The Shortest History of Europe by John Hirst

This is a great little book that I have just begun. It seems to have been written for first year Arts students. It is essentially 8 lectures - the first two cover the entire history of Europe, then the next six focus on particular aspects like Language, Kings and Popes, Invasions and Conquests, and so on. I particularly like his simple diagrams like this one.

It's an Australian book, published by Black Inc