Best trivia books according to redditors

Hi there

I'm not OP, so I can post this with a clean conscience since lots of people obviously want it:

https://www.amazon.com/Facts-Cant-Prove-Arent-True/dp/0990354830

That's the link OP sent me. Enjoy!

this isn't a specific example, but you guys should check out a book called "the etymologicon" by mark forsyth. it's got a ton of good examples of this kind of stuff. and it's a pretty entertaining read, too. pretty witty and funny.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Here are the Randall-provided examples:

M0: The Dallas Cowboys running full-tilt into the side of your neighbour's garage.
M-1: A single football player running into a tree in your yard.
M-2: A cat falling off a dresser.
M-3: A cat knocking your cell phone off your nightstand.
M-4: A penny falling off a dog.
M-5: A key press on an IBM model M keyboard.
M-6: A key press on a lightweight keyboard.
M-7: A single feather fluttering to the ground.
M-8: A grain of fine sand falling onto the pile at the bottom of a tiny hourglass.
M-15: A drifting mote of dust coming to rest on a table.

For the accompanying drawings and much more sciencey goodness, buy the book.

Here's some things I enjoyed when I was a kid, and that are even more fun sharing with my son. Some of them may have to wait until he's a little older.


Sounds like you're already on the way to giving him the best thing that he could ask for -- an older brother who treats him like an individual and spends time with him.


Keep in mind that kids don't have the same sense of time as adults and they don't focus on the same types of goals. Try not to have too set a timetable for these things -- if he wants to spend all afternoon exploring the stream he found 15 minutes from the parking lot, let him. You'll still have had a great afternoon with him, even if you didn't get to take him on the two mile hike to the scenic view you'd planned.

• Hiking and exploring in the woods, especially if there's a stream or pond involved.
  
• Go fishing. Don't be surprised if he ignores the poles after a short time to try to catch frogs and minnows.
  
• Take a canoe trip, even if it's just a couple hours.
  
• Go to a big amusement park and go on rides with him. Go back to the same one each summer. He'll remember when he was too young to be allowed to ride on ABC, or the first time he rode on XYZ. Lots of little milestones and memories. Goals and incentives too -- eat your vegetables and meat so you'll grow enough to ride on the new roller coaster next summer. If rides that spin make you nauseous (they will someday), Dramamine helps. Take one tablet the night before, and another a couple hours before your first ride. Old diver's trick.
  
• Visit a good sized cave
  
• Make and launch model rockets
  
• Visit the local science museum or children's museum
  
• Take him to the library a couple times a month. My folks let me read anything I could check out, which made me feel grown up and independent
  
• Ride bikes
  
• Put some of your favorite books on his shelf for him to find and read when he's the right age
  
• Get him some books like The Dangerous Book for Boys. Flip through them together and find fun things to learn or do.

But... he did an entire book...

Yes, he is a geography expert. HE EVEN WROTE A BOOK ON IT!

Depending on the time and place, portrayals of Vikings as sea-based raiders are either highly accurate or somewhat farcical. It's worth noting briefly that the term 'viking' actually comes out a verb for raiding: "going viking" is something that is by definition fitting your stereotype. However, since that's not the colloquial definition it's probably only of minor interest to you.

There are certainly places where the perception is somewhat inaccurate. According to the Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings, raiding was something that took place in the Mediterranean only exceptionally (there is one saga talking about a raid going to Italy) or not at all. However, we can be quite certain that viking age scandinavians were active there: trading in the Islamic world for the vast quantities of silver coinage that we find today, fighting in the Varangian Guard for the Byzantine Emperor, and otherwise getting around quite a bit without such a strong plunder association. [Varangians aren't generally associated as raiders, but they might fit your stereotype of loot, plunder and rape in other ways.]

However, it's also true that for other areas the only thorough interaction we see with the Vikings is loot, plunder, and rape. Early Medieval England sees raids from about 793 to 865 that almost entirely fit this stereotype you mention, and although the 'Great Heathen Army' that comes in 865 does quite a lot of capture territory and see the genuine settlement of Scandinavian people in the area they control. This is so much the case that when Ethelred Unraed is fed up of being raided by vikings, he attempts to have all the Scandinavians in his kingdom killedon St Brice's Day, he is allegedly unable to have this enforced in large parts of his land because there are too many Scandinavians around. But that's also complicated by the fact that even while there are lots of settlers, Ethelred is spending thousands of tons of silver a year in 'danegelds': organised payments to those who would be raiding him to get them to go away for a year.

This system of danegelds and raids occurs throughout north-western europe whenever the various kings are unable to effectively defend themselves. The vikings do all kinds of crazy things: when they attack Paris, for example, they meet a Frankish army in two halves, so they attack the lesser half, hang the prisoners, let the other half run away, sack the city, and then get payment from the King to go away. This is what gives people that rather unpleasant impression of the vikings.

But it's also true that in some areas they barely seem to fight at all, or at least don't do so with a reputation of success. A final thing worth noting is the viking settlement of Iceland, Greenland, and (temporarily) North America. That's not the stereotype at all, but it's still an important part of what Scandinavians were doing in the viking age.

I also haven't mentioned any of the stuff they're doing in Russia and Ukraine, mostly because I don't know much about that stuff.

I mentioned the Penguin Historical Atlas. Also worth mentioning is Vikings! by Magnus Magnusson for some of this information. If you're looking for detail on things like preserved buildings from the viking age, he is a good source (as far as I'm aware).

> It's not too late! Plus now I have a new one out, about maps, which I wouldn't dream of plugging here because that would seem so crass.

FTFY.

Since I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the questions right now, I'm going to copy and paste two answers I've given to similar question in earlier threads. (One of which is a copy-and-paste job itself.)


1. General books:

I'm going to copy and paste an answer I once gave to someone who asked me for book recommendations via private message.

>Hi there!

>No Problem! Always glad to help. If you need a quick overview over the topic or are rather unfamiliar with it The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings gives a good first impression. Else Roesdahl's The Vikings is a bit more in depth but with less pictures. There's also Peter Sawyer's Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. All three of those are slightly outdated but they give a great first impression of the Age. If money's thight, start with Sawyer, then Roesdahl, then the atlas.

>If you want to go more in depth there's The Viking World by Stefan Brink and Neil Price. Do not confuse it with the book of the same name by Graham-Campbell and Wilson, which is rather outdated. This "Viking World" is a collection of essays by the world's leading experts on the period an the de facto standard of the discipline at the moment. It's well worth the price.

>If you are (or at least read) German (which is possible from your username) try to get the current catalogue of the Haithabu museum. It gives a good overview over that important trading settlement. Or even better: visit there! (Or any of the large Scandinavian National Museums (Moesgård, Statens Historiska museet, or the Viking ship museums in Roskilde and Oslo, respectively).

>If you are interested in the world of the sagas you can't go wrong with Jesse Byock's Viking Age Iceland.

>If you are looking for a quick ressource or if you have a specific question there's the site of The Viking Answer Lady. She appears to be a reenactor not a scholar but her answers are very well sourced and I have yet to find a major error on her site. Or you can always ask me/post to AskHistorians...

>cheers, wee_little_puppetman


Also, you might want to check out this huge annotated Viking movie list.

There's also a rather good three part BBC series on the Vikings on Youtube.

And for some quick Viking fun there's the animated short The Saga of Biorn.

Oh, one more thing: You might also enjoy Viking Empires by Angelo Forte, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen. It goes beyond the traditional end of the Viking Age into the Middle Ages and should therefore tie in nicely to your main interest in the crusades.



2. Sagas

Egils saga and Njáls saga are usually the ones that are recomennded for first time readers. They feel very modern in their narrative structures. Grettis saga is also quite good for a start. And then maybe Laxdæla saga. If you aren't specifically interested in Iceland and want to start with something that conforms more to the public picture of "Vikings" try Eiriks saga rauða, Jómsvíkinga saga or Sverris saga. But afterwards you have to read at least one Icelander saga (i.e. one of the ones I mentioned first)!

Icelandic sagas are fascinating but you have to commit to them. Don't be disappointed if a chapter begins with two pages of the family tree of a minor character! And always keep in mind that this is medieval literature: although it might look like it it is not history. These things were written in the 12th to 14th centuries, even if the take place much earlier!

Etymologicon

https://www.amazon.com/Etymologicon-Circular-Through-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Something I read in this book that I got my dad a couple years ago is kinda sad:

"Unfortunately, Buck Martinez was never the same. He attempted a comeback in 1986 but struggled through a .181 average with just a pair of homers and 12 RBIs in 160 at-bats. As the 1986 season came to a close, the Blue Jays were faced with the rough task of cutting ties with a man who played all out for the team and risked his life and limb (or at least limb) to help the team win its first pennant."

To end on a high note, here's the play with alternate commentary.

Buy him The Dangerous Book For Boys.

Get him climbing trees and catching frogs. Eight years old is no time to be sitting indoors, and certainly not the age to be exposed to the internet.

Actually, I think it's one of the “removable fascimile documents” from this book: History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

/u/MudrakM

Evidence? Compare:

• This exhibit
  
• Or this one
  
• The card, other side
  
  They all seem to have the same “Exhibit/Subject” stamp
  
  edit even better: here in page 79, in a discussion of the Thule Society, it tells you to look at Exhibit 5B.

It's probably showing some age now, but when I was a kid I loved Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. It's very much a "general mysteries of the world" book, it has short, accessible articles about subjects like the Voynicht Manuscript and supposed ghost hauntings, with lots of pictures. Nothing overly gory or violent but I think there might be a Renaissance nude painting or sculpture or two in it.

Honestly, just buy this book. Its short, but very comprehensive in our history.

Similarly, I would also reccommend The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were.

One of my favorite books as a kid with great stories of all kinds of mythology and beautiful (and some incredibly creepy) illustrations.

The crash course is here

> http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

Interesting !

An anecdote tied to yours : Sabot, in french, means horse's hoof.

It depends on what "theory" you go with.

There's the attachment angle, but...More interesting to me personally is the idea some have advanced that "ghosts" are just some kind of echo or imprint from traumatic events.

Remember a story from one of my favorite books when I was a kid, Reader's Digest's Strange Stories, Amazing Facts about two women vacationing on the beach at Dieppe, France in 1951 who were awoken by the sounds of gunfire and men shouting.

They kept a journal, noting time and what they were hearing. Reader's Digest printed that journal side-by-side with the official timeline of the 1942 raid on Dieppe (official account was still classified in 1951). Kinda amazing how what the women heard synced with what actually was taking place during the same time span in 1942.

> I'm fascinated by non-FIFA soccer, and have always wondered how some non-UN members are part of FIFA, while others aren't.

You will like this: https://www.amazon.com/Outcasts-Lands-That-FIFA-Forgot/dp/1905449313/

There's a book called An Incomplete Education that is made for people just like you! I love it!

Only 22 countries have never been invaded by Britain (ポップアップあり）
https://www.statista.com/chart/3441/countries-never-invaded-by-britain/

この本が元らしい

All the Countries We've Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To, Stuart Laycock
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0750952121

> Out of 193 countries that are currently UN member states, we’ve invaded or fought conflicts in the territory of 171.

redditのスレ
Only 22 countries have never been invaded by Britain
/r/dataisbeautiful/34te7m/

Save some time with a primer/survey of most if not all those disciplines and then some...An Incomplete Education by Judy Jones and William Wilson.

https://www.amazon.com/Incomplete-Education-Revised-Judy-Jones/dp/0345391373

The Dangerous Book For Boys is something I really wish I had when I was 9.

The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were

> Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were

You can browse inside that book at Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Things-That-Never-Were/dp/0140100083

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Beautiful-David-McCandless/dp/0007294662/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Visual-Miscellaneum-Colorful-Consequential/dp/0061748366/ref=cm_lmf_tit_2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Aid-Never-Enough-Stuff/dp/1906155836/ref=wl_it_dp_v_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1BU0GWLWXVRBT&coliid=I3W2KRV0X5UX2R (This one is great!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Aid-Forgotten-Thought-Learning/dp/1906155488/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1BU0GWLWXVRBT&coliid=IPRP6XRGI791

The Dangerous Book for Boys

It's a type of information portrayal called an infographic. The goal is usually to clearly present data in a visually striking and informative way by combining text with graphics. They can be used for pretty much anything (I had a class assignment to make one about San Francisco Bay water quality) and are often, but not by any means exclusively, made by graphic designers. Here's an awesome book on the topic.

Another redditor linked to this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Facts-Cant-Prove-Arent-True/dp/0990354830

but I have no idea if it's the actual book or not. Initial instinct was this was just some DIY prank.

Another good one in the same vein that you can kind of flip through: An Incomplete Education

Theres a good book on the subject called 'Outcasts', which focuses on all the nations not accepted into FIFA.

You can get it second hand from 3 quid.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Outcasts-Lands-FIFA-Forgot-Steve-Menary/1905449313

Hi there,

Kudos to you for wanting to learn more!

Here is a book I love. It's called The Timetables of History, and it's essentially a comprehensive chronological.... history timeline, for lack of a better term. If you'd like to take a look, I've linked it on Amazon here.

Sounds boring but I promise it's not. I have spent countless hours just flipping through and have learned a lot from it. What's cool about it is that it lists in columns, mostly year by year, what was happening in fields such as music, art, politics, and daily life spanning many thousands of years. It's a little overwhelming and a large book, but that's just history. It lists events as they happen, and doesn't go into detail-I usually keep Google open nearby when I'm reading for that reason-but it's a great place to start learning and find things that interest you.

Check out some of the recommended content on the sidebar of the sub!

Also, it just so happens there's a book coming out with stuff that it sounds like you're looking for.

I'd suggest a few resources:

1. D3.js for working out data visualizations, and 2) the work of Edward Tufte, especially "Beautiful Evidence."
   
   Also, David Mccandless' The Visual Miscellaneum, as well as his website, Information is Beautiful

Here’s a slightly different idea: a WORD history book. I absolutely love this book, and have bought several copies for my history minded friends and family.

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425260798/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.J1.zbZAF72P4

Don't be afraid to "man up", so to speak. There are plenty of things that "boys" should learn that are quite lost on a bunch of kids these days.

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319658461&sr=1-5

Depending on your location, and resources, not everything in this book will apply to you (like building a tree house for instance). But this book and others like it can teach some of those things that are great for life. Tying knots for instance. Heck, you might learn a thing or two yourself.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

Here you go.

Here's another.

100 Things Blue Jays Fans Should do/know before they die

http://www.amazon.ca/Things-Blue-Jays-Should-Before/dp/1600787746

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/11qmxb/which_dictator_killed_the_most_people/

Bzw. http://www.amazon.com/The-Visual-Miscellaneum-Colorful-Consequential/dp/0061748366/ref=pd_sim_b_1

It's always useful to have an idea of what's going on in the world. Books like [The Timetables of History](https://www.amazon.com/Timetables-History-Horizontal-Linkage-People/dp/0743270037/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=timetables+of+history&qid=1550007612&s=gateway&sr=8-2
) or Timelines of History are always useful for figuring out current events of the time. For more recent time periods, you can sometimes find books that give a summary of the news for every day.

If possible, it's also useful to take a look at primary sources. You might be able to find maps, newspapers (for example the Google newspaper archive), photos (check local museums, libraries, and the National Archives), and census records.

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

Covers all kinds of things on subjects you'd never study in school but which you sorta feel like you ought to know somehow.

does it have to be fiction? i love Strange Stories and Amazing facts. it's full of myths, tales of religious visions and creepy stories of devils. it has EVERYTHING you mention he likes. i poured over as a kid and i still enjoy re-reading it now. it was published in 1981 so it's a little outdated (like the science section) and it's out of print so you'd have to buy it used but i still think it's worth it.

I haven't read it yet, but Mapping the Nation: History & Cartography in 19th Century America looks really cool. I also suggest Maphead by Ken Jennings for an interesting take on geography and those obsessed with it, and stuff by geographer Mark Monmonier on the social impacts of mapping.

Strange Stories, Amazing Facts?

You should read The Etymologicon. Or listen to it if that's your preference. It's amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Etymologicon-Circular-Connections-Language/dp/0425260798

The author has another book that's on sale via Audible for $5 (at least for members) that I picked up today, too. https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/The-Elements-of-Eloquence-Audiobook/B00O1GCA5M

Can't vouch for it as I haven't read it, yet.

Is it time life's The Encyclopedia of things that never were?

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Kind of a longshot as the book was quite big but maybe the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were?

I think he might be talking about this book. It was awesome, but I read somewhere that most of the facts were actually collected by someone other than Asimov.

Nonfiction: The Penguin Historical Atlas: Vikings http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280

Fiction (but historical/realistic): The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell - Book 1 is The Last Kingdom: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Kingdom-Saxon-Chronicles-Series/dp/0060887184

Also worthwhile:

Beowulf: http://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-New-Verse-Translation-Bilingual/dp/0393320979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795525&sr=1-1&keywords=beowulf

Sagas of the Icelanders: http://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795544&sr=1-1&keywords=sagas+icelanders

GURPS Vikings (tabletop RPG): http://www.amazon.com/GURPS-Vikings-Roleplaying-World-Norsemen/dp/1556342012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795572&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+gurps

Vikings (comic): http://www.amazon.com/Viking-1-TPB-Ivan-Brandon/dp/1607061694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795563&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+comic

Enjoy!!

My grandfather had that book. I also absolutely loved it so he let me have it. Then one day in middle school I stupidly let a cute boy borrow it and he never returned it. I recently got it as a gift from a friend https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0895770288/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_23?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3W7UPGV208J4

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061243582

The Dangerous Book for Boys

I bought it as a 'right of passage for dummies guidebook for imparting masculinity on your son through awesome childhood memories' but it has a lot of the stuff in it that I feel every man should know.

I wish my Dad had something like this when I was young.

These is an entire book about it for those interested: https://www.amazon.com/All-Countries-Weve-Ever-Invaded/dp/0750952121

If you were not the beneficiary of a true liberal arts education, start with a copy of An Incomplete Education as a foundation.

Proven? No.

The conspiracy is that it's the most successful skyjacking in world history. People believe it had to be an inside job since there was no evidence or trail to follow.

Brad Meltzer thinks he found DB cooper, an ex-military paratrooper who worked for Northwest during the skyjacking. For some reason, the police investigated the man and dismissed him as a suspect. The mans entire family believes he's DB Cooper, and the Brad Meltzer investigation revealed the house he lived in for some 30 years found trap doors in the attic that hide store rooms.

You should check out the episode, or buy the book HISTORY DECODED - THE 10 GREATEST CONSPIRACIES OF ALL TIME written by Brad Meltzer. It's pretty cool, he presents the stories and evidence in clear terms, and the book even has reproduction evidence such as letters, plane tickets, etc. He leaves you to come to your own conclusion, and covers DB Cooper, the Georgia Guidestone, John Wilks Booth's supposed full life after the Lincoln Assassination, the Kennedy Assassination, UFOs at Area 51, and more.

Here's the link to the book, I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

What you are looking for and much, much more.

Books.
The Way Things Work is a must have.
The Dangerous Book for Boys is pretty good too. Might be a little over his head although the first amazon review claims their six year old loves it.

I can't believe no one has mentioned this. Get "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and read it. Has an abundance of good/cool information for boys/young men/adults. http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323357396&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Things-That-Never-Were/dp/0140100083 ?

I am currently reading Braniac by Ken Jennings, about the world of trivia nuts (such as myself) and his tale of his time on Jeopardy!

I also previously read his second book, Maphead.

He is interesting and a very funny guy. I really hope he writes more books.

I rather liked Guy Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language, which is about how language may have first developed (all conjecture of course, we can never really know, but he makes some interesting points). Bonus: He writes for the average person, meaning you don't necessarily have to know anything about linguistics to read the book. Downside: It's a bit pop-science. But I liked it anyway. :)

Edit: I've also heard good things about Ken Jenning's Maphead. Ken's really awesome anyway, you should read his stuff. Great sense of humor. And along the same line, AJ Jacob's The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World was really funny and interesting.

I recommend then to read The Dangerous Book for boys. Its got everything. Knots, How to build a tree house, how to macgyver rig things, and different battle schematics pretty much any knowledge a guy needs to be a guy http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582

The Order of Things: Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders by Barbara Ann Kipfer. If you like lists, enjoy trivia or have OCD, then this book is for you. The amount of facts and stats it contains is mind-boggling.

This sounds like some bullshit out of this guys book.

Things to do with your imagination (either alone or with friends) and don't be afraid to use whatever is around you as props to help out (Sticks, balls, foam noodles, these all work well as super awesome things) - explore and take on the world; rescue the princesses; defeat dragons; Win a race car race; Stop bad guys; Ride Dinosaurs; Be a sneaky ninja stealing the plans to save the day; (You know... Easy stuff.)

In the 'real' world try to fix something WITHOUT looking up ANYTHING on it. If you don't understand it, take it apart and explore it so you can see how it works. Leave it for a day or two and see if you can put it back together, working; Go camping and learn that you can ONLY count on yourself, as everybody seems to forget 'stuff' and to make due, use the things in nature to get by.

It's all a learn by doing. If you MUST study for this then I'll suggest (2) books as starter reference materials - This one and then this other one.

I love sifting through this book.

There's a great chapter in Ken Jenning's book Maphead that deals with fantasy maps.

You're right in terms of a detailed and nice looking, focused map of all Viking settlement (I just looked around). The ones in this atlas spread it out over several maps:

https://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings/dp/0140513280

And a few of my go to's before this:

https://i.imgur.com/ehvDkW5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/B8wVBvd.jpg

So, nicely done!

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425260798/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_I4C1wb2X59RVC


Thank you for your generosity!!

Reading Rainbow

It's now stuck in my head.

I was interested in the Vikings and Scandinavian history a few years back. I read a selection of things that were Viking histories and English histories that pertained to the Vikings. As far as Egyptian history I read a few egyptian history book my university has and I also read a book called Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David. It traced the history of Egyptian faith practices from the civilization's beginning through its growth into an empire and its later years as a Roman province. And for the Latin American Civilizations and feudal japan i cant help you there. Also, check out the History subreddit's reading list https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist

Vikings: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Wolves-History-Vikings/dp/1909979120/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836520&sr=8-2&keywords=vikings+book

https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1486836584&sr=8-10&keywords=vikings+book

Egypt: https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Magic-Ancient-Egypt-Rosalie/dp/0140262520

Also the Same I love Quantum Mechanics. String Theory.Forever trying to grasp it =D
That is very interesting that you memorized all the climate statistics.
I love History so yes comes down to Current Events and Geopolitics.

I also really enjoy Remembering things. I have a bad short term memory. But I have a strong episodic memory for events and weird facts

you would like this book
https://www.amazon.com/Order-Things-Hierarchies-Structures-Pecking/dp/0761150447

"An Incomplete Education".

A crash course on basically everything.

Is it Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People by Robert Ingpen and Michael Page?

It comes from this book, which does take a few liberties with definitions and facts

What If? (International edition): Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

I don't really know what to do with a 5yr old, but 8yr olds eat this sort of shit up:

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293580632&sr=8-1

It's like a guidebook on how to care for an inquisitive boy.

By the sounds of it, you might really like this book. :D

I would check out Ben Fry's book first.

Then Beautiful Visualization.

There is another good McCandless eyecandy.

Manuel Lima did an amazing book on network visualization with excellent essays from other people. Visual Complexity. Network vis is very difficult and if you want to "game up" understanding the taxonomy he built for network vis will give you a real perspective on the taxonomy in other types of vis.

There are things outside of the "take data and render visualization" world that are critical to data vis, imo. For moving data vis, start with the godfather, Muybridge

And look way way back for the long human history of data vis in cartography with stuff like Cartographia.

Hope to see some more books and discvoer a reading list on this thread! Great idea for a post.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
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793 wasn't the first raid on England. According to the Anglosaxon chronicle 3 ships from here in Norway attacked Portland in 789.

I can recommend this book as a historical atlas: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Atlases/dp/0140513280/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368064713&sr=1-1&keywords=viking+atlas

Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts

http://www.amazon.com/An-Incomplete-Education-Revised-Edition/dp/0345391373

If you didn't find it yet, further down in the thread is the Amazon link to buy it

I ordered a copy earlier today.

Maybe check out The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were by Robert Ingpen & Michael Page, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's a very broad book covering a lot of historical folklore/myths :)