The Story of Mankind

Dec 02, 2008 Antof9 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-the-newberys, 2008-read, unfulfilling

I have finished The Book. Mr. van Loon's Narcoleptic Affect (thanks for that, Jen) notwithstanding, I enjoyed it. Seriously, I have never in my life fallen asleep reading a book as many times as I did this one. I lost count, but am pretty sure it was upwards of 10.

That said, I marked a TON of things I wanted to refer back to. We'll see how many make it into this review. Of course, my first thought, about 30 pages into this book was, "exactly who was this book written for?" A bunch of scholars wh...more I have finished The Book. Mr. van Loon's Narcoleptic Affect (thanks for that, Jen) notwithstanding, I enjoyed it. Seriously, I have never in my life fallen asleep reading a book as many times as I did this one. I lost count, but am pretty sure it was upwards of 10.

That said, I marked a TON of things I wanted to refer back to. We'll see how many make it into this review. Of course, my first thought, about 30 pages into this book was, "exactly who was this book written for?" A bunch of scholars who thought it a brilliant book for their junior high students to read, or the students themselves? I'm pretty sure no students actually read and enjoyed this. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. I, however, thought his dry sense of humor rather charming, and his gift for understatement had me chuckling often (in between naps, of course).

Of course the first thing I must mention was the dead chicken passage: And then one evening a dead chicken fell into the fire. It was not rescued until it had been well roasted. Man discovered that meat tasted better when cooked and he then and there discarded one of the old habits which he had shared with the other animals and began to prepare his food. LOL when I read that! If it was dead, how did it fall?! Was it dropped? Did it fall in and then die? I was giggling at that for quite a while.

I loved the explanation of the things placed in an Egyptian grave: ... the body was surrounded by pieces of furniture and musical instruments (to while away the dreary hours of waiting) and by little statues of cooks and bakers and barbers (that the occupant of this dark home might be decently provided with food and need not go about unshaven).

You think van Loon isn't understated? How about this description "they were very ill-mannered" in describing "They lived like pigs and threw the bodies of their enemies to the wild dogs who guarded their sheep."

I LOVED the description of how "Draconian laws" became ... well, "draconian". And of course, it was fun to come to the part about Leonidas, as 300 is a very popular movie in my house lately.

And then in the fall of Rome, we come across "The rich people had been thrown out of their villas which were now inhabited by evil-smelling and hairy barbarians." Seriously, how can you not giggle at this historical account? Actually, perhaps he asks the question better himself -- right after the year 1066 when "the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England." He asks, "Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?" Why, indeed.

Because a kid reading this might wonder, he addresses things like the weather -- "Henry, dressed as a penitent pilgrim (but with a warm sweater underneath his monkish garb), wait[ing] outside the gates of the castle of Canossa."

I learned a lot in this book. For example, Gutenberg of the printing press was really Johann zum Gänsefleisch. You don't hear that in a normal history class! Something else you don't normally hear in history class: don't study; just listen to a song!

[about Napolean]:  ... if you want an explanation of this strange career, if you really wish to know how one man could possibly rule so many people for so many years by the sheer force of his will, do not read the books that have been written about him.  Their authors either hated the Emporer or loved him.  You will learn many facts, but it is more important to "feel history" than to know it.  Don't read, but wait until you have a chance to hear a good artist sing the song called The Two Grenadiers.  The words were written by Heine, the great German poet who lived through the Napoleonic era.  The music was composed by Schumann, a German, who saw the Emperor, the enemy of his country, whenever he came to visit his imperial father-in-law.  The song therefore is the work of two men who had every reason to hate the tyrant.

Go and hear it.  Then you will understand what a thousand volumes could not possibly tell you.

Almost last, I loved this part of "The Age of the Engine", partly because I have a friend who works in the U.S. patent office: In Washington, the story is told of a director of the Patent Office who in the early thirties of the last century suggested that the Patent Office be abolished, because "everything that possibly could be invented had been invented." Well, that made me giggle, anyway.

And last, I have to say that I enjoyed his defense of why he did or didn't include things that people might ask about. "I'm not writing a history of America," he'd say. How very plain-spoken and Dutch of him :)

So. I've read the first of the Newbery-award-winning books. Now for 1923-current!(less)

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May 29, 2013 Anita rated it 4 of 5 stars

I might be a little crazy, but I would like to try to read all the Newbery Medal winning books. There are over 90. I have already read several, but I decided to start at the first medal book for this journey. I think it is cool that it is a non-fiction book about history. Seeing it was written in 1921, I knew it would only take me to about WW1. What sold me on this book was that it covers the history of man, but in 300 plus pages.

I teach where we read a couple of volumes of The Story of the Wor...more I might be a little crazy, but I would like to try to read all the Newbery Medal winning books. There are over 90. I have already read several, but I decided to start at the first medal book for this journey. I think it is cool that it is a non-fiction book about history. Seeing it was written in 1921, I knew it would only take me to about WW1. What sold me on this book was that it covers the history of man, but in 300 plus pages.

I teach where we read a couple of volumes of The Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer. Bauer has undertaken writing history for those interested in a classical education. It takes her about 4 volumes to get to the end of the USSR. I have tried reading her books and listening to them. Some chapters are pretty good and some just drag. So I thought the van Loon book would be perfect...a short synopsis in one volume. Oh, it was quite fun to read. His writing style pulled me into the moment without dragging most of the time. Quite delightful.

I must say, however, that since Bauer is a Christian she interprets history differently and records priorities differently. Van Loon, an evolutionist, starts off with life evolving into apelike beings who start to talk to each other. But other than his personal views, once we got to humans, I felt he was fair in discussing religion throughout history.

Van Loon does stop and talk to the audience every once in a while...and this was strange compared to current writing styles. His aim in part was to inspire questions and interest in the development of mostly western civilization in a younger reader who might then read more about that period by actual historians. He kept saying that he included a book list, but I did not find it in the Kindle edition. Nor were the pictures there. Too bad, since this was a big part of the books purpose...to develop further inquiry.

Overall I really, really liked the book. It made me think about human development and the struggles people have had. Some might complain that he skipped too much. But he was trying to just move quickly from the start of man to WW1...only covering events and people who significantly impacted the world. And if he were to write it today, I'm sure he would write other countries and cultures in because the world has changed so dramatically since WW1. I actually did find myself looking online for more information about some of the periods or people mentioned in his book. And I suppose this means he was successful in inspiring my curiosity about history. I would recommend this book to anyone.(less)

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May 25, 2013 Aliya rated it 2 of 5 stars

The scope and breadth of this book is enormous, and kudos to Loon for attempting such a writing. He covers history from the caveman to 1921, geared towards a young audience, and that is no mean feat.

Loon's writeup for a 21st century non-white, reader like me is more of an account of the 20th century orientalist worldview, than history itself. Thus this is a puzzling book, which I find fascinating at times, and at other times deliberately misleading.

The book is appallingly politically incorrect a...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Peter rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: newberys

The Story of Mankind heroically attempts to tell the history of the human race from caveman times to 1922, that being "the present". It succeeds in telling the history of white people, sort of, with a strong anti-religion skew.

I had high hopes of this book, because it was acclaimed the first Newbery winner by 163 librarians and has remained in print ever since, being repeatedly updated with chapters on the end - my library's 1980s edition finished with "Looking Toward the Year 2000". And the wri...more The Story of Mankind heroically attempts to tell the history of the human race from caveman times to 1922, that being "the present". It succeeds in telling the history of white people, sort of, with a strong anti-religion skew.

I had high hopes of this book, because it was acclaimed the first Newbery winner by 163 librarians and has remained in print ever since, being repeatedly updated with chapters on the end - my library's 1980s edition finished with "Looking Toward the Year 2000". And the writing quality is really, really fabulous; if nothing else, I recommend opening the Gutenberg version and reading the author's preface for a large dose of gorgeousness.

But that does not excuse the repeated blatant distortions of history the author pulls out of his hat! Things like asserting that Sparta didn't care at all whether the Persians invaded northern Greece, and then going straight into a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae that skips the part where Leonidas - King Leonidas, thank you very - and the fabled Spartan 300 (actually 7,000; the 300 were only Leonidas's personal bodyguard) were volunteers on a suicide mission DURING. THE. OLYMPICS. I may have flailed a lot when I found that out.

Honestly, I learned a lot via this book, but most of the actual info came from Wiki after I said "WHAT?!" and googled something. ;-) Also, it's very much The Story Of White People, with a few suitably pale brown people graciously whitewashed. :P Black people are almost completely ignored, except for a couple of sentences using them as the nadir of uncivilization - such as the sickening paragraph where "a Zulu in a frock-coat" is compared to a trained dog and contrasted with "a human being". :P

The use of language really is amazingly good, the history at least attempts to be a lot more comprehensive than the Brit-centric '50s Eurasian history I grew up on, and overall the book did teach me some things. I think toward the end, we were just about breaking even on things I had to google because the author was wrong (or lying; it grew increasingly hard to tell after he expounded his theory of how history books ought to slant the truth in whatever way the author thinks will most prompt his readers to build a brighter future) versus things I had to google because I was wrong.

However, there have to be better history books than this. Somewhere. Please? ;P(less)

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Oct 18, 2012 Thom Swennes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Written especially for children, The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon explains in simple words and in a clear form, the history of man. The concept of this book is as pretentious as the title suggests. In the first few chapters, many of the spurious assertions about paleontological matters have been drastically abridged since its first publication in 1921. As the narrative progresses the facts are more stable and relay a short but surprisingly detailed and informative history of the w...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Aimee Conner rated it 2 of 5 stars

I’ll say this for the Newbery committee: They did NOT get off to a rollicking start. I’m glad I had a commitment to read this book because without it, there is no way I would have finished this just for fun. It feels bad to start out this way, but I just did not enjoy this book.

Now know this: I like history. And he really got me going, for the first half of the book. From primordial soup to humans is glossed over pretty quickly but that didn’t bother me too much as this is a history of humans, n...more I’ll say this for the Newbery committee: They did NOT get off to a rollicking start. I’m glad I had a commitment to read this book because without it, there is no way I would have finished this just for fun. It feels bad to start out this way, but I just did not enjoy this book.

Now know this: I like history. And he really got me going, for the first half of the book. From primordial soup to humans is glossed over pretty quickly but that didn’t bother me too much as this is a history of humans, not what came before us. There are a lot of missing steps between finding fire useful to civilization and hieroglyphics which I find puzzling, but OK: On to Mesopotamia.. My assumption is that he (understandably) had to make some choices about what to include in a children’s book, although it’s clear his intentions were to be thorough. Still, I would have enjoyed at least a little about cave-art and the change from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies.

And I need to admit that I don’t know precisely what was widely known or believed or understood 90 years ago when he was writing this gift for his grandchildren. I’m looking at THIS history with my own blinders on. Unfortunately, my ultimate take on this book is not a happy one with exceptions and I will list here my major observations.

1) First of all, this is the story of WESTERN civilization. Of course, he had to start in Africa, and he happily narrates the tales of civilizations south of Spain and Italy, as these are the the obvious beginnings of European expansion and development. But once the story of Europe is well-established, we hear no more than an occasional passing remark about points east. This shouldn’t have surprised me, now that I think of it, but it did. However, if the story of Eastern civilization is as dry as this is, I’ll wait till the movie comes out.

2) I was positively impressed by the was he rather deftly brought out religion (read: Christianity, mostly although he does nod graciously toward Islam and Buddhism). His description of Jesus as a historical picture is pretty much the one I have: mild mannered, teaching love and tolerance and peace. The way van Loon connects this with the eventual Christian religions is neatly done. He is very fond of religion, although not afraid to criticize. My opinion as a Christian is that religions should never be followed blindly and certainly not forced on someone and he seems to think so, too.

3) This guy really liked to talk about war. The bloodier the better, and wars in the name of religion took a special importance to him. And, as there were plenty of wars, and later, revolutions, he had plenty of fodder. The French revolution was a particular interest to him — he devotes many, many pages to it. The complaints and bitterness of the French peasants, who were forced to pay taxes because the rich did not want to, led to the eventual upheaval and horrors suffered by the aristocracy. It’s not a pretty picture. It brings into sharp relief the current climate in the US and worldwide of similar complaints and disaffection by the “99%”. One hopes that the solution to the tax inequity will be more peacefully brought about. We are not condemned to repeat history unless we do not learn from it.

4) I was flabbergasted that he devastation of the plagues of the 7th and 14th centuries are not even mentioned. This disease decimated the population of all of Europe — by some reckoning, as much as half of the population died in the first instance, and perhaps a quarter or more in the latter as a result. These events killed and affected the whole of the society as the bacteria did not recognize class or position. I don’t know how he could have missed that. Probably because it had nothing to do with religion or war, I suppose.

5) I am a knitter and I spin my own yarn as well, so I gotta mention this next bit: Nowhere are textiles mentioned until the 16th century and then only a passing mention as a means of acquiring money. Of course I am not surprised, but the older I get, the more I am irritated that such an important part of everyday life gets ignored by historians. Think about it: Where would we be without clothes, bedding or sails for those boats? What about hats, cloaks and footwear? This wasn’t just women’s work, either. Knitting Guilds (once knitting guilds were established) were the domain of men — women weren’t even allowed to knit in some societies until after the industrial revolution, at which point hand knitting was no longer strictly necessary.

6) Speaking of women (and this, too, should come as no surprise) women are not mentioned except for the royalty, and then only as wives and mothers, and an occasional strong Queen. This pretty much goes with #5 above, but it makes me a little sad. Women did so much work and yet were not important enough to document, thus little is known about the. But even Joan of Arc was mentioned in only one sentence. Joan of Arc, for heaven’s sake! She was both a religious as well as military figure, topics he covers lavishly otherwise. What was he thinking? He devotes a whole chapter to Moses (a small one, but a chapter nonetheless) of whom there is no conclusive historical evidence, yet ignores a woman whose place in history cannot be disputed. Huh.

7) My biggest beef? He completely ignored (get this) SCIENCE!! Not even a mention of the church/Galileo thing (which I thought he’d at least have found interesting). He mentions no biology, chemistry, astronomy, heck, any of the sciences except medicine, and that too, only in passing.

Now, having complained a great deal about this book, I must remind myself that this book reflects what must have been current thinking about history at the time. Wars and religion. I think I am going to edit these striding opinions later when I have a little time between me and the reading of this book. Meanwhile, I’m going to go and read Dr. Doolittle.(less)

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Dec 30, 2011 James Swenson rated it 4 of 5 stars

We found this in my grandma's basement after she died. I picked it up again at my folks' house, when I was looking for bedtime reading, and I went through it in bits and pieces, over the course of several visits.

I went in with an open mind: I always try to love the book I'm reading, but then I always questioned Grandma's taste. This time, I was pleasantly surprised.

I skimmed the other reviews on Goodreads: the most misguided of these claimed that "anyone could have written this book." That's the...more We found this in my grandma's basement after she died. I picked it up again at my folks' house, when I was looking for bedtime reading, and I went through it in bits and pieces, over the course of several visits.

I went in with an open mind: I always try to love the book I'm reading, but then I always questioned Grandma's taste. This time, I was pleasantly surprised.

I skimmed the other reviews on Goodreads: the most misguided of these claimed that "anyone could have written this book." That's the opposite of the truth, and it points to the best feature of The Story of Mankind -- the writing is natural, and conversational. This sort of writing looks easy; it isn't.

As a first approximation, you could think of The Story of Mankind as Cliff's notes to Western history, but that would need to be amended. This is history of the good old school, almost in the oral tradition. Van Loon is a storyteller; the plot is intriguing and plausible, and the characters come alive.

If you'll read this quote, you'll know whether or not you'd like the book.

He was a little fellow and during the first years of his life his health was not very good. He never impressed anybody by his good looks and he remained to the end of his days very clumsy whenever he was obliged to appear at a social function. He did not enjoy a single advantage of breeding or birth or riches....

But he overcame all these difficulties through his absolute and unshakable belief in his own destiny, and in his own glorious future. Ambition was the main-spring of his life....

When he was a half-pay lieutentant, young Bonaparte was very fond of the "Lives of Famous Men" which Plutarch, the Greek historian, had written. But he never tried to live up to the high standard of character set by these heroes of the older days. Napoleon seems to have been devoid of all those considerate and thoughtful sentiments which make men different from the animals. It will be very difficult to decide with any degree of accuracy whether he ever loved anyone besides himself....

He followed the advice of [Machiavelli] and never kept his word when it was to his advantage to break it. The word "gratitude" did not occur in his personal dictionary. Neither, to be quite fair, did he expect it from others. He was totally indifferent to human suffering. He executed prisoners of war (in Egypt in 1798) who had been promised their lives, and he quietly allowed his wounded in Syria to be chloroformed when he found it impossible to transport them to his ships....

And yet, having said these many unpleasant things about this strange tyrant, who looked after every other department of his army with the utmost care, but neglected the medical service, and who ruined his uniforms with Eau de Cologne because he could not stand the smell of his poor sweating soldiers; having said all these unpleasant things and being fully prepared to add many more, I must confess to a certain lurking feeling of doubt.

Here I am sitting at a comfortable table loaded heavily with books, with one eye upon my typewriter and the other on Licorice the cat, who has a great fondness for carbon paper, and I am telling you that the Emperor Napoleon was a most contemptible person. But should I happen to look out of the window, down upon Seventh Avenue, and should the endless procession of trucks and carts come to a sudden halt, and should I hear the sound of the heavy drums and see the little man on his white horse in his old and much-worn green uniform, then I don't know, but I am afraid that I would leave my books and the kitten and my home and everything else to follow him wherever he cared to lead. My own grandfather did this and Heaven knows he was not born to be a hero....

[Napoleon] was never out of the mind of friend or enemy. When illness and despair had at last taken him away, his silent eyes continued to haunt the world. Even to-day he is as much of a force in the life of France as a hundred years ago when people fainted at the mere sight of this sallow-faced man who stabled his horses in the holiest temples of the Russian Kremlin, and who treated the Pope and the mighty ones of this earth as if they were his lackeys.

Don't look here for systematic history; do read the book.(less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery, library-books

Wow, where to start? This book was originally published in 1921, and covers a very general history of the world up to that time. There were a lot of things that surprised me about it. For one thing, I assumed the author would have different (more "old-fashioned") ideas. I expected some slant, but the direction of the slant was a surprise. The author comes across as what we would probably describe today as fairly liberal. He clearly disagreed with the US's decision to enter WWI; and was not impre...more Wow, where to start? This book was originally published in 1921, and covers a very general history of the world up to that time. There were a lot of things that surprised me about it. For one thing, I assumed the author would have different (more "old-fashioned") ideas. I expected some slant, but the direction of the slant was a surprise. The author comes across as what we would probably describe today as fairly liberal. He clearly disagreed with the US's decision to enter WWI; and was not impressed with President Wilson's "Fourteen Points". He seemed to think that the peace treaty was forced upon Europe by the US. I found this view interesting.

Having recently finished listening to a series of lectures on CD called "Everything You've Been Taught is Wrong" (based on the book Lies My Teacher Told Me by Prof. James Loewen), I kind of expected to see a lot of what he calls "bad history" and "bad sociology" - as most people writing history books have tended to base their research on other historians' work rather than doing research with primary materials, some pieces of information got passed along as fact that were not true. However, I did not see much of this that I recognized in this book, possibly because it focuses on the world in general, rather than the US specifically. Except for the claim that Columbus discovered America (p. 301); and even that is followed up by van Loon noting the fact that Vikings were here centuries before Columbus.

Some things I found quite relevant to today, and I found it interesting that the author chose to include them in his work. Some examples:

p. 79: "The Greeks, before everything else, wanted to be 'free,' both in mind and body. That they might maintain their liberty, and be truly free in spirit, they reduced their daily needs to the lowest possible point." What a lovely thought, and something to strive for, at least for me!
P 175-176: Discusses the importance of progress and not being "sentimental about the Good Old Days."
P 254: Firmly states that no one believed the earth was flat - going back to Dr. Loewen - this is one of those things I was taught in elementary school and it's just not true. I was happy to see that van Loon, at least, did not perpetuate this myth.
p 239-240: van Loon predicts that dependence on sea travel will soon change to dependence on air travel
P 250: [Christians of the western world] "came to the easy conclusion that these strange divinities were just plain devils who ... did not deserve the respect of the true sons of the Church... That system had certain very definite disadvantages. It has left us an unpleasant heritage of ill-will which promises litttle good for the immediate future." This was specifically referring to Buddhism and Confucianism, but can't it easily be applied to other non-Christian religions?

I found this book very interesting, though it took me a while to get through it! It was written in an engaging and appealing style that was not too dry and boring. I enjoyed the drawings too.

I read an updated edition that came out in 1984. However, I didn't read all the extra chapters, since they weren't in the edition that received the Newbery Medal!

(less)

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Mar 21, 2011 Velvetink rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, vintage, z-1960-s

This is a book that belonged to my grandfather, it's the 1947 edition. I fell in love with the illustrations and is probably one of the reasons I love history. I've added 3 photographs of pages with illustrations that took my fancy. The first - of the universe with the sign (Here we Live) at first worried me a little - the vastness OUT THERE but I was very very young at the time. Now it reminds me of something that might come from a Douglas Adams book...perhaps he read Van Loon too. ;)

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Jan 27, 2011 Reynard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, favorites

Since time immemorial, humans love stories. Stories are what make scattered, seemingly random events look more connected, purposeful and meaningful. And that's the approach taken by Van Loon. Neither a scholarly analysis of the world at large, nor an academic definition of our mortal lives and strives, the book is supposed to be read as "story," as in the fireside, bedside stories, painted by captivating anecdotes, colorful narratives, and intimate feelings, as they continue to embrace children...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Ensiform rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, newbery

This won the first Newbery. And what a hefty fellow this book is! Published in 1921 and updated every decade or so until the mid-80s, this world history for the younger set clocks in at a generous 590 close-typed pages. Van Loon starts at the very beginning, with a mention of how very brief Mankind's time on Earth has been compared to other previous inhabitants' reigns, and then moves right into our early ape-like ancestors, the development of tools and writing, Egypt, the Sumerians, Greece, and...more This won the first Newbery. And what a hefty fellow this book is! Published in 1921 and updated every decade or so until the mid-80s, this world history for the younger set clocks in at a generous 590 close-typed pages. Van Loon starts at the very beginning, with a mention of how very brief Mankind's time on Earth has been compared to other previous inhabitants' reigns, and then moves right into our early ape-like ancestors, the development of tools and writing, Egypt, the Sumerians, Greece, and so on.

He's got a breezy, warm style, writing as if he's talking to an interested (and advanced) young scholar, and it's mostly engaging. Every once in a while, though, van Loon gets caught up in tangents and relative clauses, and we get a nightmare sentence like this: "In central Europe, in Bohemia, the devoted disciples of Johanness Huss, the friend and follower of John Wycliffe, the English reformer, were avenging with a terrible warfare the death of their beloved leader who had been burned at the stake by order of that same Council of Constance, which had promised him a safe-conduct if he would come to Switzerland and explain his doctrines to the Pope, the Emperor, twenty-three cardinals, thirty-three archbishops and bishops, one hundred and fifty abbots and more than a hundred princes and dukes who had gathered together to reform their church." This single sentence is found in the second paragraph of a chapter ostensibly about Thomas à Kempis and "The Age of Expression;" neither Huss, Wycliffe, nor even the Council of Constance had been mentioned before. It's all a bit much for the educated adult, let alone a child trying to learn a little history. Some of it is interesting (the brief chapter on the life of Jesus is handled beautifully), but the sheer depth of it all starts to take its toll. And it gets worse. Van Loon died in 1944, so the chapters on post-war Europe, Vietnam, the space race, and the Cold War are written by other scholars, who lack van Loon's affable (if sometimes meandering) narrative style. The last dozen or so pages are particularly redolent of the dry textbook. I got through it, but I didn't feel as if I'd learned all that much at the end. I know adults these days give way too little credit for how much kids can and want to learn, but this tome isn't suitable for even a very intelligent fourth-grader to use as a learning tool. (less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have loved this book for the whole 8 weeks it's been taking me to read it! Seriously, it is so chock full of information that it has been a slow, but very education and beneficial, read for me.

I love that it is such a high level (general) overview, and believe it would be quite an accomplishment if all American high school students graduated with a working knowledge of just this level of history.

A few things continually came to mind while reading:

This did not so much seem the history of man...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Marts (Thinker) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, non-fiction, 2011-reads

For centuries mankind has existed, discovered, explored, conquered, exploited. Man’s beginnings may be termed difficult, but due to a knowledge of no other method, may it just be said that life was drastically different. However, tribulations, disasters, and various dastardly acts were all pivotal in shaping this world as we now know it.
Van Loon’s book is quite an interesting one, beginning with an introduction to our earliest ancestors, he chronicles man’s developmental journey in his own opini...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Jackie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-non-fiction, newbery-award-winner

It's amazing that this rambling version, with little significance to some major events of history, was awarded the Newbery Medal. Thankfully, we have some wonderful children's literature today that is worthy of the medal. Hendrick Van Loon attempts to capture The Story of Mankind for his grandchildren and future generations. Too bad the writing is horrible and the words are boring.

I struggled with giving this book two stars. I looked back at the books I gave one star to, and those books were REA...more

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May 02, 2012 Kaia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, childrens, nerdbery-challenge, newbery, alphabet-challenge

I'm very glad to be finished with the first Newbery winner. The book suffers from the predictable problem that mankind apparently means white, European male, which creates a highly ethnocentric, at times racist, and a bit condescending jaunt through history. I kept chanting to myself "context, context, context." Since it was written in 1922, I'm trying to see past it's issues. It's like having a very intelligent grandfather sit you down on a rainy day and give you a speech on history, at time gi...more

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Sep 07, 2007 Christian Clarke rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Convicts

Shelves: 10th-grade-global, personal-favorites

I've read this book a number of times while preparing to teach world history. Van Loon was a professor of history who decided to make the scope of world history palpable for his grandkids. The book's voice and tone is avuncular and affable. but it is not impartial. Van Loon, an immigrant who made good, love America and her European forefathers.

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Jun 21, 2009 Janis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having recently read this year's Newbery Medal book, I thought it would be interesting to read the winner of the first Newbery (awarded in 1922). I was a bit taken aback to find that it was a 662-page volume of history (what manner of children were these 1920s munchkins?) but I was pleasantly surprised by Van Loon's approach and style, which is clear and straightforward, witty and expressive. Delightful, detailed line drawings accompany the text. Occasionally the author steps away from the chron...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Jack Kirby and the X-man rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jack Kirby and the X-man by: Children's Books Group

Shelves: 1920s, author-us, award-us-ala-newbery-winner, childrens, history, library_book, nonfiction

I only got up to page 75 of this 500+ page book... Why, well basically there are a lot better books out there to spend my time reading.

I feel that if I were an 8-12 year old in 1921 I would have really loved this book. With a school librarian as a mother I'm sure I would have been introduced to it, and I would have lapped it up. I liked how accessable the writing style was (but it is now difficult to determine what the author included as jokes, and what was really believed). The short chapters w...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Joy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery-project, non-fiction

1922 Newbery Winner - 1st Newbery winner ever

I normally start out my ratings at 3 stars and then adjust accordingly as to how much I like or dislike the book. This book got downgraded to 2 stars almost immediately because he started out on an evolutionist kick and I don't believe in evolution. I found the sections about early Greece and Rome interesting and I thought he gave an accurate description of the events surrounding the Reformation. However, he makes no efforts to hide his bias at all in...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Katrinia17 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, newberry, 2013-challenge

I had never heard of "The Story of Mankind" until I decided to take on the Newbery challenge (read all Newbery awarded books). In fact, I thought for sure that I wouldn't be able to find the book but eventually I did and I'm so glad for that. I loved this book personal. I thought the writing was well done and fitting. I found it informative and entertaining all at the same time. I'm actually shocked by some of the reviews on this book. Many people are upset about the "racism". People can't belie...more
I had never heard of "The Story of Mankind" until I decided to take on the Newbery challenge (read all Newbery awarded books). In fact, I thought for sure that I wouldn't be able to find the book but eventually I did and I'm so glad for that. I loved this book personal. I thought the writing was well done and fitting. I found it informative and entertaining all at the same time. I'm actually shocked by some of the reviews on this book. Many people are upset about the "racism". People can't believe that a book for children would have it. It is not so much racism, well in our days yes it is but what people are failing to remember is that in 1921 it was just normal talk. These were the views held against others, these were the terms used back during this time. It was common, just like the "N" word used in Tom Sawyer. All fitting if you take in the era. And try to remember, this was written in by a white man in the 1920's... good chance it would have something not deemed appropriate for our days. Another issue people seemed to have was the fact that the book didn't cover ALL of history. Many comments about it only covering "white man's history" make me just want to roll my eyes. Loon clearly states, twice, in his book, that he had no intentions on covering all of history, only that which has shaped pretty much western society. Let me quote him for anyone/everyone who is confused by what his intentions are before there are more assumptions of him being racist (I have no clue if he is or not and honestly don't care.) are thrown around in a round about way.

"In this book I am trying to give you only those events of the past which can throw a light upon the conditions of the present world. If I do not mention certain countries, the cause is not to be found in any secret dislike on my part. I wish that I could tell you what happened to Norway and Switzerland and Serbia and China. But these lands exercised no great influence upon the development of Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I therefore pass them by with a polite and very respectful bow. England however is in a different position. What the people of that small island have done during the last five hundred years has shaped the course of history in every corner of the world. Without a proper knowledge of the background of English history, you cannot understand what you read in the newspapers."

Hendrik Willem Van Loon. The Story of Mankind (Kindle Locations 2966-2970).

Truth is that Loon is an historian who writes well. He's got a way of connecting history to his readers and his passion clearly shows throughout the book. I managed to post up some of my favorite quotes of his and still, I know, I missed many. There was just so much good in this book. For a book on history, it kept my attention all the way through and I can't wait to read more from the author. (less)

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Feb 04, 2011 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was the first Newbery Award winner; excellence in children's literature. I cannot children of today 1) reading this book at all 2) having any idea whatsoever of what it's talking about.

It is well written and moves along quite quickly for a history book. It is NOT about dates and people and names of treaties. While these are mentioned they are not the focus of the book; instead they are merely details to remind the reader of events. Without a background, even a limited one of Ancient C...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Caitlin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery, 2012

This book was a labor of love. Had I not committed to reading EVERY Newbery bookas part of a new GR group, I never would have finished it (and I have to admit, I only read the original part, not the last 200 pages of the updated version). While some parts are quite intriguing, some twist, turn, and even dwindle. It gets pretty annoying.

When I first started reading this book, it struck me as the most racist, sexist (it is called "The Story of MANkind after all), ethnocentric book I had ever read...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Heather rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: school-books-kid-books, ancient-history, middle-ages

I didn't even finish this book. I was put off by the 'origin's of man' part and I thought the language dry. After a few chapters I started skimming through various sections and decided this wasn't the book for me.

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Feb 09, 2013 Breaux rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: newberry

I enjoyed the wise and thoughtful grandfather, Hendrick Willem van Loon, taking me up into the ancient bell tower to look out over the European landscape, and tellng me the story of mankind's history so that I could see it unfold before me as if in a panoramic view. I was struck by how simple it seemed from that vantage point. And even though I am every bit as prone to similar prejudices and shortsightedness as my ancient ancestors all the way up through my own grandfathers, it was interesting t...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Rachael Baggett rated it 2 of 5 stars

To be honest, I had a difficult time deciding what to rate this. It took me forever to get through this book. Mr. Van Loon starts back in the days of the caveman and ends with WWI. It was difficult for me to follow of his ramblings with history (which some might find delightful). Some parts were intriguing and some parts were too slow for me. This was awarded a Newbury Medal honor (I believe the first year this award was given) back in 1922. I find it intriguing that this was geared towards chil...more

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May 16, 2012 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newberry-books

It's done! I finished it (insert the halleluiah chorus to Handel's Messiah here!) Seriously, I thought this book would do me in. The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Van Loon, is on my reading list merely because it was the first book awarded with the Newberry medal. I felt that the committee responsible for the book selection must have had a small group of nominees that year.

There was an ominous tone from the beginning of this book when I opened up the cover and found a librarians note,"Newberry Wi...more It's done! I finished it (insert the halleluiah chorus to Handel's Messiah here!) Seriously, I thought this book would do me in. The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Van Loon, is on my reading list merely because it was the first book awarded with the Newberry medal. I felt that the committee responsible for the book selection must have had a small group of nominees that year.

There was an ominous tone from the beginning of this book when I opened up the cover and found a librarians note,"Newberry Winners - Do not discard" followed by a pubescent scrawl, "or do if you feel like it." Perhaps this teenage graffiti swayed my personal opinion from the start. I tried to give the book a solid chance. The author really does have a geeky charm I found slightly cute. I liken it to when you are at a party and the obvious nerd in the room corners you and starts excitedly telling you of his latest exploits on World of Warcraft.

History books are not for everyone, some people study it in school only because it is a required subject. I was a history major in college and I found this book rather tedious. For me, it was more effective that the most potent sleeping pill, it took me over a month to get through. It's a rather audacious project to write a history of the world and for young people, at that. At one point Van Loon wistfully mentions that he wishes the book could be 1000 pages so he could cover more history! Could you imagine? No thank you, 465 pages is enough. It wasn't till I was near the end of the book when the author inserted more of his own words and personal opinions that I found this little gem.

"If I had known how difficult it was to write a History of the World, I should never have undertaken the task. Of course, any one possessed of enough industry to lose himself for half a dozen years in the musty stacks of a library, can compile a ponderous tome which gives an account of the events in every land during every century. But that was not the purpose of the present book. The publishers wanted to print a history that should have rhythm--a story which galloped rather than walked. And now that I have almost finished I discover that certain chapters gallop, that others wade slowly through the dreary sands of long forgotten ages--that a few parts do not make any progress at all, while still others indulge in a veritable jazz of action and romance. I did not like this and suggested that we destroy the whole manuscript and begin once more from the beginning. This, however, the publisher would not allow." Henrik Van Loon. The Story of Mankind.

In the books defense, it's an antique, 91 years old. It is full of ideas and statements long since abandoned, including a few terms deemed racially inappropriate by today's society. Yet, the book itself has become a valuable piece of history, recording the time in which is was written in some of the authors statements. One thing that presses upon me the most is the reading comprehension of young people then and now, the language in this book is quite advanced and would most likely be deemed too hard for the age group for whom it was originally intended. The question is, do we simplify the wording in books for today's readers or do we work on reading comprehension with our own children to create a more advanced group of readers like the days of yore.

I'm glad I read the book, as it's a part of my Newberry project. I'm also glad I'm done with it. Would I read it again? If you paid me. A dollar for every page. That's $465, but with the notes in the end, lets just make it an even $500.
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Jul 02, 2012 Kristie Stauffer rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting perspective of history from the beginning of mankind. It was a very broad overview, as had to be to contain so much in one book. It did seem, however, that there were assumptions of some basic knowledge that I didn’t have. It would have helped to have maps handy to follow during the reading. I also enjoyed the portion added on since the original book was written to bring it up to date. This helped me have a better understanding of some basic world politics in the worl...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Karam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, in-english, life-changing

One would think that an author who would spend several pages praising medieval "progress" would give the Andalusian enlightenment age a little bit more than a line or two. A very biased book that is not the story of mankind, but rather Van Loon's reading of white-man's achievements.
I will not go through how he would praise a religion and mock the other, or how he would dismiss an argument hiding behind the era of the time or the person of the matter.
Van Loon's very late confession of how biased...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Jason Penckofer added it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, history, europeanhistory, worldhistory, newberymedal

Okay, I've stopped reading now that I'm past the original portion of the book (which won the Newbery) and into the stuff added for later editions.
I like the idea of this book- covering the major points of the entire history of humanity with emphasis on broad accessibility. Reading it was helpful to my purpose of beginning to understand the history of the Newbery Medal more. That being said, I'm not entirely certain of who I would recommend this book to save other people who, like me, want a firm...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Benji Martin rated it 2 of 5 stars

My journey through the Newbery winners begins here with the Story of Mankind. I’ve never been a great book review writer. It’s hard for me to talk about a book without giving too much away, so for these Newbery winners, I think I will stick to a format. I will answer the following questions. What did I like about the book? What did I dislike about the book? Did this book deserve to win the Newbery? Why or why not?

What I liked about the book:
Imagine that your grandfather was a retired history pr...more My journey through the Newbery winners begins here with the Story of Mankind. I’ve never been a great book review writer. It’s hard for me to talk about a book without giving too much away, so for these Newbery winners, I think I will stick to a format. I will answer the following questions. What did I like about the book? What did I dislike about the book? Did this book deserve to win the Newbery? Why or why not?

What I liked about the book:
Imagine that your grandfather was a retired history professor, and he was in town for a week. You ask him,”Grandpa, why is the world the way it is now?” His eyes light up. He taught history for years, and no one has ever bothered to ask him a question like that. So every night that week, he sits you down and tells you the story of the world and how mankind got to be where it is now. That’s the sense I get from this book, yes, it is very flawed. This is the history of the world with no sources cited. It is very biased, (the author acknowledges this) but it is exactly what you would get if you asked your history professor grandpa for a fireside lecture and I think that aspect of the book is very charming.

What I disliked about this book:
Yes, there were boring parts, but I have always believed that’s not a reason for a book to be reviewed poorly. What is boring to one person could be extremely interesting to another, depending on his or her interests. What I didn’t like about this book is the fact that I don’t know a single kid who has or would read it. It is the winner of the most prestigious award for children’s literature, and honestly, I don’t know what the first Newbery committee was thinking. I don’t have a single middle schooler in a school of over 700 that I could get to read this whole book through. There might be a chapter (like the one on Napoleon) I could get them to read, but as a whole work, I think it is a book written for adults. Maybe the children in 1922 had less to choose from,or they were better readers, but I don’t think they read this book either. I honestly think adults read it, and thought that children should, so they gave it the Newbery.

Did this book deserve to win the Newbery: No

Why not: Well, I’ve gotten into this question already. This is not a book I think many children would read. I can see why the world needed history books at this time. In 1922 World War I (or the Great War as it’s still called in this book) was just ending. The world has just gotten through fighting the worst war it had ever seen. Naturally, people were stepping back from the situation and asking Why did this happen? How did we get here? How can we keep this from happening again? Of course, history holds the answer to all of these questions. I understand that the Newbery committee was thinking about the children, our future leaders. If they could understand why a war like this happened, maybe in the distant future horrors like this could be prevented. I just think that this wasn’t the best book for the first Newbery. It set a bad precedent for future Newberry committees. Instead of picking the book that children are reading and enjoying, they picked the book that they thought children should be reading. This has happened time and time again with the Newbery Medal, not every time, but quite frequently.

Closing thoughts: I liked the book. I really did. Just not as the first Newbery Winner, ever.

Next up: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle I’m actually very excited about this one.
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Children's Books: February 2009 - The Story of Mankind (1922 Medal Winner)	46	71	Jun 23, 2009 12:22pm

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