The History of the Ancient World

By 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 her’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. Even for folks that don’t care for millennia-old histories, this will be easy to follow and entertaining to read.