Who knows well-—? Certainly not many. My favorite “go to” when a history question pops up is H.G. Wells “History of the World”, a two volume set. His only, as far as I know, non fiction work but he did a great job putting it together. His discussions are never the whole story, naturally, but they always get me started in the right direction. I keep that pair of books within arms reach of my booster chair. By the time I finish reading his discussion more often that not I wind up buying another book to finish the question off——never stops.
correction: “Outline of History.”
Didn't Mel Brooks do something? Anyway, my favorite world history writer is Will Cuppy, 'The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody.' It certainly makes history fun to read. Unhappily, I don't suppose you can find it today - except on my bookshelf.
Wikipedia quotes Cuppy on Egypt: when the Nile floods receded, the land, as far as the eye can see, is "covered by Egyptologists". I like to remember Cuppy's discourse on Hannibal and his determination to go to war with elephants. (Paraphrase:) Hannibal's war elephants were trained to charge forward and trample the terrorized enemy. As often as not, in the heat of battle, his elephants would charge backwards and trample the terrorized Carthaginian troops. Whenever Hannibal found himself in a tight spot he would immediately start looking around for - you guessed it: elephants!
Don't think for a moment that he was a careless historical researcher. He was noted as a compulsive researcher, often reading ten books on a subject before he wrote anything. 😃