After reading the history of the last century, I became more empathetic towards people. Kinder, gentler. It became harder to turn my back on human pain and suffering.
As many of you know, the humanities and social sciences are in the dog house right now. As a history editor, I don’t think this is a great trend. History—as well as other subjects in the humanities and social sciences— has a lot to teach us, not the least of which is empathy.
Empathy is essential to counter all the hate and abuse currently on the news and on social media.
So…here is a list of five books that made me a more empathetic person.
