What do you think?
Rate this book
Written in Blood: A Brief History of Civilisation
Asking provocative questions about what constitutes a civilization and how human societies began, this journey through thousands of years of history is packed with entertaining true stories and lurid tales about the origins of culture. Clever, offbeat commentary is provided with humorous cartoons that poke fun at some of the most important events in human history.
- GenresHistory
216 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
18 people want to read
About the author
Beverley MacDonald
7 books3 followersBeverley MacDonald grew up in a lot of small towns in Victoria, Australia: Nar Nar Goon, Morwell, Mildura, Murtoa, Rye and Corryong. Her father was a school teacher and they moved around a lot, experiencing the heat of the Mallee and the cold of the Snowy Mountains.
School was not a favorite past time of Beverley’s, which worried her parents. She liked reading instead. She once read the entire contents of the library so that the librarian would allow her to pick books from the adult section. She never imagined she would become a writer because, when she was growing up, girls did not do that kind of thing. Luckily, times have changed.
Beverley started writing because, she said, “[I] always loved to read, and spent a lot of time at school day-dreaming and making up stories in my head when I really should have been paying attention. Eventually, I decided I should write these stories down; it's a lot harder to do than you think.”
Now, many years later, Beverley writes fiction and non-fiction for children and teenagers, as well as fiction for adults. She still likes to read and is interested in everything from Roman history to quantum physics—she is also very good at Trivial Pursuit.
A whole string of great authors have made her laugh and cry. They’ve shocked and surprised her, explained things in a way she could understand, showed her worlds and people she never knew existed, kept her spellbound and made her stay up very late at night, reading under the bedcovers just to finish the story because she couldn't bear to put the book down.
Beverley can still remember reading John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids and thinking, “Hello, this guy thinks about really weird stuff.” He made anything seem possible and made her daydreams look tame in comparison; she was absolutely enthralled by his book.
“The best thing about being a writer is the writing. It’s the actual sitting down and making up stuff in your head and getting the words right and doing some more thinking and some more rewriting until you've got a great story. It's the process of creating something. It's actually a bit sad when you finish and you're not quite sure what to do with yourself because you've been living and thinking about the story just about every day for years.”
If she weren’t a writer, she would change professions every month or so—fishing captain, police detective, soap opera star, or lace-maker. “Work is just an excuse to listen, observe and learn about people, places and new situations so that you can write about them.”
Beverley currently lives in a chaotic household in Melbourne, Australia, with her partner, children, and various animals.
School was not a favorite past time of Beverley’s, which worried her parents. She liked reading instead. She once read the entire contents of the library so that the librarian would allow her to pick books from the adult section. She never imagined she would become a writer because, when she was growing up, girls did not do that kind of thing. Luckily, times have changed.
Beverley started writing because, she said, “[I] always loved to read, and spent a lot of time at school day-dreaming and making up stories in my head when I really should have been paying attention. Eventually, I decided I should write these stories down; it's a lot harder to do than you think.”
Now, many years later, Beverley writes fiction and non-fiction for children and teenagers, as well as fiction for adults. She still likes to read and is interested in everything from Roman history to quantum physics—she is also very good at Trivial Pursuit.
A whole string of great authors have made her laugh and cry. They’ve shocked and surprised her, explained things in a way she could understand, showed her worlds and people she never knew existed, kept her spellbound and made her stay up very late at night, reading under the bedcovers just to finish the story because she couldn't bear to put the book down.
Beverley can still remember reading John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids and thinking, “Hello, this guy thinks about really weird stuff.” He made anything seem possible and made her daydreams look tame in comparison; she was absolutely enthralled by his book.
“The best thing about being a writer is the writing. It’s the actual sitting down and making up stuff in your head and getting the words right and doing some more thinking and some more rewriting until you've got a great story. It's the process of creating something. It's actually a bit sad when you finish and you're not quite sure what to do with yourself because you've been living and thinking about the story just about every day for years.”
If she weren’t a writer, she would change professions every month or so—fishing captain, police detective, soap opera star, or lace-maker. “Work is just an excuse to listen, observe and learn about people, places and new situations so that you can write about them.”
Beverley currently lives in a chaotic household in Melbourne, Australia, with her partner, children, and various animals.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 25, 2014
I love the idea behind this book. TO WIDEN THE PERSPECTIVE of history and the world-view.
There should be LOTS more books like this one.
BUT,
despite having a great purpose, the book itself LACKS order. Intersting subjects and events are thrown in like a hodgepodge of things in your pantry.
I would like to see more relevant subjects, and especially LESS of totally unimportant anecdotes.
Still, for kids it is a good read.
There should be LOTS more books like this one.
BUT,
despite having a great purpose, the book itself LACKS order. Intersting subjects and events are thrown in like a hodgepodge of things in your pantry.
I would like to see more relevant subjects, and especially LESS of totally unimportant anecdotes.
Still, for kids it is a good read.
September 14, 2007
The best non-fiction book (for teenagers) EVER.
Raises interesting points on human nature (why are people heroes/villans, what is civilised etc) also contains funny cartoons and stories for a break from all these "difficult" ideas.
Outclasses horrible histories by miles.
Raises interesting points on human nature (why are people heroes/villans, what is civilised etc) also contains funny cartoons and stories for a break from all these "difficult" ideas.
Outclasses horrible histories by miles.
August 11, 2011
Good for kids... had to check it before giving it as a gift.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews