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Fifty Days That Changed The World
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
306 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 21, 2021
Possibly the most boring book I have ever finished. My excuse is that I bought this lovely looking Folio volume in pristine condition for £3 from our local charity shop, and thought I might expand my mind somewhat. The early years went straight over my head - I've never been a student of history as such, but over the years my mind has collected facts which help me to put things into context - but I persevered hoping to learn something. I guess almost all that I read was instantly forgotten, or I already knew it, and was just re-reading old stories - nothing seemed to provide any great depth of understanding, despite all the details presented.
As the chronology arrived at the second half of the 20th century, it told of events that I had lived through, and as such were unimpressive records of such significant events, told in five or six pages. To read about the release of Mandela and the context to that, in six pages, was nothing to having seen the whole world watching this event ( I was actually listening on the radio.)
It was only those things of which I have a deeper knowledge, such as MLK, that I realised there was no way of ascertaining truth from what was written. The story about MLK was factually wrong - there is so much known of this one wonders how the author got it wrong, but then one realises that the history writer fits things to their own narrative. So by the time I reached the end of the book I was quite grumpy!
As the chronology arrived at the second half of the 20th century, it told of events that I had lived through, and as such were unimpressive records of such significant events, told in five or six pages. To read about the release of Mandela and the context to that, in six pages, was nothing to having seen the whole world watching this event ( I was actually listening on the radio.)
It was only those things of which I have a deeper knowledge, such as MLK, that I realised there was no way of ascertaining truth from what was written. The story about MLK was factually wrong - there is so much known of this one wonders how the author got it wrong, but then one realises that the history writer fits things to their own narrative. So by the time I reached the end of the book I was quite grumpy!
July 21, 2025
In my first reading of this book I skipped around and skimmed, singling out the events that interested me. I found the individual sections somewhat hard to understand because the author either assumed I already knew many things about the event or else made no effort to link up the events to help me contextualize them. Still, I liked Hywel Williams' writing style, and determined to give his book another go.
For this second reading I carefully read each section consecutively - and was finally able to appreciate what Williams is trying to do.
He selected 50 events that, as the title has it, "changed the world". Each section begins with one or two paragraphs describing the event itself. For instance, in event 30, Robert E. Lee Surrenders at Appomattox, 9 April 1865, Williams describes the meeting between Grant and Lee at a house in the Virginian village to arrange Lee's surrender. Then he discusses the history leading up to the event, in this case the whole economy based on slavery that led the Southern States to go to war against the Union that would abolish it. This is followed by the immediate context of the event, and finally there is mention of the larger influence of the event upon the succeeding course of history.
Thus, reading the sections consecutively allows one to grasp the larger historical picture as it is developed through the expansive focus on key events. The events do link up in ways not visible from reading each in isolation.
This is a brilliant way of drawing someone interested only in the highlights into considering the whole show as it unfolds. No doubt I will return to this in the not too distant future.
* * *
This is a beautiful Folio Society edition, comfortable to hold, with thick clearly printed pages, enlivened by aptly chosen pictures and paintings.
For this second reading I carefully read each section consecutively - and was finally able to appreciate what Williams is trying to do.
He selected 50 events that, as the title has it, "changed the world". Each section begins with one or two paragraphs describing the event itself. For instance, in event 30, Robert E. Lee Surrenders at Appomattox, 9 April 1865, Williams describes the meeting between Grant and Lee at a house in the Virginian village to arrange Lee's surrender. Then he discusses the history leading up to the event, in this case the whole economy based on slavery that led the Southern States to go to war against the Union that would abolish it. This is followed by the immediate context of the event, and finally there is mention of the larger influence of the event upon the succeeding course of history.
Thus, reading the sections consecutively allows one to grasp the larger historical picture as it is developed through the expansive focus on key events. The events do link up in ways not visible from reading each in isolation.
This is a brilliant way of drawing someone interested only in the highlights into considering the whole show as it unfolds. No doubt I will return to this in the not too distant future.
* * *
This is a beautiful Folio Society edition, comfortable to hold, with thick clearly printed pages, enlivened by aptly chosen pictures and paintings.
August 29, 2014
This was a pretty decent book for the most part. The history is in bite-size formats. The author attempts to give a bit of background of each event discussed as well as just how a particular event changed the course of history in each example.
I found the ancient-to-early 1900's discussions to be for the most part fascinating. The ancient events certainly seem far more world-shaping. The modern examples were good, but perhaps less impressive. That may just be because we're living these things. I also found a bit of a left-wing bent in the writing for the later work that wasn't overwhelming, but still could use a bit of better analysis for some of the conclusions made.
Good diversion.
One downside: This is a 'book club' exclusive. Folio society does produce lovely volume, but this I believe was a bonus book for signing up for a year, and it's not on open market. If you really want to read this, you'll have to join or borrow from someone who has in the past.
I found the ancient-to-early 1900's discussions to be for the most part fascinating. The ancient events certainly seem far more world-shaping. The modern examples were good, but perhaps less impressive. That may just be because we're living these things. I also found a bit of a left-wing bent in the writing for the later work that wasn't overwhelming, but still could use a bit of better analysis for some of the conclusions made.
Good diversion.
One downside: This is a 'book club' exclusive. Folio society does produce lovely volume, but this I believe was a bonus book for signing up for a year, and it's not on open market. If you really want to read this, you'll have to join or borrow from someone who has in the past.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews