On Power is about the scope of political power throughout history.  I couldn't recommend it to someone already intimately familiar with the last few hundred years, but as an overview of history that doesn't simply devolve into "story time" (viewing history as a coherent narrative in the style that we are comfortable with; involving heroes, villains, and dramatic tension) it is hard to beat.  Since such gross simplification is all most people are familiar with (think the history channel) I recommend it to everyone as a starting point for non-pandering historical analysis.<p>In addition it is only $11 for a very nice book that will impress others :p