Books!
When I was growing up, I was a huge Robert Heinlein fan. After reading his stuff I decided I wanted to be an aerospace engineer when I grew up. Don't know what the hell happened there.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...words=heinlein
Most of the historical fiction I've read is of English history. Edward Rutherford writes books similar to James Michener's historical novels.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...554038-8139805
And I've enjoyed Sharon Kay Penman's novels about early English nobility.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...554038-8139805