The Mental Floss History of the World

The title indicates two things: (1) it is a history of the world; and (2) Mental Floss is the responsible party.

The book is indeed a history of the world, and a pretty thorough one at that. On #2, Mental Floss is a noted presenter of information in an irreverent, magazine format. The book delivers on the humor, too.

If you want to read a history of the world in bites and have fun doing it, read this book.

I would not recommend you make this the only book you are reading, though. Reading a history, any history, can get tiresome without other distractions.