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"THe Rise and Fall of The British Empire" by Lawrence James is a good objective summary of the period.

I recently visited a factory that produces cardboard packaging (work, definitely not pleasure). It was like entering one of Dante's rings of hell - my hands stayed firmly in my feckin pockets!

You may want to add "The Trial" by Franz Kafka to your list, Stephen; a true classic. Kafka didn't write much, only three novels in total, but what he did write was good enough for him to have an adjective named after him (ie Kafkaesque).

Try "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie, a "big" book in every sense; complex but well worth the effort. He is an absolute master of perpetual storytelling and it's beautifully written - even if (like me) you don't fully understand the novel's finer points it's still a pleasure. (If...

How about Paul Coelho's "The Alchemist"? According to the biographical notes it's a book "...with the power to inspire nations and to change people's lives." (!) That's quite a claim, but it would be interesting to put it to the test.