Another HUGE vote for 'Debt: The First 5000 Years'. This book simply changes the way you look at the entire world.

Another one I read and loved this year that is in the same sphere of interest, with a relatively similar appreciation (though it is European history focused rather than anthropologically centered) is 'Founder: Meyer Amschel Rothschild and His Time' @ http://www.amazon.com/b/dp/0571279635