For those interested in a broad account of history that does not try to explain what happened, but why things happen, I highly recommend Jared Diamond's "Guns,

For those interested in a broad account of history that does not try to explain what happened, but why things happen, I highly recommend Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel"[1]. It resonates well with the hacker's desire to understand what makes the world tick :) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel