I think I need an updated version: Books in World History: A Guide for Teachers and Students by W. Warren Wagar

Books in World History: A Guide for Teachers and Students by W. Warren Wagar came into my collection in the great college expansion. I was working at the college library one summer when they were downsizing the collection. They wanted to create more room for study tables, and get more people into the library. It is an interesting trend among libraries, one I originally opposed, but now I feel better about. As a result, they were getting rid of a boat load of books, and by getting rid of I mean recycle. I had the job of getting books ready by cutting the covers off and then cutting the binding up. Reader, it was hard for a book lover to destroy that many books. However, there was an out. I could take the books home with me. I cannot remember how many I took, but it was either 1 of every 5 books, or more reasonably, 1 of every 10. Now that left me with a problem. Books are pretty dense, and I have had to carry these books around ever since. 

The stark red and white really work here.

So what did I get for all the years of carrying this book from place to place, and state to state? Well, a fun little read, and I do mean little. Books in World History is only 182 pretty small pages, and it really took no time at all. This was helped by the nature of the book. The author wants to create a guide to world history to help the poor teacher that has to teach the subject. As a guide he selected a number of books that cover the whole of human history, tell you where you can get them, how much is will set you back and why you should read it. These summaries are really great, concise and engaging. The biggest problem I had was that the books I wanted to get for myself as a result were all way too expensive. He picked books that were currently being printed, so 50 years latter most of them are out of print. But there is more to the book then just these summaries.

W. Warren Wagar offers his own thoughts on teaching World History, and sadly a lot of his ideas are still relevant. World History is poorly taught, because after high school and maybe Western Civ in college every other history class you take is very specialized, so when those students go back to teach world history they are unprepared. It is an interesting conundrum, and Wagar has some interesting ideas about it, especially the idea to teach world history backwords. Unfortunatly interesting approaches to history class seem unlikely in the current teaching reality of overworked and underpaid teachers teaching standardaised classes. But it is good to dream, and Wagars ideas are worth approaching. So I would recommend reading Books in World History: A Guide for Teachers and Students by W. Warren Wagar but I would even more recommend keeping an eye out for an updated version, maybe filled with books that are presently advalible for reasonable prices. If you have a recommendation like that please let me know.

Is this the best picture of dice ever? No, no it is not

On to the next one. Shelf 2, book 13. Lucky number 13. The result is The Rationalists a collection of the writings of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. I am not sure if there is an author to pick from all of these, because they all have different translators. Five books collected into one.

The philosophers of the seventeenth century had great hair.

This one should be interesting. Delving deep into seventeenth century philosophy. Unlike the last time I touched on philosophy we won't be getting it in a text book, this time its straight from the horses mouth.