I think it would be nice if we had a historical book recommendation thread, where people could suggest books of a historical nature on certain topics, and people could ask for suggestion for reading material on a certain topic.
I'll start by recommending A Short History of Canada by Morton for anybody interested in single volume history of Canada, and 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal by Christopher Moore on Confederation. I'll ask anybody what's a good one volume history of South Africa.
suggestion: though I think this thread is a great idea, if it grows it might be worthwile to keep a survey of all books mentioned in post #1. (Listed either alphabetically, by author, or thematically.)