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Comment by virtuous_signal | Hacker News Reader

I never could get into history in school, but I love the idea of looking at history through the lens of one particular item and find it more interesting. I know of (https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...). Any others that people here would recommend?

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You would love this book: At Home by Bill Bryson (https://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Short-History-Private/dp/0767...)

It explores history through the lens of everyday objects in the home (even fixtures like windows, and spaces like your foyer)

A little slow to start, but then it never stops entertaining

Add to the list the list everything else by Bill Bryson and you'll not put your kindle down for months.

Your comment and the Amazon preview just made a sale here. Thanks for pointing it out.

My favourite of this genre -

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099268701/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_...

This is one of my favorites as well!

https://amazon.com/dp/0140092331

Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power

"A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World" by William Bernstein provides a sweeping overview of world trade - including spices [0].

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Exchange-Trade-Shaped-World/...

This was an interesting read

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/...

This is in my opinion the best book about modern history. You can easily catch up with stuff you missed:

https://www.amazon.de/Rise-Fall-Great-Powers/dp/0679720197

This book was written in 1989 and was already skeptical about the stability of the soviet union and also thought what might happen to Ukraine if the the USSR disintegrates (attracted to EU/EC).

You would love "A History of the World in Six Glasses".

While not exactly one item, Sapiens looks at history from the perspective of human shared fictions and is a good read https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B00ICN066A

you should read some of Giles Milton's books: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29386.Nathaniel_s_Nutmeg and https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/411475.White_Gold are good ones to start with

Mark Kurlansky has a few, Salt being the most well known.

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