You asked about beauty and history, with an idea on how to discover... personally, I started with "The Math Explorer: A Journey Through the Beauty of Mathematics": (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591021375). That book got me hooked and from there I went on to pre-cal studies at university, eventually completing sequences in discrete structures, probability, up to and including calculus III, a level I never imagined I'd get to. That book was literally my starting point since I never took high school math seriously nor was I any good at that level. I think it'll serve you well considering the level at which you're at, as it did me. I've reread that book four times to date and still enjoy it.