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Ultimate Visual History of the World: The Story of Humankind From Prehistory to Modern Times
Follow the fascinating threads of human history in this monumental volume, amply illustrated with maps, archival imagery, and revealing photographs.
History comes to life in this comprehensive overview of humankind, from earliest times to the present day. Each page is filled with stunning visuals and thought-provoking text that make this book an instant classic. From the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Gulf War, from the Xia and Shang Dynasties of Bronze Age China to the new space race, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the digital age―here, in vivid color and crisp narrative, is the sweeping story of the history of civilization.
Every chapter
Visually driven, rich and far-reaching yet friendly and browsable, with iconic National Geographic maps, illustrations, and images enhancing the pages, this new book is a history-lover’s dream.
You can complete your collection of recent National Geographic history books with National Geographic History at a Glance and More Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar -- and you will treasure earlier National Geographic titles by this author, including The Biblical World, In the Footsteps of Jesus, and Archaeology of the Bible .
History comes to life in this comprehensive overview of humankind, from earliest times to the present day. Each page is filled with stunning visuals and thought-provoking text that make this book an instant classic. From the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Gulf War, from the Xia and Shang Dynasties of Bronze Age China to the new space race, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the digital age―here, in vivid color and crisp narrative, is the sweeping story of the history of civilization.
Every chapter
Visually driven, rich and far-reaching yet friendly and browsable, with iconic National Geographic maps, illustrations, and images enhancing the pages, this new book is a history-lover’s dream.
You can complete your collection of recent National Geographic history books with National Geographic History at a Glance and More Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar -- and you will treasure earlier National Geographic titles by this author, including The Biblical World, In the Footsteps of Jesus, and Archaeology of the Bible .
656 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2021
45 people are currently reading
3319 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Pierre Isbouts
65 books58 followersJean-Pierre Isbouts was born in 1954. He is a humanities scholar and graduate professor in the doctoral programs at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He has published widely on the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, including the bestseller Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas; Young Jesus: Restoring the "Lost Years" of a Social Activist and Religious Dissident; From Moses to Muhammed; The Shared Origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and The Mysteries of Jesus. An award-winning filmmaker, Isbouts has also produced Charlton Heston's Voyage Through the Bible, The Quest for Peace, and Young Jesus.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2021
Ok - some truth about this one:
• Its 656 pages are gorgeous and contain countless world events and photos.
• With only 656 pages, there are ESSENTIAL events lacking that make me really upset.
💭What the heck am I talking about, you ask? Hold the phone while I step up on this soap box...
🗣In the 12 pages devoted to covering WWII and all its battles and white male generals, one of the only references to the Holocaust was “when millions of Jews perished in concentration camps, Catholic Priests saved thousands of Jews.” I’m sorry, WHAT? Talk about erasure. I would have loved to see the FULL page picture of Hitler replaced by some of the Jewish families devastated in that war.
🗣Also, I looked in the Index for Racism, Black Lives Matter, Jim Crow, The Great Migration, and Segregation. NOTHING. Slavery only had brief mentions like “the flow of slaves from West Africa increased, this time to be tasked in the…” - no, stop. Tasked? Paragraphs were spent on The Great Awakening, giving white people credit for bringing slaves north, and NO mention is made of the lives lost/maimed/separated/experimented on. Also, “the issue of slavery” is infuriating - it isn’t an issue, it’s an atrocity. And instead of a FULL page picture of Abraham Lincoln, some prominent Black Americans from that time?
But hey, COVID got 3 pages! UGH!
This isn’t a full history of the world from all perspectives, as history books never are. I just wished for better. To me, there is too much glorified war/battles/maps/destruction of things, and not enough of the toll these events had on real human life. I can’t teach my son from this book. I can only hold out hope that big companies like NatGeo will do their due diligence and hire a more diverse panel of historians to tell a more accurate story.
• Its 656 pages are gorgeous and contain countless world events and photos.
• With only 656 pages, there are ESSENTIAL events lacking that make me really upset.
💭What the heck am I talking about, you ask? Hold the phone while I step up on this soap box...
🗣In the 12 pages devoted to covering WWII and all its battles and white male generals, one of the only references to the Holocaust was “when millions of Jews perished in concentration camps, Catholic Priests saved thousands of Jews.” I’m sorry, WHAT? Talk about erasure. I would have loved to see the FULL page picture of Hitler replaced by some of the Jewish families devastated in that war.
🗣Also, I looked in the Index for Racism, Black Lives Matter, Jim Crow, The Great Migration, and Segregation. NOTHING. Slavery only had brief mentions like “the flow of slaves from West Africa increased, this time to be tasked in the…” - no, stop. Tasked? Paragraphs were spent on The Great Awakening, giving white people credit for bringing slaves north, and NO mention is made of the lives lost/maimed/separated/experimented on. Also, “the issue of slavery” is infuriating - it isn’t an issue, it’s an atrocity. And instead of a FULL page picture of Abraham Lincoln, some prominent Black Americans from that time?
But hey, COVID got 3 pages! UGH!
This isn’t a full history of the world from all perspectives, as history books never are. I just wished for better. To me, there is too much glorified war/battles/maps/destruction of things, and not enough of the toll these events had on real human life. I can’t teach my son from this book. I can only hold out hope that big companies like NatGeo will do their due diligence and hire a more diverse panel of historians to tell a more accurate story.
April 16, 2022
National Geographic has outdone themselves with this book – It truly is a VISUALLY pleasing history of the world!!!!!
The tagline for this book is From Prehistory to Modern Times, but in reality, the majority of this book looks at Prehistory through Medieval times and although I have never been a fan of these periods, National Geographic has found a way to make even the dullest of topics, intriguing.
As you would expect, the book leads us through history chronologically. For each major time period, there is a title, time period, and a list (with page numbers) or the chapters covered in that section, i.e. Reason and Revolution 1700-1900 The Era of Enlightenment 480, The Americas in the 19th Century 500, The Age of Colonization 512.
For each chapter, there is a title, the years covered, a brief history of the given time period, a timeline of significant events, quotations, “sidebars” of information, MANY colorful photographs / illustrations, and sometimes, maps or other diagrams.
Some things that I found fascinating were:
The photograph, in silhouette, of a man moving a shallow boat on the Euphrates River in Iraq. We only see video of the war(s) that have taken place over there, but this is a beautiful and peaceful scene, taken at what appears to be sunrise.
Early Cultures in Europe (3100 – 1050 B.C.E.) During this period, Europe, including Malta, in France’s Brittany region, and throughout Britain, saw the emergence of a mysterious phenomenon: the placement of large megaliths, or giant stones, according to a particular pattern. The history goes on to describe Stonehenge and the like.
Besides the standard timeline of Egypt in the Late Bronze Age, we are also treated to a list of the Dynasties of Ancient Egypt Before the Common Era aka B.C.E. The times that will be most familiar are: the Greek Period 332-30 and the Roman Period, 30 B.C.E. – 395 C.E, which are the two most recent of the ten listed.
The most important development in the religious sphere during the Cradle of Hinduism and Buddhism period in the mostly pastoral communities in Northwest India beginning in about 1500 B.C.E. was the production of a series of texts known as the Vedas. “These Vedic texts are a collection of hymns, prayers, and rituals combining Ancient Harappan and Aryan beliefs that were first organized in a canon during the rise of the Janapadas or Indian kingdoms, beginning with the kingdom of Kur. The Vedic period, which lasted to 500 B.C.E., is a watershed moment in the history of India, for its culture would lay the basis of Hinduism at about the same time that ancient Judaism was stirring in Canaan. Today, Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, with more than a billion adherents.” (p.135)
“Although Buddhist fundamental texts ascribe many miracles and supernatural events to Buddha’s life, what is generally accepted is that Gautama was deeply affected by the suffering he witnessed among the people, and withdrew into a monastic lifestyle of yoga and meditation. This experience led to his awakening to full enlightenment at age 35 while seated under the so-called Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India.” (p. 139)
A key period in Chinese history, the Zhou Dynasty, which was part of China’s Iron Age, 1046 – 221 B.C.E., witnessed the rise of important developments in the arts, philosophy, and science, including the foundation of Taoism and the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism would become the foundation of Chinese learning and political theory. It’s interesting to note that ca 600-200s B.C.E. Chinese texts are written with brush and ink on silk, wood, and jade. Also, there is what I call a sidebar or a paragraph dedicated specifically to the subject of Chinese Architecture that I found to be very interesting.
According to a sidebar, a first Suez passage (think Suez Canal) may have originated during the reign of Pharaoh Senwosret III of the 12th Dynasty!
The Hebrew alphabet emerged around 1000 B.C.E. during the Birth of Ancient Israel. For people who think that the people and places in the bible in the abstract, you need to study this period a lot more!
During the Ancient Cultures of the Americas 1500 – 900 B.C.E., “the far-flung Mississippian trade network extended North to the Great Lakes, West to the Rocky Mountains, and South to the Gulf of Mexico.” (p. 191)
For more than two CENTURIES, the Achaemenid Dynasty [Persian Empire 540-333 B.C.E.] would rule the LARGEST EMPIRE in HISTOR, fostering an unprecedented level of PEACEFUL coexistence and commercial activity. Amazingly, the Persians built a central road network and POSTAL SYSTEM (maybe they should come back and help us with ours!) and had a high degree of religious tolerance. All in all, we could learn A LOT from this group of people!
A lot happened during the Classical Age of Greece 500-300 C.E. “From the 6th century onward, a new civilization emerged in Ancient Greece that would have a strong influence on the rest of the world, not only in Europe and Near East but also in India and other regions in East Asia.” (p. 217) During this era, the Parthenon was completed in Athens, the deaths of Euripides and Sophocles ended what is considered the great era of Greek Drama, and Socrates died by drinking hemlock. When things end, something else inevitably takes its place. In this case, this time period also saw the birth of the Modern Theater and there is a brief paragraph that describes how things changed at this time.
During the Classical Age of China, Buddhism began to penetrate China from India and the oldest known use of paper for writing took place here, as well.
The Classical Age (not to be confused with the Cultural Age) in the Americas took place from 100 B.C.E. to 900 C.E. Around 500 C.E. the Hopewell Culture FADED in the Ohio Valley. To show how far history has come, TODAY, you can visit the Hopewell burial mounds Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. This, part of my 5th grade Field Trip is well worth the visit, if you ever get an opportunity.
The section titled “The Age of Faith” [300 – 900 C.E.] discusses the rise of religions during this period, including the Birth of Christianity. The map showing the Spread of Christianity is an impressive one!
India’s Gupta Dynasty practiced religious tolerance, as did the Tang Dynasty of China, where Buddhism continued to coexist with Confucianism. By the 9th century, the Church of the East had become the LARGEST CHRISTIAN TERRITORY of its time.
Did you know that Gunpowder was “invented” in China around the 900’s? It was purely by accident and took the Chinese decades before they recognized its military potential.
History saw the Rise of Islam from 570-800 C.E. “A merchant named Muhammad received divine revelations calling him to propagate a faith of total surrender to a single God that will unify all of Arabia. His successors carried the banner of Islam into bordering territories, eventually conquering much of the Byzantine and Persian Empires.” (p. 351) Also, during this period, the first canon of the Quran is completed.
The chapter on “Africa in the Age of Faith” 400-900 C.E. was intriguing, as were the photographs and illustrations. During this period, the Coptic Church split from the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Muslim Conquest of Egypt took place, the Kingdom of Ghana ruled must of West Africa, and Shiite Muslims flew to the Maghreb, Morocco.
The information on the Crusades and Medieval History takes place next. Significant events during this time period include the death of Genghis Khan and the expansion of the Mongol Empire in 1227, as well as the Mongols capture of Baghdad and the eviction of the Caliphate in 1258.
It was wonderful to see a beautiful photograph of Notre Dame under partly cloudy skies, that was built in the 12th century, before the fire that destroyed the central spire and much of the roof over the nave three years ago (April 15, 2019).
Looking at a modern view of the circular terraces of an Inca agricultural site at Moray in the Sacred Valley of Peru was profound. We’ve come a long way since the end of the Empires of Americas period ended in 1500, but it was great to get a visual of how things worked back in the day.
The Renaissance saw the development of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 and the beginning of the frescoes for the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo in 1508. The map of the Italian Renaissance was riveting.
The Age of Exploration took place from 1500 – 1700. During this time, we saw the discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon, Hernan Cortez reaches the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Dutch explorer Jan Huygen publishes an atlas of sea routes to the East Indies and in 1620, and English colony is established in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
“The idea of an Enlightenment as an opportunity to redefine the purpose of human existence animated many philosophers and scientists. Rationalism, deism, empiricism, and the encyclopedie movement all sought to find solutions for the great questions of their time.” (p. 481)
The first Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820.
In 1858 Queen Victoria sent the first transatlantic telegraph via underseas cable.
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ending slavery in the United States in 1863. I often wonder how different Reconstruction through to around 1950 would have looked if Lincoln had not been assassinated.
“Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction.” – Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan Revolutionary Leader
In 1864, Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians were massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado.
The American Civil War was the first major conflict in which photographs captured the shocking violence of warfare.
The Age of Colonization which includes the Colonization of Africa and Asia was a riveting read and the map that details the Exploration of Africa was equally gripping. Did you know that between 1769 – 1871, there were 19 expeditions in and around Africa? The race for colonial possessions during this time is mind-boggling!
Did you know that in 1901 Cuba became a U.S. protectorate?
On April 14, 2012 – 110 years ago, this year, the Titanic, which was thought to be unsinkable, struck an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic, four days after leaving the port of Southampton.
The information about World Wars I & II was fascinating. I was especially surprised to read about the Zimmerman Telegram and what that meant for the United States just before we declared war during World War I.
I had no idea that the time between World Wars I & II was known as the Interbellum. Evidently, this was a time of great cultural activity, with Paris regaining its role as the center of art, music, and fashion. On the flip side, the Wall Street crash of 1929 put millions of workers out of work and spawned the rise of nationalist regimes in Italy, Germany, Japan, and other nations, which says so much about how World War II got started.
“I have no patience with the modern neurotic girl who jazzes from morning to night, smokes like a chimney, and uses language which would make a . . . fishwoman blush!” – Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links
Spanish Artist Salvador Dali became a popular icon of the surrealist movement between the two world wars.
World War II was the most destructive conflict in human history, spanning the globe and leaving very few nations untouched. Winston Churchill once said in his tribute to RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Looking at the photo of Hitler at the start of the chapter on World War II makes me see EVIL, pure unadulterated EVIL.
The photograph of Jewish people behind a fence during the Holocaust is heartbreaking, especially when you think about all that happened to them before and during the war.
Modern History has brought us Marilyn Monroe, the Cold War, the Age of Science and Technology, the Korean Conflict and Vietnam, the Televised War, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. We also saw people walking on the Moon, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the disintegration of Space Shuttle Columbia as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Then there was 9/11 and more war(s). And, most recently, COVID-19. Jets have gotten bigger (but the service – meals, etc. are now smaller), trains have gotten faster, cruise ships bigger & more luxurious, cars have more technology than ever before, and our phones are now “cellular” and work like mini computers!
Media continues to be on the rise and thanks to the development of the internet, almost everything is of “global proportions.”
Where do we go from here?
At the end of the book is a list of resources for Further Reading, Illustrator Credits, and an Index.
Check out this fascinating book to learn more! After all, you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
The tagline for this book is From Prehistory to Modern Times, but in reality, the majority of this book looks at Prehistory through Medieval times and although I have never been a fan of these periods, National Geographic has found a way to make even the dullest of topics, intriguing.
As you would expect, the book leads us through history chronologically. For each major time period, there is a title, time period, and a list (with page numbers) or the chapters covered in that section, i.e. Reason and Revolution 1700-1900 The Era of Enlightenment 480, The Americas in the 19th Century 500, The Age of Colonization 512.
For each chapter, there is a title, the years covered, a brief history of the given time period, a timeline of significant events, quotations, “sidebars” of information, MANY colorful photographs / illustrations, and sometimes, maps or other diagrams.
Some things that I found fascinating were:
The photograph, in silhouette, of a man moving a shallow boat on the Euphrates River in Iraq. We only see video of the war(s) that have taken place over there, but this is a beautiful and peaceful scene, taken at what appears to be sunrise.
Early Cultures in Europe (3100 – 1050 B.C.E.) During this period, Europe, including Malta, in France’s Brittany region, and throughout Britain, saw the emergence of a mysterious phenomenon: the placement of large megaliths, or giant stones, according to a particular pattern. The history goes on to describe Stonehenge and the like.
Besides the standard timeline of Egypt in the Late Bronze Age, we are also treated to a list of the Dynasties of Ancient Egypt Before the Common Era aka B.C.E. The times that will be most familiar are: the Greek Period 332-30 and the Roman Period, 30 B.C.E. – 395 C.E, which are the two most recent of the ten listed.
The most important development in the religious sphere during the Cradle of Hinduism and Buddhism period in the mostly pastoral communities in Northwest India beginning in about 1500 B.C.E. was the production of a series of texts known as the Vedas. “These Vedic texts are a collection of hymns, prayers, and rituals combining Ancient Harappan and Aryan beliefs that were first organized in a canon during the rise of the Janapadas or Indian kingdoms, beginning with the kingdom of Kur. The Vedic period, which lasted to 500 B.C.E., is a watershed moment in the history of India, for its culture would lay the basis of Hinduism at about the same time that ancient Judaism was stirring in Canaan. Today, Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, with more than a billion adherents.” (p.135)
“Although Buddhist fundamental texts ascribe many miracles and supernatural events to Buddha’s life, what is generally accepted is that Gautama was deeply affected by the suffering he witnessed among the people, and withdrew into a monastic lifestyle of yoga and meditation. This experience led to his awakening to full enlightenment at age 35 while seated under the so-called Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India.” (p. 139)
A key period in Chinese history, the Zhou Dynasty, which was part of China’s Iron Age, 1046 – 221 B.C.E., witnessed the rise of important developments in the arts, philosophy, and science, including the foundation of Taoism and the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism would become the foundation of Chinese learning and political theory. It’s interesting to note that ca 600-200s B.C.E. Chinese texts are written with brush and ink on silk, wood, and jade. Also, there is what I call a sidebar or a paragraph dedicated specifically to the subject of Chinese Architecture that I found to be very interesting.
According to a sidebar, a first Suez passage (think Suez Canal) may have originated during the reign of Pharaoh Senwosret III of the 12th Dynasty!
The Hebrew alphabet emerged around 1000 B.C.E. during the Birth of Ancient Israel. For people who think that the people and places in the bible in the abstract, you need to study this period a lot more!
During the Ancient Cultures of the Americas 1500 – 900 B.C.E., “the far-flung Mississippian trade network extended North to the Great Lakes, West to the Rocky Mountains, and South to the Gulf of Mexico.” (p. 191)
For more than two CENTURIES, the Achaemenid Dynasty [Persian Empire 540-333 B.C.E.] would rule the LARGEST EMPIRE in HISTOR, fostering an unprecedented level of PEACEFUL coexistence and commercial activity. Amazingly, the Persians built a central road network and POSTAL SYSTEM (maybe they should come back and help us with ours!) and had a high degree of religious tolerance. All in all, we could learn A LOT from this group of people!
A lot happened during the Classical Age of Greece 500-300 C.E. “From the 6th century onward, a new civilization emerged in Ancient Greece that would have a strong influence on the rest of the world, not only in Europe and Near East but also in India and other regions in East Asia.” (p. 217) During this era, the Parthenon was completed in Athens, the deaths of Euripides and Sophocles ended what is considered the great era of Greek Drama, and Socrates died by drinking hemlock. When things end, something else inevitably takes its place. In this case, this time period also saw the birth of the Modern Theater and there is a brief paragraph that describes how things changed at this time.
During the Classical Age of China, Buddhism began to penetrate China from India and the oldest known use of paper for writing took place here, as well.
The Classical Age (not to be confused with the Cultural Age) in the Americas took place from 100 B.C.E. to 900 C.E. Around 500 C.E. the Hopewell Culture FADED in the Ohio Valley. To show how far history has come, TODAY, you can visit the Hopewell burial mounds Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. This, part of my 5th grade Field Trip is well worth the visit, if you ever get an opportunity.
The section titled “The Age of Faith” [300 – 900 C.E.] discusses the rise of religions during this period, including the Birth of Christianity. The map showing the Spread of Christianity is an impressive one!
India’s Gupta Dynasty practiced religious tolerance, as did the Tang Dynasty of China, where Buddhism continued to coexist with Confucianism. By the 9th century, the Church of the East had become the LARGEST CHRISTIAN TERRITORY of its time.
Did you know that Gunpowder was “invented” in China around the 900’s? It was purely by accident and took the Chinese decades before they recognized its military potential.
History saw the Rise of Islam from 570-800 C.E. “A merchant named Muhammad received divine revelations calling him to propagate a faith of total surrender to a single God that will unify all of Arabia. His successors carried the banner of Islam into bordering territories, eventually conquering much of the Byzantine and Persian Empires.” (p. 351) Also, during this period, the first canon of the Quran is completed.
The chapter on “Africa in the Age of Faith” 400-900 C.E. was intriguing, as were the photographs and illustrations. During this period, the Coptic Church split from the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Muslim Conquest of Egypt took place, the Kingdom of Ghana ruled must of West Africa, and Shiite Muslims flew to the Maghreb, Morocco.
The information on the Crusades and Medieval History takes place next. Significant events during this time period include the death of Genghis Khan and the expansion of the Mongol Empire in 1227, as well as the Mongols capture of Baghdad and the eviction of the Caliphate in 1258.
It was wonderful to see a beautiful photograph of Notre Dame under partly cloudy skies, that was built in the 12th century, before the fire that destroyed the central spire and much of the roof over the nave three years ago (April 15, 2019).
Looking at a modern view of the circular terraces of an Inca agricultural site at Moray in the Sacred Valley of Peru was profound. We’ve come a long way since the end of the Empires of Americas period ended in 1500, but it was great to get a visual of how things worked back in the day.
The Renaissance saw the development of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 and the beginning of the frescoes for the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo in 1508. The map of the Italian Renaissance was riveting.
The Age of Exploration took place from 1500 – 1700. During this time, we saw the discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon, Hernan Cortez reaches the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Dutch explorer Jan Huygen publishes an atlas of sea routes to the East Indies and in 1620, and English colony is established in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
“The idea of an Enlightenment as an opportunity to redefine the purpose of human existence animated many philosophers and scientists. Rationalism, deism, empiricism, and the encyclopedie movement all sought to find solutions for the great questions of their time.” (p. 481)
The first Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820.
In 1858 Queen Victoria sent the first transatlantic telegraph via underseas cable.
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ending slavery in the United States in 1863. I often wonder how different Reconstruction through to around 1950 would have looked if Lincoln had not been assassinated.
“Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction.” – Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan Revolutionary Leader
In 1864, Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians were massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado.
The American Civil War was the first major conflict in which photographs captured the shocking violence of warfare.
The Age of Colonization which includes the Colonization of Africa and Asia was a riveting read and the map that details the Exploration of Africa was equally gripping. Did you know that between 1769 – 1871, there were 19 expeditions in and around Africa? The race for colonial possessions during this time is mind-boggling!
Did you know that in 1901 Cuba became a U.S. protectorate?
On April 14, 2012 – 110 years ago, this year, the Titanic, which was thought to be unsinkable, struck an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic, four days after leaving the port of Southampton.
The information about World Wars I & II was fascinating. I was especially surprised to read about the Zimmerman Telegram and what that meant for the United States just before we declared war during World War I.
I had no idea that the time between World Wars I & II was known as the Interbellum. Evidently, this was a time of great cultural activity, with Paris regaining its role as the center of art, music, and fashion. On the flip side, the Wall Street crash of 1929 put millions of workers out of work and spawned the rise of nationalist regimes in Italy, Germany, Japan, and other nations, which says so much about how World War II got started.
“I have no patience with the modern neurotic girl who jazzes from morning to night, smokes like a chimney, and uses language which would make a . . . fishwoman blush!” – Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links
Spanish Artist Salvador Dali became a popular icon of the surrealist movement between the two world wars.
World War II was the most destructive conflict in human history, spanning the globe and leaving very few nations untouched. Winston Churchill once said in his tribute to RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Looking at the photo of Hitler at the start of the chapter on World War II makes me see EVIL, pure unadulterated EVIL.
The photograph of Jewish people behind a fence during the Holocaust is heartbreaking, especially when you think about all that happened to them before and during the war.
Modern History has brought us Marilyn Monroe, the Cold War, the Age of Science and Technology, the Korean Conflict and Vietnam, the Televised War, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. We also saw people walking on the Moon, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the disintegration of Space Shuttle Columbia as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Then there was 9/11 and more war(s). And, most recently, COVID-19. Jets have gotten bigger (but the service – meals, etc. are now smaller), trains have gotten faster, cruise ships bigger & more luxurious, cars have more technology than ever before, and our phones are now “cellular” and work like mini computers!
Media continues to be on the rise and thanks to the development of the internet, almost everything is of “global proportions.”
Where do we go from here?
At the end of the book is a list of resources for Further Reading, Illustrator Credits, and an Index.
Check out this fascinating book to learn more! After all, you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
November 4, 2021
“This book is truly a story of our species – and how, against incredible odds, despite innumerable disasters and catastrophic conflicts, humans found a way to survive, and thrive.”
Are you looking for a Christmas gift for the history lover in your family? You may have found it in National Geographic’s new publication, Ultimate Visual History of the World: The Story of Humankind from Prehistory to Modern Times. I love history as does my husband and sons. I let my sons preview this book and they really loved the high-quality illustrations.
The book is coffee table book size and has beautiful glossy paper and pictures. It starts with the dawn of humankind and ends with today’s COVID crisis. The book is split into ten chapters as follows: Dawn of Humankind, Cultures of the Bronze Age, Cultures of the Iron Age, The Classical Age, The Age of Faith, The Age of Conflict, The Age of Discovery, Reason and Revolution, The World at War, and The Modern Age. There is a great introduction and epilogue that rounds out the book. There are also great maps to illustration ideas such as human migration or the spread of Christianity. Each chapter has notable dates during that time period and cut outs with interesting facts. The end of this book also has a great section for further reading if you want to deep dive into any of the sections. It’s a really fun and interesting book to peruse.
My favorite part about this book is that it dives into history from ALL around the world. I like this description from the introduction, “It is a story told across the full canvas of human civilization, from Asia to Africa, from Europe to the Pacific, and from the Middle East – the birthplace of human civilization – to the Americas. It is an exciting story, filled with the rise and fall of dynasties and empires, the drama of wars and conflict, the stunning impact of new discovers, the heroic deeds of men and women and, above all, the power of ideas.” I feel like what I learned in school was primarily focused on United States and European history. I’m still trying to learn more about the history of the broader world.
Overall, Ultimate Visual History of the World is a beautiful and interesting book for history lovers and those that would like to learn more about world history.
Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group for being a part of the TLC Book Tour. Thank-you!
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2021...
Are you looking for a Christmas gift for the history lover in your family? You may have found it in National Geographic’s new publication, Ultimate Visual History of the World: The Story of Humankind from Prehistory to Modern Times. I love history as does my husband and sons. I let my sons preview this book and they really loved the high-quality illustrations.
The book is coffee table book size and has beautiful glossy paper and pictures. It starts with the dawn of humankind and ends with today’s COVID crisis. The book is split into ten chapters as follows: Dawn of Humankind, Cultures of the Bronze Age, Cultures of the Iron Age, The Classical Age, The Age of Faith, The Age of Conflict, The Age of Discovery, Reason and Revolution, The World at War, and The Modern Age. There is a great introduction and epilogue that rounds out the book. There are also great maps to illustration ideas such as human migration or the spread of Christianity. Each chapter has notable dates during that time period and cut outs with interesting facts. The end of this book also has a great section for further reading if you want to deep dive into any of the sections. It’s a really fun and interesting book to peruse.
My favorite part about this book is that it dives into history from ALL around the world. I like this description from the introduction, “It is a story told across the full canvas of human civilization, from Asia to Africa, from Europe to the Pacific, and from the Middle East – the birthplace of human civilization – to the Americas. It is an exciting story, filled with the rise and fall of dynasties and empires, the drama of wars and conflict, the stunning impact of new discovers, the heroic deeds of men and women and, above all, the power of ideas.” I feel like what I learned in school was primarily focused on United States and European history. I’m still trying to learn more about the history of the broader world.
Overall, Ultimate Visual History of the World is a beautiful and interesting book for history lovers and those that would like to learn more about world history.
Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group for being a part of the TLC Book Tour. Thank-you!
This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2021...
October 26, 2021
This gorgeous volume explores not only the evolution and spread of civilization, but how various cultures influenced and interacted with one another. The photographs and images enhanced the narrative of humanity. Paintings, artifacts, maps, ruins, and all matter of antiquity lent to the rich history presented here. From the earliest agricultural settlements in the middle east through two world wars and beyond, this enormous* book documents mankind’s greatest achievements alongside its most detrimental decisions. I love history, and I’m pretty well-read from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, so I really enjoyed exploring the eras that preceded the 15th century. It’s a beautiful book.
*Unrelated to content, the publisher packaged this book poorly and the dust jacket was damaged. The book itself is so large and unwieldy, when I accidentally dropped it, the book separated from its adjoining endpapers and the cover ripped off.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via TLC Book Tours.
*Unrelated to content, the publisher packaged this book poorly and the dust jacket was damaged. The book itself is so large and unwieldy, when I accidentally dropped it, the book separated from its adjoining endpapers and the cover ripped off.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via TLC Book Tours.
December 8, 2024
This book should have been titled Ultimate Christian History of the World. What a disappointment.
The good: this book contains many beautiful photographs, and does say that Watson and Crick stole Roseland Franklin’s research. That’s about it.
The bad: this is the most euro-centric, Christian history book I’ve read. Which is saying a lot. I’ve never been more keenly aware I was reading a book written by a white European Christian man. Here’s a list of some of my grievances in order of appearance.
1. There isn’t a single mention in the main text of a real woman (not a diety or mythological character) for nearly 300 pages. The Thutmoses are discussed but not Hatshepsut. It’s as if women didn’t exist for the first thousand years of humanity.
2. Egypt is not discussed to talk about the 3,000 years of Egyptian culture or art or architecture or history until Hellenistic times. What is Egypt used to discuss? The Bible and biblical characters. We don’t get a single paragraph of Egyptian history without a biblical reference until the Ptolomies.
3. Maybe this one is minor, but in the Old Kingdom section almost all the artifacts shown are in fact New Kingdom artifacts.
4. Many times when talking about the ancient Near East the phrase “although many historians/archaeologists disagree, the Bible says” is used. That is no longer history, and is in fact myth.
5. The violence, murder, and destruction during the Crusades is celebrated.
6. While we get decade by decade blow by blows of Europe post the fall of the Roman Empire, multiple dynasties of China are squished into three paragraphs.
7. Post the arrival of European colonists in the Americas, there is no mention of Indigenous people.
8. Sub Saharan Africa pretty much doesn’t exist in this book until 1960.
9. Although very strongly condemning the opium trade, never does the author condemn slavery or colonialism, and he goes as far as to say that the British Raj was a good thing.
10. Oregon was only a “free state” because Black people weren’t allowed to live there.
11. Very minor, but on page 540 all of the colors on the legend of the map are wrong.
12. Although we get a blow by blow of the military campaigns of World War II, there are only two sentences that discuss the holocaust. “When millions of Jews perished in concentration camps” being one of them. No real numbers, no talk of the horrors that happened in the camps, one photo of the victims. I think we could’ve taken one of the full page photos of Hitler and talked about the genocide he committed.
13. There’s only a single paragraph about the Civil Rights movement that does nothing to summarize it or what people were fighting for.
14. Of course, it goes without saying that the book is pro-Israel and doesn’t mention the Nakba.
Do not read this book.
The good: this book contains many beautiful photographs, and does say that Watson and Crick stole Roseland Franklin’s research. That’s about it.
The bad: this is the most euro-centric, Christian history book I’ve read. Which is saying a lot. I’ve never been more keenly aware I was reading a book written by a white European Christian man. Here’s a list of some of my grievances in order of appearance.
1. There isn’t a single mention in the main text of a real woman (not a diety or mythological character) for nearly 300 pages. The Thutmoses are discussed but not Hatshepsut. It’s as if women didn’t exist for the first thousand years of humanity.
2. Egypt is not discussed to talk about the 3,000 years of Egyptian culture or art or architecture or history until Hellenistic times. What is Egypt used to discuss? The Bible and biblical characters. We don’t get a single paragraph of Egyptian history without a biblical reference until the Ptolomies.
3. Maybe this one is minor, but in the Old Kingdom section almost all the artifacts shown are in fact New Kingdom artifacts.
4. Many times when talking about the ancient Near East the phrase “although many historians/archaeologists disagree, the Bible says” is used. That is no longer history, and is in fact myth.
5. The violence, murder, and destruction during the Crusades is celebrated.
6. While we get decade by decade blow by blows of Europe post the fall of the Roman Empire, multiple dynasties of China are squished into three paragraphs.
7. Post the arrival of European colonists in the Americas, there is no mention of Indigenous people.
8. Sub Saharan Africa pretty much doesn’t exist in this book until 1960.
9. Although very strongly condemning the opium trade, never does the author condemn slavery or colonialism, and he goes as far as to say that the British Raj was a good thing.
10. Oregon was only a “free state” because Black people weren’t allowed to live there.
11. Very minor, but on page 540 all of the colors on the legend of the map are wrong.
12. Although we get a blow by blow of the military campaigns of World War II, there are only two sentences that discuss the holocaust. “When millions of Jews perished in concentration camps” being one of them. No real numbers, no talk of the horrors that happened in the camps, one photo of the victims. I think we could’ve taken one of the full page photos of Hitler and talked about the genocide he committed.
13. There’s only a single paragraph about the Civil Rights movement that does nothing to summarize it or what people were fighting for.
14. Of course, it goes without saying that the book is pro-Israel and doesn’t mention the Nakba.
Do not read this book.
December 15, 2023
Sure, a great coffee table book. I checked it out from the new book section in the public library. Perused it. But I did find some editing issues. On page 623:
According to https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/... , the Jewish population was 630,000 in 1947. But maybe that sentence is intended to mean in 1918.
And on page 609:
No, COBOL and FORTRAN are high-level languages.
"In 1947, the newly formed United Nations voted for a plan, known as Resolution 181, whereby the former Ottoman Province of Palestine, governed as a British Mandate since the Great War, would be partitioned into Jewish and Arab state. At the time, Palestine was populated by 56,000 Jews an 644,000 Arabs...."
According to https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/... , the Jewish population was 630,000 in 1947. But maybe that sentence is intended to mean in 1918.
And on page 609:
"Large mainframe computers such as these could be operated only with a special binary programming language, such as COBOL or FORTRAN."
No, COBOL and FORTRAN are high-level languages.
April 11, 2024
Our current after-dinner reading. Frustratingly Euro- and Judeochristian-centric, for this day and age. We did not need so many details about the decorative details of the temple in Jerusalem, the life of Jesus, and the life of Martin Luther. They take up way too much space in a book that's supposed to cover the entire scope of human history. The index also leaves something to be desired. Areg was, of course, interested to know if Armenia gets any mentions at all. There are two listed in the index, but we've found two mentions that aren't listed there.
Still, overall it's beautiful and informative.
Still, overall it's beautiful and informative.
October 27, 2021
Comprehensive and fascinating. A must staple for anyone.
May 26, 2025
There is definitely a lot of valuable information in this book, which is about the only reason I'm giving this book 3 stars instead of fewer. Unfortunately book is told from a painfully white, Christian, Western European, and male perspective. It's the most obvious with what he chose to gloss over or leave out all together. To be fair it could just be chalked up to only having so much room to fit in so many important events. That might explain some of it, but even so, there were a few instances that felt very deliberate to me.
There are too many examples for me to list them all, but the one that stands out to me is in the section on WWII: the genocide of 6 million Jewish people is relegated to a blurb, of about two paragraphs. That's right, not even part of the main text, just a blurb. Not only that, but seemingly the only reason the author even deigned to bring it up was just to make the Catholic church look good. You'd think an atrocity of such magnitude would warrant more than just a paragraph or two, but not to this guy, apparently. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I understand that there is not such thing as an unbiased history book, it's just the particular bias in this left me feeling uncomfortable and even pissed off several times. I wish I could've enjoyed this book more, but I'm the kind of person who can't get past these sorts of things. If you are that kind of person, you will probably have a better time with it.
There are too many examples for me to list them all, but the one that stands out to me is in the section on WWII: the genocide of 6 million Jewish people is relegated to a blurb, of about two paragraphs. That's right, not even part of the main text, just a blurb. Not only that, but seemingly the only reason the author even deigned to bring it up was just to make the Catholic church look good. You'd think an atrocity of such magnitude would warrant more than just a paragraph or two, but not to this guy, apparently. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I understand that there is not such thing as an unbiased history book, it's just the particular bias in this left me feeling uncomfortable and even pissed off several times. I wish I could've enjoyed this book more, but I'm the kind of person who can't get past these sorts of things. If you are that kind of person, you will probably have a better time with it.
October 5, 2025
I appreciated the comprehensive and high view look of world history in this beautiful. I felt that history was told well and the hearts were not kept out of anyone’s past. The side stories were fun and interesting to break up the larger stories, and I felt that the book gave her a great peek into some very important stories that can easily be of interest to the reader to delve into. And of course, the pictures were gorgeous and a great additive to the history that was being told. Overall, I appreciate the work on this book and look forward to opening it again in the future and looking into more depth on some of the history that was told.
November 8, 2021
This is a richly illustrated & epic memorable book that tells the story of humankind. It feels like walking through the Smithsonian history museums. Captivating, expansive, & immersive. Readers will experience the beginnings of humans and travel through the ancient world, lost cities and civilizations and into the present day. It does not read like a history book, instead the descriptive narrative brings the reader right into the pages and bringing the imagery to life. Truly a mesmerizing masterpiece.
May 25, 2022
Well laid out with highlights and key people / art of the time but it is overwhelmingly focused on colonial history and I abandoned it when it got super deep into modern European political history. I also would have loved more maps.
September 10, 2022
Amazing! I was lost in the pages of this book for days.
June 4, 2024
Wow. What garbage. Pictures were pretty, but the text is barf.
September 7, 2025
Stunning imagery which begs to be saved for future generations
May 3, 2024
As a history lover, I recently got this book to educate myself more. Even though the description online said it was a good coffee table book, I have no intentions of using it as decoration. This book had amazing photos and the author did a great job writing it. This is the first National Geographic Book I have got and I know it will not be my last. I recommend this book to any history lover and please don't use this as a coffee table book. It is too good of a read for decoration!
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