I love history. I love reading about it, I love studying it, I love teaching it*, and I love discovering new things about it. Certainly there are aspects of history that I tend to favor, such as the ancient world of the Mediterranean and Europe in the Middle Ages, but most any bit of knowledge I can gain -especially told in story form- is welcome.
Because I have my favorite places and eras to learn about, it is easy to become tunnel visioned on just those pieces. It happens a lot for students of Western Civilization; we are so focused on what was happening in England or Greece that we don't realize the things that were simultaneously occurring in Oceania or Mesoamerica, for instance. Roughly around the time of the Roman Republic's creation, a one Siddhartha Gautama (better known to most as the Buddha) was on a spiritual journey that would lead to the founding of one of the modern world's major religions. While Gothic cathedrals were being erected in France, Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire was busy making things happen in Africa. There were a few things going on.
Enter Absolutely Everything! A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots, and Other Things Too Numerous to Mention, by Christopher Lloyd.
No, not that Christopher Lloyd. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to read about history and could instead just pile in the DeLorean.
*I am currently teaching a French conversation course on Antiquity and the early Middle Ages in France.