Books that help you understand the world a bit better

[g3org3y]

Which books would you recommend that have given you a better understanding of the world, people, politics, laws etc?


Found this really interesting, knocked a lot of my pre-existing beliefs on the head.


A great rundown discussing misinformation, disinformation, bias, causality, big data, susceptibility of science etc.


Much better understanding of the law and allowed me to look past the media outrage headlines and political rhetoric.


Much better understanding of Al Qaeda, jihad and the 'War on Terror'.

Edited by g3org3y on Friday 8th October 19:19

[jp1982]

'and then all hell broke loose' Richard Engel.

I found this an excellent read if you wish to understand about the current situation in the Middle East, rise of ISIS etc

[Taita]

Enlightenment Now by Pinker is excellent. Tough to get through first chapter but then great.

[jreiche]

Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber. The most interesting and enlightening book I have ever read about money. Deals with some of the "folklore" about how money came to be.

The Origins of Political Order and the sequel Political Order and Political Decay - both by Francis Fukuyama. An absolutely immense work on how the World came to be as it is today.

[CallThatMusic]

A Brief History Of The Future - Jacques Attali

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years - Jared Diamond

Why are primitive tribes in the Amazon basin and Papua New Guinea still hunting animals with blow darts whilst we have nuclear weapons and automatic machine guns. Are we just cleverer than them?
Why did European nations colonise Africa, Asia and South America, and not the other way around?

The answers might not be what you expect. Fascinating stuff.

[g3org3y]

A very clear understanding of complex geopolitical situations.

[Johnnytheboy]

On a similar note, this book joined an awful lot of geopolitical dots for me, can't recommend it highly enough.