I just finished a one semester course covering history from the Industrial Revolution up to the present, and it was great. Now I'd like to get the bits from the Renaissance up to the Industrial Revolution, but I'd like to do it self-taught. Any recommendations on books that are reasonably comprehensive and objective, but aren't course text books that will cost me $200 a pop? I'm particularly interested in books that include excerpts from primary sources.
I cannot recommend highly enough, though many disagree with sometimes valid reasons, The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. Pick the volume/s for the periods you like :)