The closest has been the book I'm reading (and should have finished by now) - "Why the west rules for now". No book drives the 'geography is destiny' point home as well as this book. It is one of the rare textbooks that is a delight to read. Lastly, the anecdotes highlight the 'history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes' adage in a uniquely convincing manner. It is one of the few books I see recommended on both center-left (r/askhistorians) and center-right (IDW) platforms.

Catch-22 is another such delightful book without a single fault. It is a cliché now, but it must have been a revelation to see a book capture such a fundamental idea so perfectly through anecdotes. No wonder the title of book became a phrase to represent the phenomenon itself.

Somewhat disappointingly for hipsters, most English language classics are classics for a reason. There are plenty of discerning readers out there, so good books with moderate resources eventually reach a level of deserved critical acclaim. That being said, there is still a lot of underappreciated foreign-language literature yet to be fully appreciated.