The strangest book I own is the Secret Museum of Mankind. It is a thick book of a thousand grainy black and white photos of tribal people taken over a hundred years ago. The fuzzy photos show costumes and dress, strange tattoos and scarifications, topless women, bizarre religious rituals, cruel punishments, and esoteric practices of cults. The book has no author, no credits, no copyrights, no page numbers, and has the appearance of being reproduced many times without permission. There’s no text in the book except for short unreliable captions that are dated and full of prejudices of that time. I keep coming back to the photos which capture worlds long gone. Despite its titillating gaze, you can see the texture of everyday life for most people with unvarnished realism in a world before electricity, coal, and manufacturing—all revealed with a directness I have not seen published elsewhere. The book is most useful to anyone interested in clothes and fashion as every bit of clothing here was handmade and custom. While used copies are not hard to find, a good digital version has been scanned by Ian Macky, with added index and image grid, and is free here. — KK

Network of Time is a website that lets you choose two historical figures and connect them through a series of photographed encounters across time. It’s a fun way to waste time, and fascinating how it visually demonstrates the interconnectedness of human experiences and relationships throughout history. — CD

TimeMap.org presents a world mapwith a slider bar that starts at 4000 BC and ends at the present day. As you slide through time, you watch empires rise and fall. Any interesting civilization or event you spot can be instantly researched — just click on it and the relevant Wikipedia article appears in a side panel. — MF

The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland is one of the best museums I’ve ever visited and I’ve visited a lot of museums. It’s a several hours meander through recreated time periods over thousands of years, which immerses you into that period with brilliant veracity. It emphasizes the everyday life at each period, which makes it larger than just a Jewish experience. I recommend a visit to the museum even if you are only interested in the art of exhibits, storytelling, and immersive experiences. — KK

When Spanish conquistadors marched into the island city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in 1518, they were stunned by what they encountered. The scale, richness, complexity, and advancement of this capital built by the local Aztecs surpassed anything in Spain at the time. I find this 3D virtual reconstructed Portrait of Tenochtitlan on lake Texcoco to reward endless scrutiny. The sliding overlay of modern Mexico City is genius. I am as much stunned by its grandeur as the first invaders. – KK