Further Reading Related to Global Societies
Below are some worthy reads related to places and people around the globe, grouped loosely around major world regions. The list will grow as I have time to add to it. It definitely reflects my reading biases and interests. The list includes works of non-fiction (primarily) and fiction.
The list reflects the fact that, like everyone else, I have much greater familiarity with some subjects and regions than others. In general, I particularly appreciate books that provide historical and/or geographical context for people, countries, and events, so you will see a lot of that below. If you know of a book or article that would be a great addition to this list, please let me know.
I encourage you to seek out further readings on subjects and locations beyond what is listed here (and please do let me know what you find!).
Broad Global Interests
Diamond, Jared (1999) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton. (A New York Times best-seller, by a professor in the department of geography at UCLA. The book has been the subject of some valid criticisms, but it is a great example of innovative, big-picture thinking.)
Diamond, Jared (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Penguin. (A follow-up book to Guns, Germs, and Steel, with excellent cast study profiles of selected historical and modern societies from across the globe.)
Glaeser, Edward (2011) Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York: Penguin. (A challenging and thought-provoking overview of the meaning of the city, from a renowned Harvard urban economist).
Americas (North, Central, and South)
Ambrose, Stephen E. (2003) Undaunted Courage: Meriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Byrnes, Mark (2014) Amid Brazil's stadium boom, a massive water infrastructure project drags on. The Atlantic Cities, February 11.
DePalma, Anthony (2001) Here: A Biography of the New American Continent. Toronto: HarperCollins.
Frazier, Ian (2001) Great Plains. New York: Picador.
Mann, Charles C. (2006) 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Vintage.
Mann, Charles C. (2012) 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. New York: Vintage.
Mitchell, W.O. (1947) Who Has Seen the Wind. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Philbrick, Nathaniel (2010) The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. New York: Penguin.
Stegner, Wallace (1955) Wolf Willow. New York: Penguin.
Africa
Badger, Emily (2014) This is what informal transit looks like when you actually map it. The Atlantic Cities, February 3.
Reader, John (1999) Africa: A Biography of a Continent. New York: Vintage.
Asia
Frazier, Ian (2010) Travels in Siberia. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (A first-hand account of a car trip across Russia. Quite the story, plus good insights into Russia and its people).
Keay, John (2011) China: A History. New York: Basic Books.
Kulke, Herman, and Dietmar Rothermund (2010) A History of India. New York: Routledge.
Meyer, Karl E. (2003) The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland. New York: Public Affairs.
Europe
Pleshakov, Constantine (2002) The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima. New York: Basic Books. (this book covers a story that begins in European Russia, but goes on an extended voyage south through the Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, and through the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia to the ultimate sea battle site off the coast of Japan. It is quite a global story).
Scaturro, Michael (2013) After centuries of absence, big bad wolves have returned to Germany. The Atlantic, April 29.
Sykes, Bryan (2007) Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Great Britain and Ireland. New York: Norton.
Walker, Ian W. (1997) Harold, The Last Anglo-Saxon King. Stroud: The History Press.
The list reflects the fact that, like everyone else, I have much greater familiarity with some subjects and regions than others. In general, I particularly appreciate books that provide historical and/or geographical context for people, countries, and events, so you will see a lot of that below. If you know of a book or article that would be a great addition to this list, please let me know.
I encourage you to seek out further readings on subjects and locations beyond what is listed here (and please do let me know what you find!).
Broad Global Interests
Diamond, Jared (1999) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton. (A New York Times best-seller, by a professor in the department of geography at UCLA. The book has been the subject of some valid criticisms, but it is a great example of innovative, big-picture thinking.)
Diamond, Jared (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Penguin. (A follow-up book to Guns, Germs, and Steel, with excellent cast study profiles of selected historical and modern societies from across the globe.)
Glaeser, Edward (2011) Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York: Penguin. (A challenging and thought-provoking overview of the meaning of the city, from a renowned Harvard urban economist).
Americas (North, Central, and South)
Ambrose, Stephen E. (2003) Undaunted Courage: Meriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Byrnes, Mark (2014) Amid Brazil's stadium boom, a massive water infrastructure project drags on. The Atlantic Cities, February 11.
DePalma, Anthony (2001) Here: A Biography of the New American Continent. Toronto: HarperCollins.
Frazier, Ian (2001) Great Plains. New York: Picador.
Mann, Charles C. (2006) 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Vintage.
Mann, Charles C. (2012) 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. New York: Vintage.
Mitchell, W.O. (1947) Who Has Seen the Wind. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Philbrick, Nathaniel (2010) The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. New York: Penguin.
Stegner, Wallace (1955) Wolf Willow. New York: Penguin.
Africa
Badger, Emily (2014) This is what informal transit looks like when you actually map it. The Atlantic Cities, February 3.
Reader, John (1999) Africa: A Biography of a Continent. New York: Vintage.
Asia
Frazier, Ian (2010) Travels in Siberia. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (A first-hand account of a car trip across Russia. Quite the story, plus good insights into Russia and its people).
Keay, John (2011) China: A History. New York: Basic Books.
Kulke, Herman, and Dietmar Rothermund (2010) A History of India. New York: Routledge.
Meyer, Karl E. (2003) The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland. New York: Public Affairs.
Europe
Pleshakov, Constantine (2002) The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima. New York: Basic Books. (this book covers a story that begins in European Russia, but goes on an extended voyage south through the Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, and through the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia to the ultimate sea battle site off the coast of Japan. It is quite a global story).
Scaturro, Michael (2013) After centuries of absence, big bad wolves have returned to Germany. The Atlantic, April 29.
Sykes, Bryan (2007) Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Great Britain and Ireland. New York: Norton.
Walker, Ian W. (1997) Harold, The Last Anglo-Saxon King. Stroud: The History Press.