The Penguin Atlas of Modern History : to 1815

by Colin McEvedy

In The Penguin Atlas of Modern History , Colin McEvedy has compiled an absorbing source of reference to the major developments of modern history from 1483 to 1815. Nearly forty maps and a detailed commentary follow the voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and Cook, the ebb of power from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard, and the protracted European struggle for control of a vastly new money economy.

Genres: History, Atlases, Reference, Maps, Nonfiction, European History

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1973

About the author

Colin Peter McEvedy was a British polymath scholar, psychiatrist, historian, demographer and non-fiction author.

Reviews

[Ray LaManna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good companion to my reading the history of the Mediterranean Sea...give geographical, historical and demographic data for each period.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tougher read than the previous atlases, Europe sure becomes a mess of disputed territory. In this basic and generalized account it is hard to keep track of all the kings and queens and trading of land after every war, and the chapters about population growth and currency are a flurry of numbers that I could not retain for the life of me. However on this first pass I feel like I understand the development of modern Europe a lot better than I did before opening the book.

What I love most about these atlases, aside from the inappropriate humor, is that it shows how each part of the world was connected to each other, so instead of reading about one single country and its developing culture, you can see all of Europe (and in a few maps, the world) as a teeming mass of interacting cultures and how they affected one another. I now understand why Spain and Portugal lost their might as world powers (I guess those economy-based chapters were retainable) and how Napoleon's campaign affected the New World colonies.

Gee...there was a lot going on back then. I look forward to using this as a basis and a reference for many more history books on my to-read list.

[Özgür Göksu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarihe meraklı okurlar için müthiş bir kaynak. Her entellektüelin kütüphanesinde arada bakıp göz gezdirmesi gereken çok önemli bir eser.

[Mark Mollineaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

This format of historical atlas absolutely hooks me. McEvedy is breezy and lucid and interesting throughout. I may quibble how he seems to view the endless pointless wars of Europe less as a perpetual travesty, and more of a fun series of sporting matches. One imagines a schoolboy and so many tin soldiers while reading, but one can't deny the appeal of the book's final form.

[Hein Matthew Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pithy, opinionated, and well-designed.
Pages 66-67 on the American Revolution are particularly charming.

A pithy history, focusing on borders, battles, and diplomacy. The opposite of “a people’s history,” lacking empathy or details of everyday life, it also underestimates the value of colonies and slaves. Still, a reliable and digestible realpolitik history of Western Europe

[Gonzalo Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of Modern History in kind and entertaining wods.

[Mike Stone, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Compact Historical Atlas

Like all McEvedy's atlases this is a really handy reference work for anyone interested in the period (1483-1815) or who has a kid studying the period at school. It packs a gallon of information into a pint pot.

Inevitably each page is a capsule summary, so he couldn't include everything. My main quibble would be about the page on 1634, where he mentions (correctly) that German Protestant princes initially did not welcome Gustavus Adolphus, but omits the sack of Magdeburg which galvanised them into changing their minds. However this book gives outlines rather than detailed accounts so anyone interested enough to seek more details will have no trouble finding them. If you're into history, grab it.