100 Events That Shook Our World: A History in Pictures from the Last 100 Years

by LIFE

An engrossing compilation of photographs captures the most important events of the past century in an informative study of the key events and personalities of the modern world, ranging from two World Wars to the moon landing to the horrific events of September 11th. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Photography, Animals, Music, Education, Art

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2005

About the author

Life was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Reviews

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting to read some 15 years after it was published. I'll admit, there were a few events I knew very little about, and was surprised how they've shaped current events. It was a bit eerie to read about the Spanish Flu of 1918 in light of the current pandemic, when, if I'd read it a year ago, I probably would have barely noticed the entry. I'm curious which events of the last 15 years might have made it into the pages. I'm sure someone else has done a similar book since then; everyone has their own opinions about what makes something really earth-shattering (this book was very U.S.-centric for example), but there were some pretty good examples.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that would be wonderful for a classroom history class. To see all the photographs and read all of the essays about each photo, gives the reader a great perspective on historical events that took place, some of which many of us weren't alive for. You are seeing real history caught in a moment in time....from the Beatles arriving in America for the first time, Babe Ruth, the first radio broadcast, and all of the things you might have missed. A great photographic history book by LIFE.

[Matthew Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of history

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always difficult to pick defining moments, but for the most part, this tome got it right. And what can I possibly say about the gorgeous photography?

My favorite section was the chapter on the fall of the Berlin Wall. This event happened when I was about 9 or 10, and I remember that it was a big deal and very exciting, but of course I had no idea why. Not only did this chapter educate me, but it brought tears to my eyes when I saw the photos of families reuniting for the first time in years after the wall fell.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A much better review of important events through photography than the 100 Photographs book by LIFE. The pictures overall are actually more engrossing than the other book and each picture comes with some commentary that puts the event in context. This is certainly not a comprehensive list of important events over the last century but makes for an interesting read, giving a quick overview of how the world has changed in the last century in science, culture, art, and politically.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, call it what you want. I like these kind of books and i always want to know what happened back in the day.

The history was rich and fluent, but its all the stuff we've heard before. So and so invaded here and, these planes crashed here to cause this and the americans did that, the moonlanding was faked, where's God? ect.

So, another book done, awesome, my life is going far.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first radio broadcast aired on Christmas Eve, 1906.
The first celebrity was Florence Lawrence.
The first cookie-cutter suburbanish neighborhood was Levittown.

And other interesting facts, accompanied by extremely captivating photographs.

[Charlane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and moving.