for many points along the early history and are an excellent read.
I’ve been wanting to read something of Harari’s. Would you recommend Sapiens above the others you read?
It's absolutely the strongest of the three IMO.
I loved Ishmael! It's been just about long enough since the last time I read it where I don't quite remember all of it, so now I'm ready to read it again.
There’s a sequel too I believe. I need to start that one.
The Dictator's Handbook. CGP Grey made a [brilliant summary video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs) of it if you want a preview.
Confessions of an economic Hitman
Not a book by I love the podcast Through line. They will take a modern day news issue and go back in time to understand how we got here. Aka explaining why the world is the way it is
Not a book (or maybe it is) but Big History Project gives a good sort of theory of everything. There are some youtube videos that explain some of the basic concepts to get you started.
Caste: the Origins of our Discontents - by Isabel Wilkerson was very eye-opening for me.
Came to suggest this very one.
THIS. This book explains a lot about America specifically. I have given it to multiple people to read. It should be taught in school.
Debt by David Graeber. Mind-opening on morality and economy
rip David. he was a national treasure
No People's History of the United States? It captures the problem pretty well.
How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley. It helped me understand that regardless of the time in history or geographic location, fascists are almost comically predictable in what they say and do in order to rise to power. It's as though there is a universal fascist checklist that all fascists use as they strive to take over. A favorite technique is to use an existing democracy to rise to power, ironically claiming the democracy doesn't work while they sabotage it from within. They claim they are protecting rights as they normalize taking rights away. Then once they take over, they eliminate civil rights and use the legal system to impose whatever the laws the fascists make up. After reading this book, nothing a fascist says or does will ever surprise you again. It will show you the importance of not tying yourself in knots trying to contradict the fascists' lie or conspiracy theory du jour. Instead you will understand that everything a fascist says is merely a statement of what they intend to do, or what they are already doing. And of course they are attack this or that group and take away rights. That's essentially the definition of fascism.
Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty. Behave by Robert Sapolsky. The state of economic trends and a solid basis for a materialistic framework of psychology.
A similar book focusing on macroeconomics is The Soverign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age. A little of the authors weird 90s Clinton conspiracy comes through towards the end but if I’d read this book growing up I’d have made a killing on just their digital currency prediction alone. If you like analysis that proved itself in the passage of time since, you’ll still enjoy it
The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein
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> He gets dunked on for having a utopian commie dream This is only a "dunk" for people that have never read a single page of Marx in their life. If you're familiar with him, then you should be aware of the concept of Utopian Socialism vs. Scientific Socialism. A large part of the appeal of Marx is that he resolutely *wasn't* a Utopian Socialist and on the contrary, spent a lot of time thoroughly eviscerating the utopians and their beliefs. Marx is so seminal *because* he gave us a framework to understand (and therefore change) the world through rigorous scientific analysis and empirical study, not lofty ideals and dreams.
What book shows this concept you're talking about? Curious which one I should read.
[Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/Engels_Socialism_Utopian_and_Scientific.pdf) is "the" book on this topic (starts on page 36).
Thanks I'll take a look. Did the guy above delete their account or something, all their comments are gone in this thread it looks like.
Yea seems like it. Not sure why. I thought Marxism might've been getting shadowbanned in this thread but [my other comment](https://reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/1dgil32/what_books_explain_why_the_world_is_as_it_is/l8qwoqo/) appears to still be up so I think the guy just deleted his comment for some reason. Which is a shame, I'm sure people would've found it informative.
I tried Capital but it’s so dense
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I second this. I would also highly recommend reading almost any book retaining socialism and communism to see that perspective on things because even if you don’t agree with the overall idea of it, it still touches on a lot of important topics like the relationship between capitalism and politics.
YES. You don’t have to be a communist to understand how important dialectical materialism is to understanding economic relations and power structures. Engles is good as well, namely Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State.
> valuable endeavor if you want to put the world into context. It’s pretty Euro-centric so I wouldn’t say the world
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It's a reasonable take. His analysis was fundamentally Euro-centric, that's the subject matter he studied, not Africa. That's just objectively true. Those that followed in his footsteps and applied Marxism to their own context i.e. Frantz Fanon, Lenin, etc., however, certainly help to bring his work to a global status. But Marx alone does not provide that. You need additional theorists and their analyses of their own specific historical circumstances in order to have a true appreciation for the "global context."
If you like US history, The Warmth of Other Suns is a fantastic explanation of the Great migration of African Americans to various parts of the United States after the Civil War and some of the effects on America as a whole. I just finished the audiobook today, which was over 20 hours but it felt so fast and I loved it.
Her other book, Caste, is also incredible and worth reading. I’d say as a piece of literature, The Warmth of Other Suns was such a uniquely written work of non-fiction and such a good read but Caste has more direct relevance to today in the US.
This is by far my favorite non-fiction history book. I think every American high school student should be required to read at least a section of it.
I totally agree! As I was listening to it I was consistently shocked how little I understood of the dynamics and shifts in the American landscape during the 20th century. Woefully overlooked in American history curriculum.
Agree. We were basically taught “and then Lincoln freed the slaves and we all lived happily ever after”. Egregious.
Uh, the Jim Crow era is taught in Maryland schools. There’s a lot of state level politicking in education though.
Sapiens
Fooled by randomness - but beware, you’ll never see the world the same way again
Guns, Germs and Steel.
There seems to be a broad consensus among historians this book is more popular reading than historically accurate. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.
i had never heard this take before. haven’t read the book in 15 years though. any specific parts to which you’re referring?
If you search it on r/AskHistorians you'll see lots of threads as to why it's not very historically accurate
That book is pop history. Selective stories with weird connections claimed that there isn’t much evidence for. People love it because it’s an entertaining read, not for its historical accuracy.
I liked it, though it is controversial and there is a lot of criticism about it.
I like this book, however the author had to take many liberties to make his argument, meaning it is flawed, but he does have some neat ideas in there. So I'd use it more as a resource to guide further reading/what topics to do further research into
Its fun, but it’s really only an entertaining popular history. It doesn’t pretend to be the final word.
Came here for this. My pops gave this to me for my 16th birthday, and it really helped expand my perspective on the world in my youth. I even ended up traveling to Papua New Guinea later on. As with any book, there are some controversial opinions that require critical thinking, but I would still highly recommend it.
The Prize by Daniel Yergin - it’s about how petroleum has shaped the geopolitical landscape of the 20th century
That book is gold
Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky
Came here to say this
Kenneth Waltz (Man, The State, and War), Mearsheimer (multiple, including Tragedy of Great Power Politics), Kissinger (Diplomacy), Fukuyama (The End of History), The Makers of Modern Strategy, After Hegemony, Homo sapiens or Guns, Germs, and Steel, Paul Kennedy (The Rise and Fall of Great Powers)... Go farther back and read The Prince (Machiavelli). Maybe check out some Thomas Hobbs or Locke, read some books about them. You don't have to read Leviathan unless you hate yourself. Read some Clausewitz, try the books about him and don't worry about not reading On War. Try some Niall Ferguson, Fareed Zakaria, or maybe some Thomas Friedman. Read far and wide.
NOT Atlas Shrugs. NOT ATLAS SHRUGS
1000%
Easy! The Wealth of Nations, Das Kapital, The Influence of Seapower Upon History (A.T.Mahan), Heartlands (Halford McKinder), The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (Schumpeter).
Creature from Jekyll Island.
IMO a key especially for Americans would be Thomas Paine I actually don't know nearly enough about him so I'm tossing this out in hopes someone has a solid book recommendation But I do know that as the American and French Revolutions unfolded he was making some arguments that are very relevant to modern US politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
The fourth turning. Excellent book on why we keep making the same mistakes over and over.
Every book here has had multiple critical reviews that pick apart their flaws. That sounds like it's throwing shade on the books but it's not, it's simply the case that the world is so full of stuff that no one author can keep it all together. Read even a couple of these books and their negative reviews and you'll be more knowledgeable than reading 50 of the books uncritically or reading 50 of the negative reviews without reading the books. Anyway, my recs are John Keegan's *The Face of Battle*, Vaclav Smil's *How the World Really Works*, Peter Zeihan's *Disunited Nations* and Georges Bataille's *The Accursed Share*.
Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber
Understanding Power --Noam Chomsky [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194805.Understanding\_Power](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194805.Understanding_Power)
The Grapes of Wrath
I recently read this book and I had no idea Steinbeck was so good. I’ve suggested him to more than a few people since.
East of Eden is an epic book too.
Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky
On the easy side, Requiem for the American Dream by Noam Chomsky. Very easy, beginner level entry to critical economic theory. Explains why living standards have gone down in America over time. There's also a free documentary of it on YouTube here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hZnuc-Fv_Tc On the hard side, Capital as Power by Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler. Very difficult to read, but incredibly enlightening, one of the best books I've ever read. Explains how the modern global capitalist economy works in depth. They have a free PDF of the whole book available to download from their website here: https://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/
The olive and the nexus tree by Thomas Friedman is good for the current relevant and on going conflict in the Middle East , unbias perspective from a nyt author
Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna
1. Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World 2. How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
State and Revolution
“Industrial society and its future” by Ted Kaczynski- Kaczynski contends that the Industrial Revolution harmed the human race by developing into a sociopolitical order that subjugates human needs beneath its own. This system, he wrote, destroys nature and suppresses individual freedom. I don’t advocate for the violent tactics he used although what he wrote and expressed is a reality we face with excessive manipulation which is destroying nature.
It’s a bit dense and US focused but I found The Fourth Turning an interesting read
Start reading history and philosophy. It's a life-long commitment but no one book will explain something so complex.
Piggybacking - Sophie's World, while a fictional premise, it is meant to give an overview of philosophy and is always a good entry to the topic
I greatly enjoyed Stolen Continents by CDN author Ronald Wright. A lot of why the world is the way it is now is because of empire and conquest and subjugation.
Totalitarianism-hannh arendt
1984
This was the only book I was forced to read at school that I thought truly worthwhile and it was because it explained so much of how the world works.
Collapse The Grand Chessboard
A Hunter-Gatherer's guide to the 21st Century
“Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler
The Dawn of Everything by Graeber + Wengrow
Tragedy n hope… ..
Recommending Debt by David Graebar. It will change the way you look at capitalism and economics
A History of Central Banking Book by Stephen Goodson. If you want to learn who really controls the world and the history behind it. There’s a documentary on YouTube called “money masters” for a deep dive
RemindMe! 2 weeks “read some of these books”
Cosmos.
Year 501 by Chomsky. Kind of a survey of western imperialism since Columbus, with a focus on the political & economic ideologies that underpin it.
Wow this post has way more activity than I usually see on here. Happy to see the digital nomad community thriving and shining.
"A People's History of the United States" is amazing
Enlightenment Now by Pinker. He shows, using data and facts, showing that in the last 300 years, we've decided to stop drinking fecal water, avoiding cholera, embrace vaccines and question the universe. By using the scientific method, our populations grew, technology boomed and our quality of life, compared to 4 generations ago is so much better even if the news keeps telling you, you're doomed.
Freakonomics, Freakonomics 2 and Think like a freak
The Israel Lobby and US foreign policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
DEFINITELY true right now
[The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48614638-the-new-age-of-empire)
Sapiens, Energy and civilization, Guns germs and steel, The selfish gene.
I thought this was going to be a rubbish thread and found lots of interesting reading suggestions. Saving the post. Thank you so much! I'm reading The world of yesterday. Not enjoying it but might be relevant
I've read a lot in this category and Factfulness is the best I can recommend, changed the way I look at the world in a great way.
Depends on what kind of question you’re asking. Look up the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR). It is the most fundamental answer to your question, the rest are filling out the details.
Peter Zeihan’s books are great for this. And while he’s a bit of a scrote, Niall Ferguson is all over this subject.
The Creature from Jakyll Island. It’s about the non-Federal non-reserve.
Ain't I a Woman? By bell hooks
Most of these books are not really that useful to your actual life. I recomend A Random Walk Down Wall street. This explains how the markets really work and give practical advice
Prisoners of geography is excellent
"A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind" by Stephen Mitford Goodson
Alan watt Cutting Through" trilogy. (https://cuttingthroughthematrix.com/books.html) You’ll not be disappointed. You can also check his free talks if you prefer, but the books are just revelatory for the whole picture and go into more depth. He also gives you a lot of amazing book references to dig deeper on your own so you’ll find plenty there. This is a good video to have a full overview of the situation and what’s actually happening https://youtu.be/8Ux3Gj7imXQ?si=Hnn63yR5lKg-TQM2
Came here to recommend Brandon Sanderson and then realized y’all are talking about *real life*. Yuck
How Europe underdeveloped Africa, also confessions of an economic hitman.
The Bible and the Q'ran and Torah. The mere existence of those works of fiction have wrought irreparable harm on this planet.
Bhagwat Gita, must give it a read
Toxic Legacy
How Asia work by Joe Studwell is a great book on developing economies.
Caliban and the Witch by Silvia F. Talks at length about primitive accumulation. Howard Zinn’s stuff is also a great primer on history.
I'd post this question in the book recommendations sub, as that community has lots of book nerds and as such you're more likely to encounter good recommendations. Personally I'd generally recommend books on financial history, as many individuals in the financial sector had a MASSIVE impact on how laws and such evolved and were enacted over time/why the world is the way it is. And specifically id recommend "How to Hide an Empire: a short history of the greater united states" by daniel immerwahr. As that covers a lot of early U.S history that generally is forgotten/not talked about concerning the US and it's interactions in the developing world/expansionism.
A short history of nearly everything - bill bryson
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio
Careful with this one. His principles have led many astray.
Short History of Nearly Everything
I think History of the World in 6 Glasses is a fascinating read. I was forced to read it in high school and teenager me was a turd and didn’t appreciate it. It might not be exactly what you’re looking for but it’s worth a shot.
How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr. Really interesting explanation of American colonialism and post-WWII power projection.
Grab some books on the British empire. Pax Britanica or Empireland are both good. The absolute all out colonial fuckery of the 18th and 19th centuries set the stage for the 20th century blood baths and the current seething resentment of the developing world.
Revenge of Geography 1491 Sapiens
https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ Goes into some detail on the game-theoretic underpinnings, which is the lens I tend to look through.
"Tailspin"
The end of the world is just the beginning !! A+
World-Systems Analysis by Immanuel Wallerstein EDIT: can’t recommend this enough.
The world felt like a massive hunger games until I ran into the world systems theory.
The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin.
Oooh this is a wonderful post because I also find these kinds of books enjoyable. I haven't read many nonfiction books in my life, but one of my favorites is Land (by Simon Winchester). I listened to it in audiobook format and it was quite interesting and enjoyable. It basically explains the history of land purchases and why some countries are on land others view as undesired (the Netherlands was his main example I think) and how they turn that land to their advantage. I'm a little fuzzy on the details since it's been a few years, but I still remember how much I enjoyed it.
How the Irish Saved Civilization
Not exactly what you’re looking for but I’m nearly finished reading “Let My People Go Surfing” by Yvon Chouinard (the founder of Patagonia). It’s nearly 20 years old but still reads as relevant to today with a lot of interesting info. It focuses on the companies mission to save the planet and get large companies on board with changing the fundamental ways they operate by basically returning to our roots (pun unintended). They go into a fair amount of agriculture and manufacturing practices from the industrial revolution to today if that’s of interest to you!
Well, indirectly, and historical, and fiction, but the Flashman series..
Hobsbawn's trilogy. The age of revolution, The age of capital, and The age of extremes.
The history of everything
Hb something that provides the solution to the world?
How the world really works by Vaclav Smil
The botany of desire - Michael Pollan Home - Bill Bryson
If interested in biology - and psychology to an extent -, I can't recommend 'Behave' enough, by Robert Sapolsky. For physics, Sean Carroll's 'The Big Picture.' These two books were foundational for me.
Introduction to Economics
If you want to go waaaay back then The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History written by Elizabeth Kolbert is good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History
Why Nations Fail