Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.

Big accounts of the past tidy events into causes and movements, and a single life resists that. Following one person through their decisions shows the confusion, the bad information and the accidents that any general explanation smooths over. Theory is useful and it is built afterwards, by people who already know how the story ended.

Try reading about one person the next time you want to understand a period, an industry or a crisis. Watch what they knew at each point rather than what turned out to be true. It is a better model for your own situation, since you are also in the middle without the summary.