Science and history book recommendations

Cafe Society
1

My 13 y.o. son is interested in finding books on various subjects and I hope that the knowledgable and diverse members of this august body can help me. He is very bright (has been reading at a college freshman level since he was 9) and has a fantastic vocabulary so don’t be afraid of being over his head. I just want to make sure that the books are detailed enough without being too technical (for the sciences) and are interesting for history (don’t want it to just be facts like a textbook).
The subjects he is interested in are:
Cosmology (history of the universe) - I thought of A Briefer History of Time
relativity - Relativity: The Special and the General Theory–A Clear Explanation that Anyone Can Understand
broad overview of world history - I thought of A Short History Nearly Everything
a biography of Napoleon
a history of European conflicts of the 15th through the 19th century

He also wants a greater understanding of other religions and political views so is looking for books to provide an overview of:
the Torah
the Koran
communism (I thought Marx might be a little dry for him)
Hitler (would Mein Kampf be too much?)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. He is very bright and wants to learn all he can. I have told him repeatedly to never accept one person’s view on things until you are capable of understanding alternate viewpoints. Listen but verify. Be skeptical but open to other possibilities. His social studies and science teachers love the fact that he is very knowledgeable about current events and is willing to debate points with facts to back up his views. Please help me to keep enriching this great kid. Thank you.

2

A couple of great books which deal with subjects which feature both science and social history, which are good starting-points for triggering further interests:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385495323/qid=1136576091/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5650703-5804026?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140258795/qid=1136576075/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5650703-5804026?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

3

Leave Mein Kampf for the scholars. William L. Shire’s classic (and best selling) The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich does a much better job of chronicling Hitler and the Nazi Party.

4

The First Scientist: A Life of Roger Bacon

5

There are hundreds, if not thousands that vary in their treatment, from semi-hagiography to hatchet jobs. I’ve only read a couple, including, I think, this one, which I thought was decent but might suffer from being a bit older ( for whatever reason I can’t find any on my shelfs now ) :

Yeesh. Tall order. Are we talking military history or politics et al as well? Regardless I can’t think of a single volume source. For 15th-20th century coverage in good detail, there is the Blackwell Classic Histories of Europe series ( the dated volumes in particular, originally commisioned for a different publisher as part of a series ), of which I’ve read a few. But we’re talking many volumes here:

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/seriesbyseries.asp?series=cheu&SearchOrd=Title&type=series&show=Sseries&subj=S&site=1

It’s not in any way a detailed examination of the religious text itself ( something which I really don’t have ), but for an introduction to Islam that is slanted more towards details of observance and religious theory ( vs. history and politics ) you might try Islamic Studies: A History of Religions Approach by Richard C. Martin.

  • Tamerlane