It is not exactly a history book but Guns, Germs, and Steel should be on the reading list. It starts at the dawn of modern humans and explains a lot about how

It is not exactly a history book but Guns, Germs, and Steel should be on the reading list. It starts at the dawn of modern humans and explains a lot about how the world is organized. It started with a simple question from a New Guinea native to an anthropologist of European descent: "Why do you guys have all the loot?" Hint -- it's not because of smarts.