Books › The Fabric of Civilization › Books like it
If you loved
Books like The Fabric of Civilization
A sweeping, intellectually stimulating journey that reveals how the threads of everyday fabric wove the modern world together. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The Fabric of Civilization.
- intellectually stimulating
- expansive
- curious
- 01
Empire of cotton
Sven Beckert
An unflinching, sweeping examination of the brutal economic engine that built the modern world.
- 02
Money
Jacob Goldstein (Cohost of Planet Money podcast)
A witty, globe-trotting tour through the collective hallucination that makes the modern world go round.
- 03
The Silk Roads
Peter Frankopan
A sweeping, panoramic journey that recenters the globe and fundamentally shifts how you view the history of human civilization.
- 04
Energy in world history
Vaclav Smil · 1994
A sweeping, deeply pragmatic lens on human history that reveals the hidden physical forces shaping our world.
- 05
The wealth and poverty of nations
David S. Landes
A sweeping, opinionated masterclass in economic history that challenges the reader to grapple with the cultural and technological roots of global inequality.
- 06
The ascent of money
Niall Ferguson
An expansive, eye-opening journey that reveals the invisible financial scaffolding holding up human history.
- 07
The Attention Merchants
Tim Wu
A revelatory, slightly unsettling journey through the history of how our focus became the world's most valuable commodity.
- 08
The Secret Lives Of Colour
Kassia St. Clair
A kaleidoscopic journey through history that transforms the way you see the everyday world.
- 09
Why the West Rules - For Now
Ian Morris
A sweeping, God's-eye view of human history that turns millennia of data into a gripping puzzle about geography, power, and our collective future.
- 10
Napoleon's Buttons
Penny LeCouteur and Jay Burreson
A fascinating, perspective-shifting journey that reveals the invisible chemical scaffolding holding up human history.
- 11
The undercover economist strikes back
Tim Harford
A witty, jargon-free tour through the hidden gears of the global economy that makes macroeconomics feel like a fascinating dinner party conversation.
- 12
The Rational Optimist
Matt Ridley
A sweeping, data-driven antidote to modern doom-mongering that makes you feel genuinely excited about the future of humanity.
