What are some popular and fairly unbiased introduction to world history for people who are generally not interested in history?
Trying to get someone (a non-Westerner who has been living here since an early age) interested in reading about history, but I do know they're not interested except for a mild curiosity about world history. They're through a stage in their life where they may want to use history to make sense of their life. But I'm not familiar with books on world history myself, only with specific areas (e.g., science history).
Now, I know there is no escaping that history will have its biases, and that a book written by an English-speaking author in a Western country and for Western readership will likely have some degree of pro-Western biases. And that a popular world history book of only a few hundred pages will necessarily simplify history and leave out important events.
But some works of history are based on stronger scholarship than others, which have a political agenda or are written by people without the necessary educational background. So it's not all the same, but at the same time no work is "perfect."
So I want to ask for your help in getting some recommendations. Appreciate it.
einsteinfrankenstein t1_j9rfr88 wrote
Reply to Bookclub and Sources Wednesday! by AutoModerator
What are some popular and fairly unbiased introduction to world history for people who are generally not interested in history?
Trying to get someone (a non-Westerner who has been living here since an early age) interested in reading about history, but I do know they're not interested except for a mild curiosity about world history. They're through a stage in their life where they may want to use history to make sense of their life. But I'm not familiar with books on world history myself, only with specific areas (e.g., science history).
Now, I know there is no escaping that history will have its biases, and that a book written by an English-speaking author in a Western country and for Western readership will likely have some degree of pro-Western biases. And that a popular world history book of only a few hundred pages will necessarily simplify history and leave out important events.
But some works of history are based on stronger scholarship than others, which have a political agenda or are written by people without the necessary educational background. So it's not all the same, but at the same time no work is "perfect."
So I want to ask for your help in getting some recommendations. Appreciate it.