To get the full metaplot from the start of 1E to now, you're going to have to buy a LOT of books, since Shadowrun is more a 'living world' kind of idea than individual campaign settings like you see with Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Ravenloft, and others for D&D. There isn't going to be a metaplot history book more than what you see in the Almanac. Hell, even getting the full metaplot from 4th edition to now is going to entail several books.
But if you want to get the key points, the things that really matter, then here's a quick list (note that this is not in any particular order).
Older stuff:
Secret of Power Trilogy (novels)
Queen Euphoria
Harlequin
Universal Brotherhood - Missing Blood
Harlequin's Back
Bug City
Threats 1, Threats 2
Super Tuesday
Portfolio of a Dragon
Dragonheart Trilogy (novels)
Year of the Comet
Wake of the Comet
State of the Art 2063, 2064
Lone Star
Wake of the Comet
Dragons of the Sixth World
Loose Alliances
Renraku Arcology - Shutdown
Brainscan
System Failure
4th Edition:
Emergence
Ghost Cartels
Artifacts Unbound
Corporate Guide
Vice
Seattle 2072
Attitude
WAR!
Clutch of Dragons
Dirty Tricks
Storm Front
5th Edition:
Stolen Souls
This is a quick and dirty list, and leaves out a lot. And when you read the Earthdawn material then a LOT of things that were just "Huh, that's neat" become "HOLY F*CK!" But put all that together, and you'll have a fairly solid grasp on the history of the Shadowrun world until now. Yes, that won't be cheap, unless you know someone with the old material that will let you borrow it. Yes, it will take a good investment in time to read through all that. But then, how much do you think you'd have to read to get a history of everything going on in the real world for the last 20-something years?