A History of the World in Numbers

by Emma Marriott

The history of our world can be told through numbers. Numbers can illuminate the broad sweep of history, from vast movements of populations and the expansion of empires to the effects of technological achievements or climatic change. They also allow us to drill into the real detail of history, from the page count, the cost and the time it took to produce the Gutenberg Bible (the West's first mass-produced book) to the price of Virginian tobacco in the 1620s, both of which had an immediate and lasting effect on the course of world history.
And, just occasionally, numbers have the power to blow our minds. For example: in 2003 US research showed that one in every 200 men living on the planet today shares genetic material from a single male from around 900 years ago; the likely progenitor was Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan.
A History of the World in Numbers will span the early civilizations of man, from the plains of Mesopotamia and the Indus Empire, right through to the modern day. The numbers, statistics and figures will dictate the topic of each entry, shining a light on each subject, whether it's the development of early writing in China or the number of Brodie helmets issued in World War One.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2014

Reviews

[Jim Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of world history from ancient times to WW II.

[Animus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It sounds like it's going to be really dry, but actually, linking numbers to historical facts helps them to stand out, and i found myself thoroughly enjoying it.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving both numbers and history, this was the perfect combination. It breaks history up into tiny little tidbits using various numbers from ancient times through World War II. I just wish the author put a little more thought into the conclusion, considering it was published in 2015, even though it left off at WWII. “If the pace of progress we have seen since the end of that landmark is maintained, then the numbers are looking good for the future.” There’s been a police action, another war right on the heels of the police action, several serious terrorist attacks, 2 major nuclear disasters, the fall of the Soviet Union, multiple bloody civil wars, and another series of wars that are going on almost 2 decades. That’s just for starters.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think if you take this book for what it is and don't ask too much of it, you will enjoy this book.

It is a book of history snippets told through numbers. It's a paragraph or two about a specific fact and then it moves on to another fact. I read this aloud to my teenager over the course of more than a year at breakfast. It spawned some interesting discussions.

This is just an aside, but when our local library copy went missing, the librarian tracked down another copy and got it transferred and waved the usual charge. I just thought that was generous of her. Yet another reason to love the local library.

[Delson Roche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I started reading this book because I was fascinated by the title. However, the book was something different from what I expected it to be. The book is an easy read history of the world, The titles of each chapter have some number associated with it- which is somehow related to the story the chapter tells. The number is not the key to the story like I thought it would be. But anyhow an easy read and unlike similar world history books, this one also gives a few chapters to Africa and Asia.

[Byebyecarb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite what the title might suggest, the book is about history, but not really about numbers.
Yes, there is a number in the title of each chapter, but that's all. No graphs or data, but some random numbers associated with each story, that you are probably gong to forget pretty quickly.
Nevertheless, the book is a nice collection of "pills" (no more than 1 page long) of high-school-level history. A relaxing way to refresh your history knowledge.

[Kıymetlimiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I realized that Emma Marriott loved mathematics very much :)))Because telling the world history with numbers is like a ridiculous idea. But when I read the book, it really makes sense.

Can you learn math with a lesson based on memorization like history?
Yes you can learn

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a bit of a statistic nerd so the title appealed to me. The book really does covers thousands of years but in small pieces, ranging from a few lines to maybe 2 pages. I read this all in one go but it would make a great ‘dip into’ book for when you only have a few minutes to spare.

[Nekochimachan (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math isn't my strong suit and this book teaches me the origins of numbers. Now when it comes to history that I'm eager to read it and I can finish it in no time. It's interesting 🤔 just like Harry Oliver's book called "Catflaps and Mousetraps".

[J. Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may use this in my AP Modern World History class to demonstrate a few basic concepts.

[ekrem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kul bakışı dünya tarihini incelemek, okumak için iyi geldi açıkçası bana beğendim

[Farida · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful history lesson at a quick glance ...a paragraph at a time, a page at a time. Numbers I knew of and numbers I didn't. I really enjoyed reading it and learning from it.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting but didn't like how it was organized.

[Chuck Ledger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the facts were very interesting. The book seemed to stop short.