Ask HN: Suggestions for "overview books"

Here are two examples of what I mean with "overview books": http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortal-Game-History-Chess/dp/1400034086 http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Gladiators-Musketeers-Swashbucklers-anniversary/dp/0812969669 The first covers the history of chess, with ample digressions on chess and literature, chess and cognitive abilities, chess and madness... The second is history of the sword, from crude implement of destruction to ritualized olympic discipline. Along with ample digressions on sword in other cultures, theatrical fencing and so on. What I am looking for is a list of books covering a general overview of some specific topic, written so that they are engaging and fun to read even for people with little or no specific knowledge (the chess book is particularly good in this) and provide a lot of information about their main subject. Any suggestions?