76 books like New Worlds for Old

What ideas do you have about what the first peoples were like, and how human society developed?

Maybe you’ve even read the popular authors on this topic such as Diamond, Harari, Pinker, Hobbes, and Rousseau. Prepare to have all of your notions and received opinions upended and turned to dust by David Graeber (a man universally acknowledged as a genius) and the book he worked on for the last ten years of his life, which brings revolutionary ideas to 30,000 years of civilization.

This is another important work by an anthropologist challenging the genealogy of the West and its ideas and institutions. It exposes the myth of history as a supposed moral success story: ancient Greece… Rome… Christian Europe… Renaissance… Enlightenment… liberal democracy… the pursuit of happiness, etc. Wolf systematically highlights why this is a flawed and fraught notion, especially for those people who do not fit neatly into the schema.

I love the way this book brings together two seemingly unrelated topics, art, and socio-political organization, to offer a new perspective on the development of human societies—linear, of course. The policies and practices of development agencies do not just draw on the latest fads of economics, rather, our thinking about the shape and trajectory of ideal societies has long been influenced by the way we quite literally see and perceive the world.

It is difficult to settle on just five books; I include Iggers here because this book transcends its primary subject, German historiography. It offers an insight into some of the key thinkers that have helped to shape predominant and pervasive thinking about human progress and socio-political development. Thinkers such as Kant and Herder, Hegel and Schiller. It is important to have a good understanding of the foundations of a train of thought, and Iggers knows his subject matter well and astutely highlights the various strengths and weaknesses. 

Pilgrim Voices provides a fascinating first-hand description of pilgrims’ lives told through actual diaries and journals. Reading some of these 400-year-old accounts inspired me to visit the recreated 17th-century village of Plymouth Colony to gain a better sense of the environment as it once was in its wild and untamed state, along with the living conditions, customs, foods, and clothing of some of America’s first European settlers in the early 1600s.

This book is another example of the way that shifting our gaze to empires instead of states provides a radically different perspective. 

In this book Jason Sharman takes on the Military Revolution Thesis, an approach to state formation in Europe which hives it off from its deeply imperial context and argues that the modern state is the product of a series of ‘rational’ decisions made through war. 

Instead, what Sharman shows is that war making in Early modern Europe was just as external as it was internal and that Europeans had to contend with powers to their east and south that were far more powerful militarily and economically. 

The disciplines of political science and international relations tend to treat the formation of the modern state system as if the rest of the world was incidental, irrelevant, or non-existent. 

This is another entry in a new genre of historical writing that… show more.

I first came across Ruby Wax when she was a comic on the London comedy club scene in the 1980s. I met her briefly again, some 30 years later signing books next to me at a mindfulness conference. What’s so good about her writing is that it comes with great poignancy and is laced with her acerbic sense of humour. Her comedy was based on seeing through a situation and reframing it so we get a higher and more realistic view on things. In this book, she presents an accessible raison d’etre for taming the so-called ‘monkey mind’.

The Great Explorers: The European Discovery of America is a seminal non-fiction work by a premiere historian detailing those intrepid early explorers who dared uncharted seas for greed and glory. The work really resonates with me because it showcases how difficult it was to navigate the world’s oceans in the days before electricity, reliable navigation aids, modern medicine, refrigeration, and dependable propulsion. Despite these handicaps, audacious seamen dared the unknown and challenged their resolve and endurance to meet their goals. I believe the inherent elements of drama and conflict in these voyages lend grist for the development of action and adventure-filled historical fiction. This book directly inspired me to develop my featured novel in an Age of Exploration setting.             

Witchy Eye instantly transported me to a fascinating, alternate Appalachia, where magic and magical creatures abound.

Not only does this book tell a coming-of-age and heroic story about Sarah Calhoun, it takes place in a fascinating world where the New World has an emperor, legends that I’d heard tell of have come to life, and undead and shapeshifters haunt Sarah’s every step.

Sarah’s voice is accessible and sympathetic. At the same time, her journey to try to claim her own powerful heritage and discover the truth about her lineage, takes place in a world that is totally replete with creatures and mythology from the New World.

DJ Butler is deeply versed in the history and legends of many regions and people from old colonial America – making this a fascinating read.

I would personally recommend Isekai Kids because the characters are an adventurous and entertaining bunch whose antics really speak to children, especially gamers.

Ollie, Jimmy, and Grant activate a magical video game cartridge—and are transported to the land of Otherworld. The characters are realistic in their curiosity and desire to have a fun adventure in a place that is a mix of video game and amusement park with a strong dose of magic. Each of the characters has their own unique personality and approach to solving problems in Otherworld. Ollie is Courageous, Jimmy is Clever, and Grant is Smart as they work their way through the trick, traps, and battles of the Game World. 

Overall, it is a tale of teamwork, and an entertaining story of adventure and exploration.