Little Book of History

by R.G. Grant (Consultant Editor), Thomas Cussans (Contributor), Joel Levy (Contributor)

Travel back in time with the latest instalment in the bestselling Big Ideas series, in a brand new portable format.

The Little Book of History charts world history from the dawn of civilisation to the modern culture we live in today. From the origins of homo-sapiens to the release of Nelson Mandela, from the French Revolution to the Space Race, The Little Book of History is a stunning exploration of the human timeline up to and including modern Islam, the world wide web, and the global financial crisis.

The Little Book of History tackles big historical ideas with stunning visuals, key quotes, and important themes that are woven throughout world history. Discover events from the assassination of Caesar to World War I and see the people and events come to life with The Little Book of History, perfect for students, adults, or anyone who wants to understand our fascinating past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

197 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2018

About the author

R.G. Grant is a historian who has written extensively on many aspects and periods of history. Among his more than fifty published books are: Battle, Soldier, and Battle at Sea (2005, 2007, 2008). He was also a major contributor to the ITV Visual History of the Twentieth Century (1999) and consultant for Chronology of World History (1995). He is also a contributor to 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History, where earlier versions of his contributions to Britannica first appeared.

Reviews

[Metodi Pachev · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly good survey of world history. Very often "stories" are out of context, but that is natural for a short text like this. For instance, the book starts with an outline of ancient civilizations without explaining the concept of a "civilization." The narrative usually takes the needed critical stance on events without going into extremes. I will have to point out that I do not agree with the authors' explanation of 9/11. They clearly need to "zoom out" and take a look on larger structures and systems of dependency, repression and exploitation. Same with Israel's history though to a lesser extent. Other than that, a good book and an easy to use reference tool.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some interesting sections and I liked the format of this book, but much of it was dry and felt like reading a textbook.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of civilization in handy summaries.