TWENTIETH CENTURY: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000
This one-volume history of the prior century is by British historian J.M. Roberts, who also wrote and presented the BBC TV series "The Triumph of the West," first broadcast in 1985. It provides a balanced, non-USA-centric view of history. Roberts died just 4 years after completing the book.
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. Perhaps the best science fiction novel ever written. (In my opinion of course.) The other science fiction novel I would mention is Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.
