Susan Wise Bauer

A brief overview of the world, beginning around 7000BC and ending, as the title says, with the fall of Rome and the end of Antiquity. Though this is the first work of Susan’s that I’ve read, Bauer may well become my favorite historian: the way she delivers the narrative and the interdisciplinary research she’s done for this book is astounding. She’s managed to make these stories relatable, entertaining, and, occasionally, comedic. The sheer number of stories and worlds explored in this book is hard to keep track of.

When I find an interesting book like this, I like to take notes on important facts or timetables. I got about a third of the way through and found myself taking notes on every chapter, and my normal reading time had more than tripled. Susan has a way of making every detail seem incredibly important (because they are, of course). Even for folks that don’t care for millennia-old histories, this will be easy to follow and entertaining to read.