Vividly written and beautifully illustrated, A Short History of the World brings the outstanding breadth of scholarship and international scope of the larger History of the World within the grasp of every home, school, and library. Completely up-to-date and comprehensive yet succinct, it accompanies readers on a journey from the first appearance of the species Homo sapiens up to the bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia and the latest chapter in the exploration of space. Surveying the major events, developments, and personalities that have shaped the civilizations of the world, from the arts, politics, and religion to scientific and technical breakthroughs. Throughout, he brilliantly tells the story of the growing power of humans to remake their world and control their own destiny. Effortlessly drawing together the great themes of civilization with details from everyday life, he brings readers face to face with the exciting, dramatic, often tragic story that is the history of the world.
Editorial Review(s)
"[A] landmark book." --The Christian Science Monitor
"Epic, yet readable." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"Roberts provides a scholarly examination representing a one-volume survey of the major events of the past." --The Bookwatch
"Roberts is wise as well as witty....Anyone who wants an outline graps of history, the core of all subjects, can grasp it here." --The Economist
About the Author
J.M. Roberts was, until his retirement in 1994, Warden of Merton College, Oxford University. He is author of the half million word History of the World and general editor of The Short Oxford History of the Modern World and The New Oxford History of England.
