Do you have a specific period, region, or topic in mind?

History is too broad of a subject to point to one book and say "read that one." It would help to know if you're interested in medieval Europe, the Roman Empire, feudal Japan, art history, history of science, etc.

I will say that a good knowledge of geography certainly helps. LizardPoint is a good place to start.

A sort like question was asked a couple months ago, maybe it can help you:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/23b29x/i_grew_up_a_member_of_a_religious_cult/

And the book list and FAQ here has lots of information on different topics. /r/documentaries also has lots of history orientated submissions. If you know your subject or timeframe it's really easy to search for.