It's hard to single out just one tabletop book. But in general, these are the books that I constantly reread and always keep close at hand:
1) Almost a complete collection of historical and ethnological works by L.N. Gumilev.

Yeah, Lev Gumilev - where the West meets the East :) And I read the works of Matthew Arnold - "Studies in Celtic Literature," Charles Elton's "Origins of English History," and I'm slowly translating the Leinster Book. Honestly, I've only read Nikolai Gumilev so far, but I'm planning to read "Ancient Rus' and the Great Steppe" to broaden my horizons.

I like the pirate theme a bit :) Therefore:
1) Sabatini "The Odyssey of Captain Blood"
2) Salgari "The Black Corsair," "Iolanda, Daughter of the Black Corsair"
And a couple more books, but these three are my favorites :)

Oh, I used to love adventure stories! Now I'm more into mythology... My favorite authors in this genre are Jack London, especially "Heart of Three," Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines," and Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." I also really love Sabatini :)