The 7-Day 'Big Picture' History Tour (That's Actually Interesting)

Our journey must start here. This book provides the sweeping, 70,000-foot view of human history, arguing that our ability to cooperate through shared fictions is what made us dominant. It's the foundational story of us.

After Sapiens explained the 'what' of our history, this book explains the 'why.' It makes a powerful case that geography and environment, not people, determined the different fates of different continents. A crucial lesson in looking for systemic causes.

Now that you have the grand environmental narrative from yesterday, this book challenges it. It presents exciting new evidence that our ancestors were far more politically creative and less constrained by their environments than we thought. A vital lesson in questioning historical dogma.

Building on the theme of societal creativity, this book tackles the history of a core institution: money. It’s a mind-bending history that argues our social and moral obligations to each other are far older and more fundamental than any economic system.

After the deep history of debt, this book offers a compelling theory for modern progress. It argues that the engine of human advancement has been the accelerating exchange of ideas—a 'collective brain.' It's a powerful lens for understanding the last 10,000 years.

With a better understanding of how human culture evolves, let's look at the even deeper force: biological evolution. This book provides the gene's-eye view, a powerful and essential framework for understanding the ultimate driver of all of life's history.

For our finale, a crucial warning from history. After a week of seeing how societies are built, this book explores why they fall. It's a study of how environmental and social choices have led to collapse throughout history, offering timeless lessons for today.