A Concise History of the World

Cambridge Concise Histories

by Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

This book tells the story of humankind as producers and reproducers from the Paleolithic to the present. Renowned social and cultural historian Merry Wiesner-Hanks brings a new perspective to world history by examining social and cultural developments across the globe, including families and kin groups, social and gender hierarchies, sexuality, race and ethnicity, labor, religion, consumption, and material culture. She examines how these structures and activities changed over time through local processes and interactions with other cultures, highlighting key developments that defined particular eras such as the growth of cities or the creation of a global trading network. Incorporating foragers, farmers and factory workers along with shamans, scribes and secretaries, the book widens and lengthens human history. It makes comparisons and generalizations, but also notes diversities and particularities, as it examines the social and cultural matters that are at the heart of big questions in world history today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History, School

Paperback

First published October 31, 2015

About the author

Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) taught first at Augustana College in Illinois, and since 1985 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she is currently UWM Distinguished Professor in the department of history. She is the coeditor of the Sixteenth Century Journal and the author or editor of more than twenty books, most recently The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and Their Worlds and Gender in History. She is the former Chief Reader for Advanced Placement World History.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a lot of looking to find a book like this and I'm glad I finally found it. This is a professionally written history of the world, touching on the major topics of modern scholarship; but it doesn't assume the reader is already so familiar with the subject that a narrative structure is entirely left out. Weisner-Hanks incorporates the latest archaeological evidence as of 2015 and there have been many new discoveries lately that are strongly changing our modern conception of early human history. Race, gender, class, religion, nature, technology, war, trade, and more are all given their space in this text, and where any kind of agenda seems possible she alerts the reader to a couple of the most prominent positions and authors for further reading.

For anyone wanting a World History 101, inside of a university classroom or out, I would recommend this.

[Jane Kinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I read all of this no but it is accounting for all the other academic reading I’ve done this semester I’ll just give myself a book for it cuz I read most of this

[b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an ok way to get a glimpse of history. As a whole it glosses over way too much important context and often gets lost in less important minutia. Sometimes it's able to connect the important threads and trends of history to specific events, but mostly it feels fragmented and jumps around a lot. Yeah, there is a lot of history to cover in the world, yet there are probably more consistent and substantial ways to have covered it in this many pages.

For parts of history where I have more familiarity I noticed some omissions or framing that seemed unjustifiable.

[Mafalda Cardeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different view of history. Excellent on women and many more other aspects not studied in western history. East and Asia with profound achievement of global view on their history with connection to religion and nations bonds. Highly recommended ! *****

[Nico Bruin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wiesner-Hanks has written a history of the world in under 400 pages, meaning mostly she's written regurgitation of general knowledge.
Her focus on inequality and the role of women occasionally bring some novelty and interesting observations in the early chapters, but as the book edges closer to the present the discussion of these issues turn into ideological claptrap.
The fact that she doesn't provide any citations make her more contentious assertions even more frustating.
Thought not completely worthless and quite readable, A concise History of the world is too unoriginal to make up for its flaws, or too flawed to make up for its lack or originality.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential Reading

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

For school. Learned a decent amount, just very dense! Time to write a paper about this 😵‍💫

[goneisgone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okumayı biraz daha uzatsaydım sonbahardan kışa geçecektim. İşte benim için böyle uzun okumalarla geçen bir okuma macerası oldu, hazmettim mi hiç sanmıyorum. Yazsam belki hazımsızlığa çözüm olur, bilemiyorum.

Bu kitabı diğer dünya tarihlerinden ayıran temel nokta şudur, alıntılıyorum: " Kitap, üretici ve üretici olarak insanın hikayesini anlatırken, bu kavramları maddi olduğu kadar sosyal ve kültürel anlamlarıyla da ele alıyor. Benim ' üretici ' insan mefhumum, yalnızca avcı-toplayıcı, çiftçi ve fabrika işçisini değil, şaman,kâtip ve sekreteri de kapsıyor. Kitap ayrıca; insanlık tarihi boyunca, birinin biçim ve anlamındaki değişimlerin diğerlerinde de değişimlere yol açtığı üretim ve üreme arasındaki daimi alışverişin altını çiziyor. "

Bize hep küresel tarih anlatılırdı; fakat bu kitapla beraber toplumsal ve kültürel olana da odaklanılıyor.

Sosyal ve kültürel tarihin incelenmesi neolitik çağdan bu yana birçok unsurun bizlerde kodlandığını ve değişmez bir şekilde devam ettiğini gösteriyor.

Kitap, beş kronolojik bölüme ayrılıyor. Sadece olup bitenler değil, insanların olup bitenleri nasıl anlamlandırdıklarını da bizlere gösteriyor.

Bölüm başlıkları ise şu şekildedir:
I. Bölüm: Arayıcı ve çiftçi aileler
II. Bölüm: Şehirler ve klasik toplumlar
III. Bölüm: Etkileşim ağlarının genişlemesi
IV. Bölüm: Yeni ilişkiler dünyası
V. Bölüm: Sanayileşme, emperyalizm ve eşitsizlik

Okurken kalemi elinizden eksik etmeyin. İyi okumalar...

[Poiq Wuy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro magnífico, con muchísimo contenido para su brevedad, con menos sesgo occidental de lo que es común (aún estando presente), y mucho más enfocado a las culturas, relaciones sociales y causas y consecuencias antropológicas que a los eventos históricos concretos. Realiza un esfuerzo constante por realizar un relato histórico menos atrapado en las visiones parciales hegemónicas de género, raza, etc., pero sin acercarse en absoluto a la propaganda, señalando los factores que considera más relevantes.

[Barış Sapancı · Rating 5 out of 5]

Böylesine kapsamlı bir dünya tarihi anlatımının 448 sayfaya sığdırılmış olması bence bu kitabın en önemli başarısı. İlk çağlardan günümüze dünya tarihini anlatan kitapların büyük bir kısmının genelde çok ciltli ve binlerce sayfadan oluştuğunu düşünecek olursak daha temel ve özet bilgileri almak isteyen okuyucular için bence önemli bir kaynak olmuş.

[Sarah Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend this as a great book for anyone wanting an introduction to world history and global historiography. It leaves you with plenty of questions and ideas to inspire further reading.

[Bram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly different approach to world history. Wiesner-Hanks puts the social history up front, and the political history is an afterthought. Definitely worth reading.

[Özcan Özçelik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rtyy

[Sude Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son period cok kisaydi

[safeinmygarden]

Didnt read ALL of it but mostly was crazy

[Bo Schilder]

voor school gelezen, maar alsnog heel interessant en bevat moderne perspectieven (van zowel vrouwen als niet westerse landen en religies)

[Noor · Rating 3 out of 5]

No comment

[hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

ja eerlijk echt een heel chill en interessant boek, vind m veeeel beter te doen dan oudheid boek. moet wel zeggen dat als mn tentamen slecht gaat ik het boek 1 ster geef

[Görkem Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu kitaptaki bilgiler toplum üzerinden anlatıyor. Savaşlar, hastalıklar, kıtlıkların toplumları nasıl etkilediğini; dinlerin doğuşunu ve yükselişini; coğrafi keşifler ve bunun sonuçlarını; ilk şehirlerin ne zaman ve nasıl ortaya çıktığını anlatan kalın gibi gözüken ama su gibi geçip giden, bilgilendirici bir kitaptır.

[Umabhargavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for people who are novices in history. The best part is the further recommended reading section. Amazing read !!!

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This huge history book although concise in the telling, is considered one of the finest available one-volume surveys of major events, developments, and personalities of the known past (while there were people in the world, not pre-history), offering readers a tour of the vast landscape of human history. There were so many details included here from the dawn of civilization all the way up to the time of its publication in 2015. We learn how people came together and formed villages and then, much later, towns and cities and then nations. All the major movements are covered through industrialization and exploration and empires. It’s a fascinating study and keeps one reading even if it’s difficult to remember everything at the end.

[Olof · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive exposition of human history. The author combines the more common factors (economic, material, political) with the more advanced ones (cultural, religious, æsthetic) into a holistic whole. Worth reading.