World history in 40 bite-sized chapters

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	• A Little History of the World E. H. Gombrich Yale University Press, 2005 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 34 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

World history in 40 bite-sized chapters

This is an amazing little book. I am a big fan of brevity. And this book takes the prize. Apart from providing a delicious overview of world history, this brilliant work contains fascinating trivia on every page. If you've ever wanted to know the answers to the following questions, this book will do it with elegance and grace. Why are the days of the week named the way they are (Sunday, Monday, etc.)? What is the story behind the Gordian Knot? How does the Chinese script work? How was the marathon race invented?

Without "cult" there is no culture

Since other reviewers have hit most of the high points of this book -- its comprehensiveness, its accessible style, its suitability for reading aloud, etc. -- I'll focus on one little-discussed aspect: its respect for religion. Gombrich has no interest in proselytizing his readers; you will find no arguments on behalf of any particular religion in this book. Yet he appreciates that without "cult" there is no culture, and that religion has been the driving force of all civilizations. The world's major religious figures, e.g., Christ, Buddha, and Mohammed, are discussed in detail and presented fairly. We've been reading aloud a few chapters a week for about a month, and my children, especially the sixth-, fourth- and first-graders, have profited enormously from it.

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Succinct History, but Pretty Gauzy

A quick, nearly pocket-sized history of the world. Clearly intended for children, but I enjoyed getting a refresher. I rate it three stars considering its uneven treatment of some pretty important facts (lots on Napoleon, but no mention of the Black Death of the 14th cen.?), and its need of a healthy dose of editing.

Fantastic book

I bought this book, based on other reviews, with very little knowledge about history. The is the PERFECT book to learn about history. I'm not a big reader of books besides computer manuals, but now I'm intrigued enough to dive a little deeper into the past. When I got the book, I was going to take it one chapter at a time, but I couldn't put it down. It's an easy read. A lot of wars have been fought, lives sacrificed, people persecuted for their religion, and........well, you'll just have to read the book to find out. : )

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited by a publishing acquaintance to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in an intense six weeks, and Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser was published in Vienna to immediate success, and is now available in seventeen languages across the world.

Toward the end of his long life, Gombrich embarked upon a revision and, at last, an English translation. A Little History of the World presents his lively and involving history to English-language readers for the first time. Superbly designed and freshly illustrated, this is a book to be savored and collected.

In forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colorful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind?s experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity?s achievements and an acute witness to its frailties.

The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history.

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