Back Cover Blurb
- A new approach to world history from an international standpoint
- A complete history of the world, from the beginnings of life to the present day
- Explains the main events in world history, continent by continent, year by year
- Contains 20 fully-illustrated time-charts that show contemporary events across the world
- More than 1,500 full-colour photographs, specially commissioned artworks, and maps bring history vividly to life
- Written by an acknowledged expert in world history, supported by an international team of historians
- Includes a 15-page fully illustrated reference section and glossary, and a comprehensive index
Author’s Foreword
- The world is nearly six billion years old. Yet the story of people like us, Homo sapiens sapiens, or modern humans, who have existed for only about 100,000 years, takes up nearly the whole of this book. This is because we are looking not at geological movements and prehistoric beasts of skyscraper height, but at the development of our own species from inarticulate savages to sophisticated technicians.
- There are several ways of looking at our history. We can see it as a dreary record of attempts by big, strong peoples to dominate smaller ones, or as an account of groups of humans solving problems - political, social, and economic - in similar ways.
- When you have read this book, perhaps you will develop your own theories. Of all animals, only humans control their environment and development. Yet how far have we advanced? We can explore space and split the atom, but we still have widespread slavery, racial discrimination, and injustice. Despite thousands of years of war, we have only just begun to see that there are other ways to resolve conflicts.
- Some recent examples are enormously encouraging. It is for the next generation to multiply these efforts and make them work by knowing a little more about how and why earlier peoples found it so difficult.
Editors’ Note
- The book is divided into five regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania (Australasia, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific islands). Russia is seen as a part of Europe and, with its empire, becomes the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991.
- For the sake of clarity, the modern names of countries, cities, rivers, and other geographical features have generally been used, both in the text and on the maps, large and small. Where the old names are more appropriate, however, they have been retained, notably in colonial contexts, as have particular names, such as Persia, which are especially well known.
- On the small maps, which focus on specific areas, a flexible policy has been adopted to help the reader. For example, occasionally, as in the cases of Germany and Italy, countries may be referred to as one entity before unification has occurred. The pinyin spelling is used for most Chinese names, but other spellings have been kept where they have become generally accepted. As far as people’s names are concerned, English versions (such as William for Wilhelm) are used throughout the book. Where dates are given in brackets after a person’s name they are birth and death dates, except in the cases of certain monarchs whose reign dates seemed more relevant to the passage.
- Measurements, such as heights of pyramids or distances of conquests, are given in metric, with imperial measurements in brackets afterwards. On first mention, foreign words and titles are given generally in inverted commas, followed by a brief explanation or translation in English.
Contents
- 570 MYA – 40,000 BC: Introduction To Human History – 9
- 40,000 – 5000 BC: Early People – 19
- 5000 –1200 BC: The First Civilizations – 31
- 1200 – 500 BC: Traders And Warriors – 49
- 500 BC – AD 1: The Growth Of Empires – 65
- AD 1 – 400: The Decline Of The Ancient World – 81
- 400 – 800: Religious Worlds – 97
- 800 – 1000: New Nations – 117
- 1000 – 1200: Monks And Invaders – 131
- 1200 – 1400: Conquest And Plague – 147
- 1400 – 1500: The Expansion of Knowledge – 163
- 1500 – 1600: The Great Rulers – 183
- 1600 – 1700: Commerce And Colonies – 201
- 1700 – 1750: The Age Of Enquiry – 217
- 1750 – 1800: The Age Of Revolution – 233
- 1800 – 1850: Independence And Industry – 251
- 1850 – 1900: The Rise Of Nationalism – 271
- 1900 – 1919: The World Goes To War – 289
- 1919 – 1946: Peace And War – 309
- 1946 - 1990s: One World – 335
References – 357
Glossary – 370
Index – 372
Acknowledgments – 384
Book Comment
Dorling Kindersley, 1994. Hardback.
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2026
- Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)