Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: Greeks

Robinson has written an excellent book, rather than just being a collection of disparate facts about Greeks it is a narrative of what we know of Greek history over time, how our knowledge of Greek history has been obtained and how reliable it is, how myth and fact can be connected. All the usual suspects are there, gods, the olympics, architecture, alphabets, Alexander the Great and warfare, but it's couched in a coherant narrative excellently illustrated with loads of photographs and cartoons by Del Thorpe. Really brings history to life.

Psychogeography by Will Self illustrated by Ralf Steadman

Firstly the hardback edition here is a beautiful book, Ralf Steadman's illustrations are in full colour and intersperse Will Self's text.  He speaks of journeys taken by foot, largely over urban landscapes and the palimpsest of histories that land has.  His first and longest journey is from his home to Heathrow, a journey made for four wheels rather than two feet, and then from JFK to downtown Manhattan.  His use of extended metaphor is just exquisite, the scatalogical and elegaic brought together to show the world not in a new light as such, just better described.  I must admit I had to read it with a large dictionary at hand, Self's command of the English language is just incredible.  Not an easy book to read, but a real education and enlightenment.

A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

I listened to the programmes and was desperate to see the objects talked about, and I learned so very much about world history from this truly global history of human kind in 100 objects stretching right back to the very first human use of stone tools right up to the present day. I enjoyed its non euro centric focus and I liked the pictures, they are of lovely quality and if you wanted to see more you could make the pilgrimage to the British Museum. Although by definition idiosyncratic MacGregor's selections opened my eyes.

Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut

According to Vonnegut this is Timequake #2 because he wasn't very happy with the first version and rewrote it. It is on one level an account of his life and the times he met Kilgore Trout, familiar to readers as Vonnegut's alter ego in Slaughterhouse 5, and the timequake, an event that takes place on 13 February 1991 and when the entire world is thrown back 10 years and lives those 10 years again without any free will. Chaos ensues when free will returns after the 10 years and airline pilots, drivers, and people in general do not realise that the plane / train / car / bike / feet will no longer continue without their direction. Vonnegut messes around with our concepts of time, free will and history but in the funniest, gentlest way.