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Great History Books (covering more than one era)

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A History of World Societies - McKay, Hill, Buckler, Ebrey.

A good book on general world history. It's the standard book used at my university for the subject "world history" and gives a good insight in anything from the early Mesopothamian city states over African kingdoms to modern economic expansion. A new edition is released every year as far as I know (I've got the sixth edition).
 
General:

Lewis Mumford: The City in History. Classical work on the history of cities (though i did find it somewhat disappointing concerning the cities in the Roman World, but i guess a lot of research been done on that subject after this one was published in 1961).

William James: The Variety of Religious Experience. Not a history book, but great help in bringing you some perspective on things when reading history (especially these days).

Rome:

Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman and Empire. These books you cannot get around if your interested in Rome.

Syme: The Roman Revolution. Still stands as the work on the transition from Republic to Empire. And published in 1938 also gives you some interesting comparisons to the history of that time (though of course Syme is much too serious a historian to have had that hidden agenda :D )

Lémprieres Classical Dictionary. Originally published in 1788 but still an incredible informative (and cheap and handy) source of information of practically any name that is mentioned in the classical texts themselves (anno 1788 or with the "newer" edition anno 1850).

WWII:

Shirer: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Massive highly entertaining and enlightening work, almost (but not quite) comparable to Gibbons show of strength.

Churchill: The Second World War. Gives an interesting account of the war as seen through this truly remarkable mans eyes, loaded with full quotes from his official archives. But beware Churchill had his personal interest in the affair as well, but read this one with caution and it will make you relive WWII.

Guderian: Achtung Panzer! One of the books that made it all possible. Published in 1937 but the thoughts behind this one had been implemented in the German army a couple of years before. Learn what the Germans had found out about armoured warfare and the rest of the world had not (well maybe they had, but they had forgotten about it again).

Stephen G. Fritz: Frontsoldaten. Tries to give you an insight in the truly Dantesque Horror it mustve been to have been a soldier on the Eastern front. A psychology of the Eastern Front soldier if you will.

Anything by Antony Beevor. He really manages to write books that brings new light on the subject at the same time as being as entertaining and good reads as the latest suspense book.
 
One of the best period spanning resource books around is The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupey & Dupey.

Great books on more modern subjects are:

No Margin for Error: History of the Israeli Air Force
Lost Victories: Arab-Israeli Wars

Both are well done and excellant reads.
 
To Finns I can recommend "Maailmanhistorian pikkujättiläinen" (Minigiant of World History) by various Finnish professors that covers everything from the dawn of man to modern day. It naturally can't offer very deep sight to any certain events but it offers pretty good overview.
 
Did not see it mentioned yet:

Principles of War, Carl von Clausewitz
A must read for anyone really interesting in the strategic principles of warfare

Sea Power, Potter/Nimitz
Everything worthwile to know about navies from the old Greeks to the second world war, with a focus on the latter

Practicing history, Barbara Tuchman
Eassays on specific historical questions of different ages, including considerations on the work of historicians. An excellent read

Alexis de Toquevile, Democracy in America
Written 1835/1840 this is an astonishing book which sheds a light on the inherent difficulties, tensions, chances and challenges of democracy in principle and the farsight of the author is outright stunning

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoi
If you strive to understand people in war and piece, this is a must read (a bit OT though)

Regards

Thorsten
 
I recommend Will and Ariel Durant's "The Story of Civilization," a massive, multivolume set of history books that was the couple's life work. The books go from ancient times to the Napoleonic era.
 
A Great History Book not maybe written in such a way as the others mentioned here but Great for Education and Learning ;) "World History - Patterns of Civilization" by Burton F Beers :)
 
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire by Lawrence James

Good overview covering the 17th to 20th centuries.

A History of England Before the Norman Conquest by Sir Charles Oman.

A little old now (1902) but it is still a great overview and a good read.

A History of Wales by John Davis

Covers pre-history to the present.

I'd also echo the earlier recommendations for Europe: A History by Norman Davis, A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich, and The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.
 
Jlop985 said:
I recommend Will and Ariel Durant's "The Story of Civilization," a massive, multivolume set of history books that was the couple's life work. The books go from ancient times to the Napoleonic era.
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+1

Though it is limited in it's scope "Oil and War" by Robert Goralski and Russel Freeburg is an amazing eye-opener re: WW2. Nowhere else have I seen a discussion of the influence of octane levels on the Battle of Britain, or what it meant tactically that the USSR used diesel engines in their tanks while the Germans used gasoline.
 
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Something relatively recent (and therefore better than lots of these old-school works that don't take modern scholarship into account): Power and Plenty by Findlay and O'Rourke. Excellent overview of trade and states' power - if you couldn't figure that out from the title - over the last millennium or so.
 
Peter Ebbesen said:
To add a more recent book, After Tamerlane - The Global History of Empire by John Darwin. A thought-provoking book that is also a good read. Examines world empires from 1405-2000 in a common context.
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+1. I especially enjoy his avoidance of the nation-state as the 'normal' form of political organisation for a society, and his provocative suggestion that empires might in fact be closer to 'normality' in this respect.
 
I am currently really enjoying The Empire of The Steppes: A History Of Central Asia by Grousett. It covers the cultural and political history of the vast interior of Asia from the early Scythians to the late 18th Century. The book is occasionally arduous due to rapid references to locations, but is very detailed and encompasses a lot of information and tribes/empires.
 
"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown.

It tells the story from James Town to Wounded knee, from the Indian perspective. But its focus is on the era between 1860-1890. Truly a great book that gives you a fresh perspective to the Indian wars.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Edit: Woops, this threat is for history books that cover more than one era.... ohh well, you should still read the book I suggested.
 
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