For Good and Evil

World history read through taxation — Egypt, Rome, the Rosetta Stone as a tax document, the Muslim conquests, the American and French revolutions — arguing that tax policy is a recurring cause of collapse.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “best history book” thread. A single-variable history, which is always partly wrong and often the fastest way to see a pattern.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @typesfast asking “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet).

Connections

• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Taxes — the variable.