In Historical/Political Team Discovery Channel is proud to select
Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time By Clive James
Clive James is an Australian media personality and endless defender of liberal democracy. This books is structured as a series of essays which are inspired by writings from major (and minor) figures of history.
James begins with a brief biography of the person, follows this with a very short quote from their writings, and then uses this quote as a jumping off point for an essay which may have nothing at all to do with the person who's quote he has used.
In all, it's an awesome book.