I recently went to Borders and got a copy of Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond. Now, I had heard of this previously, and especially last year when the The Ubiquitous Librarian was discussing it.
Well, its an interesting read so far. It discusses why certain regions in the world advanced and others didn't. If your looking for a book that looks at history, geology, biology, this book ticks every box.