Avrupa Tarihi

by J.M. Roberts, Fethi Aytuna (Translator)

J.M. Roberts Avrupa'nın değişen tarihini ve insanlarını buz devri ve klasik uygarlıklardan başlayıp Hıristiyanlığın yükselişine ve modern çağda Avrupa entegrasyonuna kadar izliyor. Avrupa Tarihi kitabı farklı dönemlere yayılan Avrupalı kimliğinin gelişimini de farklı biçimlerde geniş kapsamlı bir şekilde anlatıyor.

Sayfa Tasarımı : İsmet Sayar
Kapak Tasarımı : Aret Demirkaynak
Düzeltmen : Aylin Toran
Çeviri : Fethi Aytuna

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, Audiobook, World History, Reference

775 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

John Morris Roberts, CBE, was a British historian, with significant published works. From 1979-1985 he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton, and from 1985-1994, Warden of Merton College, Oxford. He was also well known as the author and presenter of the BBC TV series The Triumph of the West (1985).

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have given this book four stars, because even though it has its flaws I found it enjoyable to read most of the time and felt that I learned a lot. Whether I will be able to retain what I learned is another matter, what with age and beer thrown into the mix!

It has taken me months to read this history, whilst also reading lighter books along the way, because I have tried to get the content into my head, which, in effect, means that I have read most of it twice or even three times. I kept going back and re-reading the last chapter because there was just so much to take in.

The writing frustrated me at times, the author using long and complicated sentances that took half a dozen reads before I really understood them. The proof reading could have been better too – some basic errors, e.g. ‘a 1,000,000’ instead of merely ‘1,000,000’ was an annoyance.

Having said all that, it must be incredibly difficult to write about the history of such a long period of time in a succinct, readable way and, for the most part, Roberts has succeeded. The style is unbiased and does not shy away from revealing the faults, prejudices, exploitations and atrocities committed by and to Europeans over the centuries. Overall, however, Roberts concluded that Europe did much that was of value to the world, along with the misery.

Inevitably a historian (or an historian, if you prefer), looks at ‘the big picture’, so the benefits the rest of the world ultimately gained by being either conquered or bullied by Europeans, or being merely in contact with them, e.g. the rule of and equality before the law, political systems (democracy, communism, federalism, nationalism), economic development and others, have resulted in the more rapid overall development and economic prosperity of the world than would otherwise have occurred. Whilst this was going on he also makes it clear that many of the motives were greed and selfishness, as well as expediency and necessity, and that cultural and traditional life, religious belief systems and tribal organisation were in so many places denigrated as ‘savage’, sometimes wiped out in the name of progress and peoples re-organised into unnatural political entities as the world was carved up by Europeans competing for their empires. Not to mention the millions of people who suffered personally whilst history was being made.

The history of Europe is such that it makes a complete nonsense of artificial concepts such as racism and nationalism. Europe has been invaded so many times from several directions, added to the migration over the centuries of people from all over the world to Europe, that surely all of us have in our veins very mixed blood and have never had the right to feel any racial superiority over others. Even in these ‘enlightened’ times we still struggle with feelings of cultural superiority over more ‘primitive’ concepts and societies, and denigrate societies that value religious belief and adherence to religious laws as inherently more ‘backward’ than our own. This is, no doubt, as a result of some practices being abhorrent to our minds: female genital mutilation, ‘honour’ killings and female subjugation being some examples, but we must try to separate these hideous concepts (which must be stopped) from the overall cultural heritage they spring from, rather than using them as an excuse to reinforce our in-built, long-held prejudices.

As the book proceeds we see that Europe is today an even more fluid concept than in the past: where are the boundaries to Europe? The book was written in 1996 so much has changed since then. The EU (European Union) wants to expand itself ever further and Turkey has been pushing for membership for years: is it a European country? If it is, then what about Israel? It is already in the European Song Contest, for some reason. If not, does it matter as long as it means that countries can get on well together without conflict and improve people’s lives?

He ends by speculating, interestingly in these days of the EU ‘In-Out’ Referendum (in the UK), that perhaps nationalism is coming to the end of its usefulness as a concept of organising people. After all, ‘fighting for your country’ has caused an awful lot of death and misery over the years. We shall see.

It may be instead that before this happens we see new ‘empires’ exert their influence over world affairs before nationalism is done. China will one day be able to exert such economic and financial pressures that she could have vastly more influence on world affairs, and perhaps the power and influence of ‘the West’ is waning, as so many other great powers have waned before.

There is no doubt that the big picture will change continuously and it is interesting to speculate that perhaps one day the names (of the EU, the United States, China, India, et al) will disappear into history and we will have a world government, something that will need to happen to ensure the survival of our species, I suspect. This should be an interesting and hopeful concept, though there is much to be done before we get to that point.

Some of the comments in this review are my own opinion rather than being from the book. Sorry to waffle on but this history book makes you think as well as learn, so it’s done its job well.

[Ob-jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete history of Europe from Neanderthals to 1996, this book covers a lot of history. I listened to the audiobook and it was about 40 hours worth of content. The fact that Europe was so influential since 1500 makes it almost a history of the world as well. There is so much content that it is impossible to summarize but I can say that I found that there were interesting periods and phenomena that I had never learned at all. An overarching theme is that war and conquest usually were not worth it and just degraded the quality of life on both sides. I knew about the conquests of the 1500s but I didn't know that expeditions to Africa and nearby islands had been going on for centuries already by 1500. I learned the full spectrum of Ancient Greek history from the Acheans to the Hellenistic world affected by the conquests of Alexander the Great and then leading up until the Roman Empire. It was amusing and yet boring to hear about all of the wars going back and forth between England, France, Germany, Prussia, Sweden and other northern European countries from 1400 up until World War I. It was fascinating to learn in detail the problems which lead to World War I and about how there was an unlikely alliance between Russia and France. The 20th century was discussed in detail and about 1/4 of the book was dedicated to it. It's amazing that countries like Portugal, Spain, and Greece had a similar per capita income and standard of living in 1960 as the poorest countries in Africa today. Countries like Portugal and Greece are currently dragging down the EU but it starts to make sense when you learn that the per capita income of Portugal was less than 200 dollars a year in 1960. Those countries were emerging from fascism just like how Eastern Europe had to recover from communism in the 1990s. The narrator of the audiobook was really annoying though. It was the same fancy-pants narrator as some of the Wooster and Jeeves books and he has an over the top English accent.

[Lane Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on the back of the toilet for a few months--great bathroom reading, I dare say. Sections are broken into small, two to seven page chunks, making this a great bit of porcelain prose.

But, on a lighter note, Roberts does the unthinkable: he condenses three thousand years of European history into a single, accurate, informative tome with a wonderfully readable prose. As a primer for European history, this book is at the top of the class and, moreover, for those who are more intimately familiar with history, it is in no way a tedious read. Neither too surfactory nor too pedantic, Roberts provides a compelling and accessible book on an important part of world history.

And it really is good toilet-reading material. Though, that should not cast aspersions on its merits.

[Da1tonthegreat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book is exactly what its title proclaims it to be. A history of Europe, that most consequential of continents whose people have had more influence over the world than any other. J.M. Roberts hits all the major topics, breaking them up into smaller chunks that never feel long-winded while still weaving together the narrative history of an entire continent over millennia.

As far as flaws go, the biggest would be recency bias. Roughly, the first half of the book covers prehistory up to the mid-1700s, while the stretch of time from the French Revolution to the European Union takes up the other half. Also, there are too many diversions into the goings on of politics in the colonies, to the point that Europe and non-colonist Europeans feel neglected at times during the 19th and 20th century sections.

The most evocative passage is this: "For the whole of history down to modern times, most economic behaviour had been regulated by nature ... operating within the framework set by the seasons were the subordinate divisions of light and darkness, fair weather and foul. Men lived in great intimacy with their tools, their animals and the fields in which they won their bread." I would've liked to have seen this crucial theme explored more. Roberts simply takes it for granted that industrialization, commercialism, and ultimately globalism and multiculturalism are not only inevitable but positive developments that we have to accept. Roberts (and this is by no means unique to him, as most conservative history buffs will be well aware) is much more enjoyable to read when he's discussing historical events that don't really connect to modern politics.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.M. Roberts’ A History of Europe isn’t just a book—it’s a continent pressed between two covers. It feels monumental, yet strangely intimate, as if the entire arc of European civilization has been compressed into a single breath—long, heavy, and full of meaning.

I first turned to this tome in 2015, during my stint teaching Advanced European History at Rau’s IAS in Delhi. Initially, it was meant to be a trusty reference text—something to cross-check dates and events, a guide through the maze of treaties, revolutions, and reformations. But it didn’t stay on the side-table for long. Within a few pages, I was hooked. This wasn’t just history—it was lived experience, animated by a master storyteller with a rare sense of proportion and clarity.

Roberts doesn’t rush. He doesn’t fall for the dramatics of historical spectacle either. Instead, he lays things out with patient authority—like a veteran cartographer drawing the map of a continent that refuses to sit still. From the Indo-European migrations to the Enlightenment, from the Holy Roman Empire to the iron grip of the 20th century’s total wars, Roberts takes you through it all. Not just the what, but the why—why certain ideas flourished, why empires collapsed, why Europe became both the cradle and the crucible of modernity.

One of the book’s most admirable strengths is how it balances the grand sweep of macro history with telling, often intimate, micro-details. You get both the tectonic movements of thought—Christianity’s slow dominance, the impact of industrialisation, the birth of nationalism—and also the street-level realities: what people ate, how they governed, how they feared, and how they hoped.

And it’s not dry. Far from it. Roberts’ prose is crisp without being clipped, rich without being ornamental. He doesn’t overwhelm you with jargon or fall into the trap of academic aloofness. It’s serious work, but seriously readable. You feel like you're in conversation with someone who genuinely wants you to understand the full, messy glory of Europe’s past.

There were moments, especially when I was preparing students for complex essay topics on the Reformation or the Congress of Vienna, when this book became my secret weapon. It stitched together disparate timelines and ideologies with effortless grace. At times, it felt like carrying around six books in one—on Rome, on the Renaissance, on colonialism, on fascism, on art, on power.

For any serious student, teacher, or just a curious mind willing to take on a challenge, A History of Europe is a quiet classic. It doesn’t shout like some revisionist histories do. It lingers. It waits. And it stays with you, long after you've shelved it.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough and very readable survey of European History. I compared the JM Roberts History of Europe (this one) with the Norman Davies Europe: A History, and although the Davies was more enjoyable overall due to his "capsules" as he calls them, of random contemporaneous information, the style was too messy to get through and the book ended up being HUGE because of all the unncessary information. This book was easily navigable and filled with basic info that everyone forgets (such as all the factors leading to WWI). I recommend it to anyone who has some free time.

[Nicole Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an omniborus of 6 books with book one starting at the beginning of Europe (the forming of the continent) to the Roman Empire. Book two begins to dissect the fall of the Roman Empire and discusses how this amazing beginning became the middle ages. Absolutely fascinating and filled with detail.
Book 3 discusses the Renaissaince and the effect that this whole time period had on the world from the to the 1800's.

[Josh Liller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book in preparation for taking a pair of History of Western Civilization college courses, hoping to brush up on my general knowledge of European History. I have rarely been so glad to finish a book.

The book isn't without it's merits. It reasonably covers all of European history in 600 or so pages, which is no easy task. The book is well-organized and clearly structured. On numerous occasions it makes interesting observations. If I could I would have given this book 1.5 stars.

By my rating, I clearly felt it was flawed. There is an uneven treatment of history (half the book covers the last 200 years; the other half covers the preceding 2000+ years), some quirks of the author (referring to the Russian leaders as Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Yeltsin, the only people in the book addressed this way), and glossing over details too much sometimes. But ultimately what damned this book in my eyes was the terrible writing: dry, clunky, overlong sentences struggling with flow because they are riddled with commas and parenthesis. This book is going to make me reluctant to pick up future works by Oxford scholars.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt illiterate about Europe, so I read this book. It explained a lot more about the origins of Germany, a particular interest and the evolution of the European Union. And, I didn't feel like I had to know the history already to understand this. I recommend it for someone like me who doesn't know a lot.

[Sebastien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid overview of general European history. Some parts of the book lost my interest, but that's because 20th century history is what interests me most... also, this book seemed to have a heavy focus on British history as compared to the other European cultures, but overall the balance was good.

[Mehmet Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hacimli bir kitap olmasına rağmen kolay okunuyor. Konstantin'in Hıristiyanlığı kabulü ile Stalin'in iktidara gelişinin aynı tarih kitabında işlemesi kolay değildir. Bu yönüyle baktığımda bence yazar işin içinden çıkmayı başarmış.

[Onurcan Şar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bir roman gibi okunabilir fakat güvenilir değil. Anlatım esnasında kaynak kullanımı neredeyse yok. Tükçeye çevrilirken de hatalar var. Okunacak ise ingilizcesi okunmalı.

[Troy Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a telling, largely of the deeds of great men and women, but rather the large social and economic forces that formed the character and culture of Europe.

[Mehmet Kgil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genel olarak okumaktan keyif aldım. Özellikle içeriği kapsamlı ve yeterince bilgilendiriciydi. Ancak çeviriyi basarılı bulduğum söylenemez.

[JimZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six hundred pages is a long book, except when the subject is European history, examined from prehistory to just short of our current millennium. J. M. Roberts, who was a well-accomplished historian at Oxford, fitted just the right amount into an astonishing text.

My habit is to read a book's content first, and only then read "about" the book, by reviewers, critics, even the authors themselves. In 'A History of Europe (1997),' Roberts set me up perfectly by attaching a 7-page Postscript to give the reader some insight into what he thought of his project as well as the importance he felt "Europe" had in the history of humankind.

My college History minor in the 1970s included two semesters of "Western Civ." (as well as one each Rome, and England, and two of U.S.) so while reading Roberts, names, events, places, eras, etc., would raise an old memory or two. Just to randomly browse the list of names in such a text is mind-boggling: Charles V, Alexander, Aquinas, Balboa, Burke, Churchill, Constantine, Darwin, Charlemagne, Eisenhower, Engels, Faraday, Franco, Freud, Louis XIV, Galileo, Gorbachev, Gutenberg, Hannibal, Henry VIII, Isabella, Jefferson, Helmut Kohl, Lenin, Elizabeth I, Mehemet Ali, Napoleon I, Octavian, Wilson, de Gaulle, Plato, Lech Walesa, Hitler, Stalin, Shakespeare, Thatcher, FDR, Luther. This list is just a skim, of course.

The number of states and other regions that have, over the millennia, made up "Europe," is equally impressive. In reading Roberts I tried to focus on these places and their names, as they seemed to shift around every decade or so with the fortunes or catastrophes of war or colonization. The nature of "empires" (Roman, Habsburg, British, Holy Roman, Byzantine, Dutch, Ottoman, Spanish, Soviet/Russian) is itself fascinating. The book has just enough maps to help the reader see how the borders and alliances shifted or were obliterated. And then look at Poland (that of my own heritage) as it came under the domination of different countries and empires (or ceased to exist at times). And as Roberts' text came to a close, Europe was carefully, if fitfully, working on the development of what then became the EU. My globe, next to the reading chair, has been especially helpful!

Roberts' writing style was crisp and efficient so that in (a mere) 600 pages he was able to tell what he would deem the history of most important region in human history. He wrote several other texts, including a History of England, The French Revolution, History of the Modern World, The Triumph of the West, and History of the World.

[Brian Engleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had very high expectations for this book, because Roberts has excelled at putting massive amounts of information into a single volume. On that basis, he has very much succeeded, but his ability to state things in an easily readable format suffers a little bit this time. There were more run-on sentences than I think there ought to have been here. He also falls in love with certain words for a few chapters in a row, before moving on to a new favorite for a while.

Overall, however, you won't find a more complete single-volume work on the history of Europe anywhere. I am grateful to the work of Mr. Roberts, because he helps provide perspective on a bigger picture than local histories provide, and also on a more detailed level than in his History of the World volume. But much of European history is hard to separate from world history, and that's included here too. This goes both ways. He explains the many ways that the world influenced Europe as well as how, especially in the last 400 years or so, Europe made its impression on the world.

The author is very matter of fact about how history unfolds, while taking note of certain popular tendencies and trends toward apologetic history or revisionary history. Throughout the work, he encourages the reader to think about the subject through the eyes of an historian, rather than a person with 20/20 hindsight and a whole lot of judgment to spread around. This is helpful when trying to understand important time periods and events, as well as the mindset of people who did things that are hard to understand through the modern lens.

Overall, this was a valuable journey through Europe's history, and essential for someone who really is devoted to learning about it.

[Hefronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally got through this.

This was difficult to read. It was just so, so dry. But I persevered. I really only wanted to read up until the Napoleonic era. But then it was just a short jaunt from there to WWI, and, well, once you get through WWI you have to get through WWII. I really didn't care about anything else beyond that except by that point I might as well have finished. So I did.

Interesting to think about all that's changed in the 20 years since this book was written. I ended up making notes on the very last page, including everything that's happened since. Well, everything I recalled off the top of my head.

Anyway, I think one of the reasons this was so dry and difficult to get through (apart from those damn lengthy, confuddled sentences) was because it was cramming so much into such a small space. Not really the author's fault. If you're going to write a book about the history of Europe, there's a lot to include (time and locations), which means everything's going to be in summation. Makes me think I'd be better off next time just grabbing a book about a particular country/era and then I can have all the details I want. But whatever. This was something found at a book fair. Can't complain about the price. :)

[Matthew Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

JM Roberts's History of Europe is a very broad overview of European history from ancient times, the first major focus being Ancient Greece to ~Mid 1990s. It does a great job of giving an overview of each era, touching on notable events, characters, and providing good commentary on the mood of the age and major innovations in culture, technology, or development. The book doesn't go super in detail, most of it is very quick-paced and broad, but a book like this sacrifices depth for the sake of covering ~3000 Years of history in a reasonable length for one volume. The book covers it all in good balance, not giving any one topic too much or too little focus, although the book is somewhat lopsided in a focus towards the last 300 years, which takes up about the last 1/2 of the book.

I read this book as a primer before I deep dive into more specific periods and topics in European history with other books, and I feel this book was an excellent way to give myself a general introduction. Would recommend.

[Lib DM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sheer idea of fitting the history of Europe into 500 or so pages is prosperous in itself, however I dare say Roberts achieved it. The book, while dense at times, is very readable. The author breaks up thoughts, ideas and moments in digestible fragments as not to overwhelm the reader. The writing itself is consistent, with a clear tone that was never an issue for me.

I think this book tries to accomplish two things. The first is to give you an overall sense of Europe and its creation and many evolutions. The second is (hopefully) to snag the reader's attention and interest in one of those fragments and go off to do a deep dive of their own. There were sections in the book that fascinated me and I wanted more, but Roberts artfully had to move on. But that feeling of wanting more is precisely what I feel Roberts intended to do. And he did it with this impressive effort.

[Mejix · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an ambitious project and Roberts does an ok job except towards the end, where he loses all sense of proportion. Do not expect any fresh insights or any provocative argument but, yes, I'd say this is a serviceable account.

Roberts is at many points an apologist for Europe. He is politically and culturally conservative. The closer you get to the present the more evident his biases are. He really doesn't like Freud.

It helps to use the audiobook version because you can tune in and out of the narration. It takes a while to get used to though.

Not the book signed up for but an interesting experience nevertheless. I have to admit that the overall effect is impressive. It was like watching tectonic plates move. You get a sense of perspective. I would love to revisit the subject but with a more interesting author.

[Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about wars and empires, with a boring emphasis on Britain, France, and Germany as if none of the other countries in Europe counted after the Greco-Roman period. This volume IS dated and its author was an elderly British professor when he compiled this, so it isn't surprising that certain prejudices show. At least they're easy to identify and ignore. (FYI, don't bother with the last section. You can't write history out of current events & JMR should have known not to try.)

[Saitama · Rating 4 out of 5]

İngiliz tarihçi J.M. Roberts’ın bu kitabı giriş kısmında yazıldığı üzere bugüne kadar basılmış muhtemelen en derli toplu ve tek ciltlik Avrupa tarihi eseri. Birçok hocanın övgüsüne mazhar olduğunu görünce okumaya karar verdim.

Avrupa’yı ilk çağlardan itibaren sosyolojik, politik, ekonomik ve demografik bakış açıları ile ele alan, tarafsız kalmaya özen gösteren, yer yer nüktedan dile sahip, akıcı ve başarılı bir kitap.

[Jeroen Van de Crommenacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my first favorite "large overview" history books. I like the writing style and it gives you so much insight. I re-read it a couple of years ago (2015?) and still liked it a lot.

[Ertuğrul Işler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genel bir Avrupa tarihi için iyi bir başvuru kitabı. Birçok yeni kitap ve konu fikri veriyor. Ancak tercüme çok kötü.

[Arash Ahsani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Below average piece of propaganda

[riley burch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard one to get through at times. Super informative but alot of the times felt my self drifting off cause it was hard to stay focused through the incredibly dense writing.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a dense read, but I found it worth the time and energy it took to see it through to the end. Roberts did a good job of highlighting the main themes of the history of Europe without getting bogged down in too many details. That said, I think the complaint about this type of book is always going to be the lack of detail about a great many things that the reader might find interesting or important. I'm glad I read this one, but I think it will be a good long while before I pick up a survey type book again.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

"In spreading revolutionary principles the French often put a rod in the pickle for their own backs."

That is an actual sentence from this book. I have no idea what it means. I have also just passed the third time the author has referred to something from history as being "scotched in the egg". I know what a scotched egg is, I could probably even cook one, but I have no idea what the writer is talking about or why he is so proud of coming up with that phrase that he keeps using it.

I am 2/3s of the way through this book and honestly can think of no reason that I persist other than just stubbornness. At first I just thought that maybe it had been a while since I read a book at this reading level, but that was too generous of me. The author uses weird sentence structures and contrived language in such a way that I have to reread almost every sentence and then analyse it, "is he using a that as a noun or an adjective? What was the verb". Every sentence is a puzzle to be solved. There's a spot in there where I'm not sure, but I think he used "outstanding" as a noun.

Even a few commas in the right places would make things so much easier, but instead he spent all his punctuation money on $10 words. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for using words that are specific and add to the meaning of the thought. However, this guy uses words in an almost nonsensical way. My guess is he's just showing off. And I am left thinking "I know what the words mean, I just don't know what they mean the way he wrote them".

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long audio book, beautifully written but terribly narrated, alas. Best listened to in small bits as the reader has the most a-NOY-ing accent I've ever heard in an audiobook reader! I eventually got accustomed to him - there are over thirty hours worth of book - but for a while there, geesh...!

Otherwise this is actually a comparatively quick/short history of the entire continent; must admit, Mr. Roberts wasn't shy about tackling big subjects, was he? Enjoyed the fast pace and his rather sly writing - there's definitely humor here, both deliberate and otherwise (thanks to the narrator). The narrator uses an incredibly "posh" voice that cannot be real, simply must be affected in this day and age - he generally sounds as if he's auditioning for a Noel Coward play circa 1932 - that stilted sort of overly-"plummy" emphasis that the earliest sound actors in films used - it was terribly popular then as a shorthand for "upper class" but not now.The funny thing is I usually enjoy that sort of accent, just not one so, um, lavishly laid on, as it were... YMMV. I certainly hope he was just "having us on"...

2017 reread:
seem to have acclimated to narrator, enjoyed very much!

[Kevin O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

People who know me well enough will learn that my first degree was in History, and it is still a strong interest for me. This book by J.M. Roberts is the kind a sweeping history that he is best known for, in this case looking at Europe from the pre-historic times up to the very recent present. I don't think you read this to get an in-depth examination of a particular topic (contrast this with the Eisenstein history of printing I reviewed previously). I got this as an audiobook to enjoy on my rather long commutes, and it performed that role very nicely.

As happens with a book like this, the time scale shrinks as you move forward. While the first chapter covers millenia blithely, by the last part of the book a whole major section is devoted to the 20th century. Since that is our own time it shows a certain bias, but probably one that is congenial to most people.