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A little history of the world
284 pages
A warm, fireside chat that compresses the entire human epic into a deeply humane and accessible story.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting by a crackling fire with a wise, gentle grandfather who happens to know everything about the human past. It moves at a brisk, engaging clip, sweeping you through millennia without ever bogging down in dry dates or academic jargon. The mood is wondrous and cozy, yet it never shies away from the darker chapters of our shared story, treating human frailties with a profound, quiet empathy. The prose is remarkably lucid and conversational, designed to spark curiosity rather than test your memory. It is a delight for older children discovering the world's vastness for the first time, and equally enchanting for adults seeking a comforting, big-picture reminder of our collective journey.
- Mood
- cozy
- wondrous
- reflective
- illuminating
- Tone
- conversational
- grandfatherly
- earnest
- humane
- gentle
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the sweep of time · human triumph and frailty · interconnectedness of civilizations · the power of curiosity · the march of progress
- The writing
- Warm, lucid, and unpretentious, reading exactly like a story told aloud by a wise and patient elder.
- The arc
- Begins with wide-eyed wonder at the dawn of civilization and matures into a thoughtful, slightly melancholic reflection on modern history.
- Who it's for
- Curious readers of all ages who want to feel the grand narrative of human history rather than memorize its dates.
Content notes
- historical warfare
- mentions of genocide
- human cruelty
About the book
In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited by a publishing acquaintance to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in an intense six weeks, and Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser was published in Vienna to immediate success, and is now available in seventeen languages across the world.
Toward the end of his long life, Gombrich embarked upon a revision and, at last, an English translation. A Little History of the World presents his lively and involving history to English-language readers for the first time. Superbly designed and freshly illustrated, this is a book to be savored and collected. In forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colorful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind’s experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity’s achievements and an acute witness to its frailties.
The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history.
Description from Open Library.
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