Σαν σήμερα στην παγκόσμια ιστορία

by Dan Snow, Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης (Translator)

μετάφραση: Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης  Ποια μέρα ξέσπασε και τέλειωσε (σε περίπου σαράντα λεπτά) ο συντομότερος πόλεμος της ιστορίας; Πώς έχασε ο Ναπολέων από μερικά κουνέλια το 1807; Γιατί μια διαμάχη περί μπίρας σε μια παμπ της Οξφόρδης οδήγησε σε πάνω από 100 θανάτους και 470 χρόνια επανορθώσεων; Γιατί το 1752 η Βρετανία έπεσε για ύπνο στις 2 Σεπτεμβρίου και ξύπνησε στις 14; Πώς μια πορεία γυναικών το 1917 πυροδότησε την Οκτωβριανή Επανάσταση; Από την πιο σημαντική βρετανική μάχη που δεν έχετε ακουστά (20 Μαΐου 685) στην πρώτη συνάντηση του Λένον και του ΜακΚάρτνεϊ (6 Ιουλίου 1957) και στη μέρα που η Ζαν ντε Κλισόν έγινε πειρατίνα και κήρυξε μόνη της πόλεμο ενάντια στον Βασιλιά της Γαλλίας (2 Αυγούστου 1343), η ιστορία είναι γεμάτη απίθανους ήρωες και συναρπαστικά σημεία καμπής. Ένα χρονολόγιο σημαντικών γεγονότων από το 40 π.Χ. μέχρι σήμερα, με ένα γεγονός ανά ημέρα του μήνα. Μέσα από τις σελίδες του βιβλίου, ο Dan Snow μάς δίνει κάθε μέρα μια διαφορετική και απρόσμενη εικόνα για το παρελθόν. Από τη μια καθηλωτική ιστορία στην άλλη, ο χρόνος μετατρέπεται σε μια ζωηρή, βαθιά ανθρώπινη Ιστορία του κόσμου. Μεταίχμιο, 2020 560σ. 21x14εκ. ISBN 9786180319699

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, World History, Audiobook

560 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2018

About the author

Daniel Robert Snow MBE is an English popular historian and television presenter.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I've come to love books that make me read a small bit every day throughout the year and because I LOVE history. As you can see from my status updates, I tried to also keep you guys informed about the daily facts this book has to offer but atsome point, it simply was too much.

So what is this book about? Well, Dan Snow is a historian and recipient of the MBE. He's also the son of renowned television journalist Peter Snow. Canadian historian and professor at the University of Oxford Margaret Olwen MacMillan is his aunt and his great-great-grandfather was British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Yep, quite an impressive family tree.

Dan Snow also has HistoryHit, a podcast about some seriously interesting historical topics that covers everything up and down our timeline (the Knights Templar as much as Hitler). That's how I got to know him and appreciate his little insights and anecdotes.

Thus, he published a book where he curated historical facts from around the world that happened on any of the 366 days of the year (as, as these things go, there is an entry for February 29).

I loved how diverse the facts were, that they covered all kinds of eras and places on Earth and often told me things I hadn't yet known. Sure, there were a few dates where I wondered why the author chose this fact over a number of others (there were a few opportunities to make the facts even more diverse than they already were), but I liked the selection well enough.
I also appreciated the comments that were sometimes added about the facts' relevance to today's status quo in certain countries.
Add to that the fact that Dan Snow can write in an amicable way that not only shows his own passion for history but manages to ignite the reader's as well.

What would have made me appreciate this book even more would have been a better paper quality and maybe some maps and illustrations significant to at least some of the daily facts.

Nevertheless, the book gets a recommendation for everyone interested in history, who wants a glimpse that might make them look up certain historical events in greater detail (this is, after all, mostly an attempt to wet one's appetite) and who enjoy this format. It's also great to look things up again later.

[Apratim Mukherjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very "British" book and most pages are dedicated to Britain and her medieval history.For people like me(Asians),most events described seem alien.There were more important events on 12th December than death of Isabella's brother like Kenya got her independence.Hence,this book is only suitable for British/European readers (for them it could be fascinating).But,rest of the world can pass this book.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, chucked full of interesting facts and events that took place in history. It became obviously clear early on, that the majority of the events in the book were going to be European, more accurately United Kingdom, centric. This is not to discredit the content in any way, but I started getting bored after a while as the stories all started to some a bit similar; vikings this, crazy monarchs that, oh lets not forget a bit of US history for the yanks reading this book.

I personally would have like to know more about other world events that may have had a significant impact on key days, instead yet another anecdote about the English monarchy. Sure English duke, king, queen so-and-so was special, but I sure there was something more noteworthy going on somewhere else in the world at the same time. This is not to say the book still wasn't enjoyable, but its obvious the history being told is primarily from a Western culture's point of view.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book explains it all; for every day of the calendar year, a nugget of information is given about a particular historical event or person. Some of the facts are widely known, others not so much. It's a good book to dip in and out of as each date is no longer than a page in length.

[Ingrida Lisauskiene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ši knyga – tai 365 trumpi pasakojimai apie svarbiausius įvykius, nutikusius pasaulio istorijoje kurią nors vieną metų dieną. Skaitant tikrai tampa aišku, kad rašė britų istorikas, nes kai kurie įvykiai labiau svarbūs jiems, o ne bendrai pasaulio istorijo raidai. Tačiau tikrai reikia pripažinti, kad atliktas milžiniškas darbas, renkant informaciją, ir skaityti smagu ir įdomu.

[Grant · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm incredulous that this is averaging four stars (3.96) at present. To work, it really needed to be less predictable and more original. As it stands, it is anglocentric. The internet has far better "on this day" resources, such as Wikipedia.

[Sheila Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I liked the idea of this ‘an alternative history of the world’ since, unlike Dan Snow, my knowledge of history is so poor. This is a fascinating selection but, perhaps understandably, it is a very ‘blokey’ taste of history - top heavy with wars, battles, daring military feats, naval exploits, and the like, as well as lots of royalty.
Other events are, of course, also included - such as the explosion at Chernobyl, the execution of Anne Boleyn, the first steps on the moon, the first Olympic marathon run in London, the Jarrow march, the Lisbon earthquake, the discovery of the bones of ‘Lucy’ the first ancient hominid, the gunpowder plot and the flight of Leila, the dog in the Sputnik spacecraft.

[Ieva Apanavičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yra įdomių faktų. Kurie dar buvo tikrai negirdėti. Bet įsiminė turbūt tie, kurie susiję su šių laikų išradimais ir pan. Man gal buvo kiek per daug apie Anglijos karalius ir deja man tie faktai įspūdžio nepaliko.

[Clare Kirwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned loads of interesting snippets of history from listening to this on audio book, and Dan Snow reads it with clarity and enthusiasm, although it was easy to miss the year that was being referred to on each day as it wasn’t always at the beginning. Very British in focus, there's the odd attempt to throw in the odd Chinese coup or Mayan queen but without context those parts interested me less and were probably just a nod towards wider inclusivity. It took a long time to get through as there are in,y so many facts you can take in at a sitting but I’ll definitely listen again.

[Lefteris Knt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια καλή προσπάθεια αποτύπωσης σημαντικών στιγμών της ιστορίας.

[Graham Sillars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both my first and last books of the year. I didn’t always manage to read each day on each day… 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

…but I got there in the end.

Thoroughly enjoyable and very well written and researched.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very battle heavy which is fine if you like that kind of thing. I don’t. The non war related history was very interesting though.

[Ulrika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a really fun way to spend the year and I will miss my daily historical fact next year.

[An Seachránaí · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should be titled "On This Day in History from England's Point of View". Most of the days are the author fawning over some medieval english political event. Very little mention of anywhere outside Britian/US unless in reference to them murdering or suppressing the natives somewhere else

[Panagiota Apergi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Για όσους ξέρουν και παρακολουθούν τον Dan Snow, μέσα από τα άκρως ενδιαφέροντα ιστορικά ντοκιμαντέρ που παρουσιάζει, αυτό το βιβλίο δεν αποτελεί έκπληξη.

Όπως, άλλωστε, γράφει και ο ίδιος στην Εισαγωγή, «η ιστορία [...] είναι το συνολικό άθροισμα όλης της ανθρώπινης εμπειρίας. […] Το παρελθόν είναι μια τεράστια δεξαμενή ιστοριών από τις οποίες μπορούμε να διδαχθούμε». Και πράγματι, ο αναγνώστης, πιάνοντας στα χέρια του αυτό το βιβλίο, έχει τη δυνατότητα να «περιηγηθεί» σε ένα ευρύ φάσμα γεγονότων της παγκόσμιας ιστορίας, αν και πολλές φορές ο Snow προβαίνει σε μια πιο αγγλοκεντρική – δυτική προσέγγιση της ιστορίας, απευθυνόμενος, σε μεγάλο βαθμό, στο δυτικό και ευρωπαϊκό κοινό.

Παρόλα αυτά, δεν παραγκωνίζει γεγονότα όπως ο Νόμος Κόμτσοκ, η Μεγάλη Απόδραση αιχμαλώτων από το Stalag Luft III, η μεγαλύτερη ηφαιστειακή έκρηξη στο όρος Ταμπόρα, η απόπειρα δολοφονίας κατά του Λένιν κ.ά..

Συχνά, διαβάζοντας το βιβλίο ο αναγνώστης μπορεί να αναρωτηθεί γιατί ο συγγραφέας επέλεξε αυτό το γεγονός έναντι πολλών άλλων, αλλά χάρη στην αβίαστη γραφή, οι επιλογές δικαιώνουν τον Snow.
Η προσέγγιση του «Σαν Σήμερα» (με μια σελίδα για κάθε μέρα του χρόνου) δίνει την ευκαιρία να κάνετε ένα μεγάλο ταξίδι στον κόσμο, ενώ, παράλληλα, αισθάνεστε ότι υπάρχει μια συνεκτική δομή των γεγονότων, παρά τα χωρο-χρονικά άλματα.

Το βιβλίο θα ενθουσιάσει σίγουρα τους λάτρεις της ιστορίας, που θα μαγευτούν με τα μοναδικά και, τις περισσότερες φορ��ς, άγνωστα γεγονότα που παραθέτει ο Snow, αλλά και κάθε αναγνώστης θα απολαύσει την περιήγηση στην καταγεγραμμένη ιστορία της ανθρωπότητας. Και φυσικά, με κάθε συμβάν να αποδίδεται ευσύνοπτα, υπάρχει άφθονο περιθώριο για περαιτέρω έρευνα και εξερεύνηση!

*Φυσικά, πριν καν ξεκινήσει να διαβάζει το βιβλίο ο αναγνώστης μπαίνει στον πειρασμό να διαβάσει πρώτα βασικές ημερομηνίες της ιστορίας που σχετίζονται με σημαντικές γι’ αυτόν ημερομηνίες, όπως λ.χ. η ημέρα των γενεθλίων του, μια επέτειος κ.τ.λ..

Περισσότερες βιβλιοκριτικές στο www.newstrip.gr

[Kerry Hennigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Snow’s “On This Day In History” is a fascinating quick reference for the most significant events that took place on every date in the calendar. Spanning the broad sweep of history, it takes us from the earliest events for which dates have been recorded right up to the 21st century. I succumbed to the temptation to go to some key dates in my family’s history, namely my birthday (19th June) which coincides with the anniversary of the crowning of Bahadur Shah as Mogul emperor in Delhi, in 1707. This was when the Mogul empire was at its greatest extent and had already produced what are some of the world’s finest buildings.

June 25th is both my mother’s and my late brother’s birthdays, and the date that Michael Jackson died (I’m a major MJ fan!) I knew the significance of this date, because I used to tease Mum about it as a young(er) history buff. It’s the anniversary of Custer’s Last Stand at the Little Big Horn River. The year was 1876 – the 100th anniversary year of America’s declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

My late father’s birthday, 4 November, shares the anniversary with an appropriate (for the Hennigan family) event, being the last armed rebellion against the government on British soil. Yey, the rebels! This happened in Newport, Monmouthshire, and involved industrial workers brandishing home-made weapons. Some of the rebels were killed, others tried and sentenced to death for treason – the latter sentences being commuted to transportation to Australia. Like I said, appropriate, and in more ways than one.

I could continue, but each reader should discover these events for themselves, and enjoy reading what happened when, and where, during the recorded history of humanity. With each entry running to a single page, there is plenty of scope for further investigation and exploration once your appetite has been whetted.

Kerry Hennigan
16 Dec 2019

[K. Morral]

I found this a fascinating collection of easy to read nuggets of history. No doubt, any have been simplified in order to draft the succinct summary, but as a brief insight into our past this was ideal. As I struggle to read non-fuctuon books, this was all the more impressive and a compelling read. (Though that might say more about my curiosity or reading addiction).

As other reviews have noted this is a western focused narrative (although not exclusively Western) but as this is written by a Western author for a Western audience that is not surprising and should not be dismissed on this basis. We are all largely interested in our own histories primarily. If there were to be an Eastern equivalent this would be equally as interesting and a great partnership.

The range of events is fascinating, from the grand scale of war to the smallest of successful surgery. Some are lighthearted (as a rabbit fan I'm delighted to learn of the bunny charge on Napoleon) and others considerably less so. All are treated appropriately and British attrocities acknowledged as such.

Definitely a book I would recommend as an introduction to history and one I will no doubt be returning to.

[Miliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to clarify that this author is in fact British, which is why I felt this book is kind of ‘British’ in my taste. Well, it also includes other histories as well, like Japan and USA, but I felt like more than 80% of this book focus on the British and the neighbour countries.
Every day, somewhere, and any year is history because we were born to make history. So, I think maybe it is hard to choose which fact of the day needs to be featured in this book. Well, I’m glad my country’s history of being attacked by the Japanese was included. Such an honour.
I don’t really have anything to say but I do have complaint and question.
The structure of the sentence something made me hard to understand, but maybe because English-British and English-Malaysia are slightly different. Sometimes I need to read again to capture the story.
And my biggest question is how on earth the historian knew the exact date? I don’t talk about the 1800s or 1900s, I talk about A.D and B.C. Like how? Because clearly, we have a different calendar system.
Anyway, it is fun to read for leisure.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anglo-centric? Yes - but important European and American events are also discussed, in addition to some key moments which took place in Asia and Africa (oh, and the Moon).
Abridged? Yes - that's the whole point.
Do either of these come as a surprise? No - if you're the kind of person who reads the introduction.
Worthwhile? Totally - it's a summarised tour de force through history, providing you with a neat little chronology at the end. Personally, I found this book a neat short read, and there's nothing from stopping folk who want to learn more about certain events to look up academic sources (again, with some useful pointers given at the end).

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like I said with Toksvig’s novel, I tried to read this daily & got caught up when I missed a day (or two!)

I really enjoyed this book as well - I found the narrative to be much easier to follow & it read like a story which was good. I really enjoyed learning about events which took place ‘on this day in history’ and definitely feel it is a book I can dip in and out of.

I did feel that a lot of the stories were focused in Europe though - it would have been nice to see more global facts & stories.

Overall I did enjoy this a lot & would recommend it - this review is entirely my opinion!

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. I've started to develop a bit of a history geek streak over the past few years and this suited me perfectly. I thought that the "one event a day" structure was wonderful; what often puts me off many history books generally is a focus on a chronological telling of a major era, war, notable figure, etc., but this jumped from era to era, country to country, immensely popular figure to obscure figure.

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine dip in book which I shall no doubt read again in the future. Most I was aware of, even if the details were sparse in my memory, but this has engaged me to find out more about some of the history in here. The assassination of JFK brought back a memory of my primary school teacher saying we all knew where we were when he heard about JFK's. No. No we didn't, as the silence told her. We were three years old in 1963.

[Stephen Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

An immensely fun book with a good variation of subject matter. It’s no big surprise it was slightly Euro-centric, but it did branch out a little. It can feel a little thin on information, but I can’t truly criticise that as it’s part of the novelty of the book and its layout. I’d recommend it, especially for keen quizzers.

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and informative book that is perfect for keeping at hand for dipping into daily to read about the historical event that its author has highlighted for the day.

It reminded me of those word of the day calendars that improve vocabulary. Perfect as a bathroom book.

A great choice for history buffs for themselves or as a gift for like-minded friends.

[Holly Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this look at 365 days of History - as someone who teaches History it was interesting to intersperse information that I knew with new events and facts. A book that I could into and enjoy the fact that each day is no longer than a page. Not something I could read over long extended periods however I don't think that is what is was intended for.

[Jack Reilly Gillic · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do you measure a year? - With this interesting book, it’s through the gradual exploration of history. There will always be a contest between the big entries that almost write themselves (such as D-Day) and finding more obscure details to relate in a short, engaging way. Snow does a good job in balancing his entries. An enjoyable read.

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy listening to Dan Snow’s history podcasts . This book obviously aimed at the Christmas market is an interesting read for folk interested in history , maybe a starter for further reading.
The 366 single page articles cover an interesting spectrum of events over the millennia.

[teleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got the April and gave up. Couldn't even force myself to continue reading until I reached my birthday. The pages lacked enough information to keep me interested and over half of the topics mentioned I just wasn't interested in.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been interested in history but have always struggled with history books. The one page a day approach in this book makes history accessible, fun and easy without you getting bogged down in too much detail. I'd definitely recommend it!

[Me · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 30%

Since I'm now 4 months behind, I think it's time to admit defeat. Yet again thwarted by my own lack of consistency.

Although a history fan, I just couldn't get into this writing style. Looks like I'll go back to bugging my sister and her uni degree when I need my history fix.