Lords of Things: The Fashioning of the Siamese Monarchy's Modern Image, by Maurizio Peleggi

The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation, by John M. Hobson

China Transformed: Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience, by Roy Bin Wong

The Colonizer's Model of the World: Geographical Diffusionism and Eurocentric History, By James M. Blaut

1491: Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann

The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention, by Robert Temple

ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age, by Andre Gunder Frank

"A Brief History Of Time", Hawking.

"The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate"...D. Jenkins

Hitler's Willing Executioners

Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust

Written by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

This is what my father had me read before I ever read any historical books (took me about 3 years to read). Of course not all of it was accurate, but then most books aren't. It provided a good context to the hundreds of books I've read since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization

Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation, by Thongchakul Winichakul

For those interested in Thai/Asian historical material:

http://www.digitalrarebook.com/index.php

http://www.silkwormbooks.com/

http://www.whitelotuspress.com/index.php

http://www.orchidbooks.com/

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges

This is what my father had me read before I ever read any historical books (took me about 3 years to read). Of course not all of it was accurate, but then most books aren't. It provided a good context to the hundreds of books I've read since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization

If you look at the bottom of that Wiki page all the volumes are available for download in various formats - PDF, Kindle etc.

Old history books can have a very different perspective on things than we do today. If you can find one in a used book shop I'd recommend it. For example, I used to have this history book printed in the 1930's and it had some good things to say about Hitler.

Forgotten Victory...............Gary Sheffield....... Puts Black Adder to bed.

Old history books can have a very different perspective on things than we do today.

To be expected, of course. The generational cycle of historiography and the broad interpretations are subjects of study apart.

It is quite fascinating to imbibe history written for the time, be it 50 years ago or 150.

How history is written and perceived is clearly a sub-cultural affair, where upon we tend to fall victim to the standards of convention without curiosity or question.

History as a studious activity leads us to understand that for every conceived theory and practice, there are hundreds of alternatives aside to counter, refute, revise, conceive, and interpret subjectively.

Consider history perceptions akin to yesterday's news........if such information is continually molded in whatever fashion, it becomes the model for history down the road.

Pen & Sail: Literature and History in Early Bangkok, by Nidhi Eoseewong