David Christian's concept, especially the "thresholds", reminds me of an excellent course[0]/book[1]/website[2] written/taught by the wonderful astrophysicist Eric Chaisson[3]. Not exactly focused on "history" in the traditional sense, but on the history of the universe, focusing on different "epochs", from the big bang, to present day and beyond. I highly recommend the readings (and the course for those who are monetarily and geographically able to do so [Boston area]).

[0] http://www.extension.harvard.edu/courses/cosmic-evolution-or... [1] http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Evolution-Rise-Complexity-Natur... [2] https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~ejchaisson/cosmic_evolution/doc... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Chaisson