one very good book on western cultural history is by jaques barzun , a very old man who had alot of time to think about what he had learned.
from dawn to decadence 1500 to the present - 500 years of western cultural history.
another is walter truett anderson's reality isn't what it used to be
Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature. -G.B. Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra