Brief histories of almost anything - New Internationalist

Forget the dry textbook stuff, this is world history at its eclectic, snappy and insightful best. 50 concise, entertaining histories on a broad, eclectic range of ideas (borders, feminism), global issues (migration, world trade), commodities (bananas, jeans), regions (Africa, Ireland) and institutions (corporations, the World Bank). Lucid and irreverant, this collection challenges common perceptions associated with the subjects by going behind the facts. Each history has been selected from New Internationalist magazine.