[fit2rule]

As an aside, in order to distract myself from my own local decadence, particularly at night when its time to sleep, I have been entertaining myself with an investigation of literature and cultural artifacts pertaining to the lives and living of the 18th Century, or at least: any particular culture beyond the fringe of the last 100 years.

Its only a trivial pursuit, nothing in particularly serious, academic, or even principled. Rather just something to think about before embarking into the nightly darkened garden, of thought and mystery.

I can't help but think it is such a tragedy just how artificial it all is, and has been, for the last few centuries. We have created immense artifice; extreme transfer of responsibility and control at very mechanical, practical, energetic levels of human discourse. The cities we have created, the means we have endeavoured to make available to all, or none, or at least many, simply "to get there" in the human equation: it continues to impress a fiction upon the land. Utterly fictional.

Consider the average airline passenger. How they manage to navigate the labyrinthine means by which the space was navigated, to go from New York to Tokyo. (Or any other place, perhaps Ankara to Cairo, if you like. It doesn't really matter.)

How extreme we have become, we species. That we do not acknowledge our principle accomplishments, beyond all else the universe pitches against us, while follying and crippling ourselves with ghosts and fakery.

Kill the fakery. If it works, sell it. Sell the hell out of it. Humans perpetuate technology first, bullshit second. Never forget the complete nature of the theorem.

[rm_-rf_slash]

Can't imagine why you were downvoted for this. You're spot on to read very old books; my godfather - a historian - insisted on reading books only written by dead people. He may have been a salty old man for the time that I knew him, but he was never unhappy.

I have recently begun listening to a LOT of classical music. Every time I casually new-tab over to YouTube and load up a Tchaikovsky playlist, I think to myself: "Not even the richest kings of Renaissance Europe could instantly summon a complete orchestra and hear a composer's entire repertoire played perfectly every time - yet that can be my reality whenever I wish."

Really reminds me I have so much to be grateful for.

[sevenless]

Probably because it came across as pretentious.

Recommendations on good history books?

[rm_-rf_slash]

Herodotus's Histories is probably the best place to start. Maybe 50% of it is accurate, as it was common among historians of the day to create functional exchanges of historical figures to simulate the debate of ideas, such as the Persian Magi debating on the kind of government Persia ought to have, between aristocracy, democracy, and autocracy.

Also, and while it is very very modern, John Green's Crash Course World History (and US history) is a great place to start so you have context when you delve deeper.

[fit2rule]

>Recommendations on good history books?

Any and all.