Did you know that there were four famines in India in the 19th century and that coniditions were so bad families had to resort to cannibalism? Reading history textbooks by the certified leges below made me realize how easy it is to appreciate the everyday and see the line that goes from the past to the present. Also made me a huge Gorbachev head -- one of the most earnest figures in history who also starred in a Pizza Hut commercial in 1997
Check out John Merriman (A History of Modern Europe is an easy PDF find online), Eric Foner (Give Me Liberty! is a gorgeous read), Richard Bulliet (The Earth and Its Peoples)
