Complete History of the World

by Richard Overy

The Times Complete History of the World has sold over 2,000,000 copies since its first publication in 1978. It is the most exciting, authoritative and accessible work on world history available today. Its exciting visual narrative of the history of the world — from the origins of mankind to the 21st century — is an unrivalled accomplishment, and its over 600 maps and 300,000 words of text are now accompanied by internet links to allow further research.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, World History, Historical, Coffee Table Books

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Richard James Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich.

Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.

His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[

Reviews

[Христо Блажев · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Times: Исторически атлас на света: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/t...

Много си обичам този исторически атлас – едно на ръка, че е най-голямата книга, която притежавам, но и помня колко време събирах пари за него от една неособено добре платена барманска работа в далечното лято на 2007 г. Беше ми безкрайно полезен по време на следването, стоеше винаги на удобно място на бюрото ми в стаята в Студентски град (прилагам доказателство), за да мога да проверя нещо, което чета другаде. Защото тази книга е наистина нещо изключително – хронологично проследяване на цялата човешка история, с почти пренебрежим акцент върху европейската цивилизация. Създателите равномерно покриват всички големи цивилизации, най-отличителни империи и ключови промени в развитието на държавите, а е показателно, че само “кратките” бележки с дребен шрифт накрая са цели 70 страници, а в този огромен формат това са е доста. Безспорно “The Times: Исторически атлас на света” е сред най-мащабните, сложни и достойни за уважение проекти, издавани в България.

A&T Publishing
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/t...

[David Bosworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book to pick up and put down as and when you feel like it.

[Ali Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of the world has been going through various changes since the birth of human beings. Humans first transformed themselves from hunter-gatherers to modern urban civilization about 6000 years ago when the early civilizations began to appear in the region of Eurasia. Those early civilizations were used to inhabit on banks of rivers where they could access water easily. For instance, the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, and Chinese were inhabited on the banks of Tigris, Nile, Indus, and Yellow river, respectively.
This book digs deep into the origin of Human beings and then explores who human beings of the different regions of the world transformed themselves into modern human beings. What were the main factors that some nations become extraordinarily wealthy and scientific while others get worsened with the passage of time? To get acquainted with the answer to this question is the focal point of this book.

[Masen Production · Rating 3 out of 5]

“For a history buff an another view point on the History of the world by a author who thinks its only the western influence that shaped the modern world. India plays a role of couple of pages, well one needs to read to know how some compilers can get one sided views.
None-the-less a good perspective of what must have shaped history.
Good try.”

[Kalyan Tirunahari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all history lovers. It covered 5000 years of documented human history across the planet in 600 pages with Maps and artifacts. From Mesopotamia, Babylonia all the way to current day globalization. Many Unknown and forgotten kings and civilizations. Still relevantly entertaining and educational content.

[Alayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

On about page 130 I gave up :(
I have only ever given up on one book before in my entire life :(
Far too much concentration on WAR for my liking!!!
I will give it one star as the maps were informative

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book divides human existence into 7 different sections. Each section is based on time and the closer the book gets to the present, the more pages it devotes to the section. Two pages per topic, filled with a variety of events and multiple maps.
As the raison d'être of this book is the history of the world, each section devotes an explanation of events in each region of the world. Some regions, where written records are more prevalent, are given more weight. Every region of the world is represented here in more ways than one. At times, the book discusses the political issues, other times the religious reasons, but at all times the most important events that transpired.
A problem with the way the authors discuss events is the rarity of explanations. Most of the time, a bunch of different events are given a single sentence, without a clear explanation for the events. Sometimes, paragraphs and different topics are devoted to a particular issue, but most issues are just given the highlights.
This book is an extremely well done survey of every region in the world though different times. It allow the reader to find a variety of topics, and should a particular topic stand out, to find other sources that can lead the a further understanding.

[Lance Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sets out to be a broad overview of history, and it accomplishes that goal perfectly. A work this comprehensive in scope is naturally light on details and depth, but the details presented are well chosen. The book highlights key locations, people, and events for each region and time period. The information is backed up by hundreds of maps, graphics, and other visuals which are both beautifully made and highly informative. There are two niches that this book would fulfill nicely. First of all, this book makes a great coffee-table book. Its bite-sized nature and gorgeous visuals make it ideal for providing quick entertainment and for being brought out during debates or discussions without interrupting the flow. Secondly, the book makes for a fantastic centerpiece to any collection of history books. Many, more focused, history books have a wealth of specific detail but lack in overall context and visual support which the Complete History provides in droves. It is a wonderful synergy.

[Mrs Reddy Mallender-Katzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

To get the Best out of this book i recommend you spread out on a kingsize bed with an up to date Map of the world for modern reference and a tablet or some internet connection, this way you can use the website details at the top of the pages as you go..... i didnt do this, well actually i have a map of the world and did look up some websites but i wish id got my tablet out now,
Dont expect any gems from this book nor personality just pure fact.
Like another person mentioned in their review it should really be re-named the Sompleate History of World Wars and the Distribution of Land
It didnt tell me everything i wanted to know but then it would be in many volumes if it was that thorough .... lol

[Tom B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work of reference gave my knowledge on world history a significant boost, and it inspired me to find out more about certain periods and places. Granted, it isn't really a complete history of the world, for that is too much to cover in a single volume, but it does give a focus on the where of it all. All the maps in this book clarify the major events of the world in respect of their locations. However, more specific works of history on each of those events will of course give a better understanding. Use this atlas as a companion to whatever history book you're reading to get a better sense of space.

[Vämpiriüs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Velmi slušná kniha, která zobrazuje věci pohromadě a navíc i s časovou osou souběžně porovnávající vývoj na všech světadílech. Kniha je hodně obsáhlá a rozhodně se k ní čtenář bude vracet častěji. Za velké plus bych označil povedenou ilustraci obsahující i mapy.

[Alexandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mandatory read for any human being in order to understand what happened to us as a civilization.

[laurentiu]

0

[JR]

"La Historia del Mundo" de Richard Overy (Ed. La Esfera de los Libros) es la historia universal mas vendida de todos los tiempos,

[Amil]

Not much impressive, the info is ii bits and pieces

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful maps and illustrations, but the writing is numbingly banal.

[Jaroslav Kotov · Rating 2 out of 5]

A standard globalist manual; expectedly full of distortions, omissions and clichés, hardly any revelations and not much enjoyable to read - 05/10 at most.

[Ruairi Balloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview. 👍

[Brad Rousse · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disappointed with this one. The information was good (except for things like "Philip T. Sherman marching on Atlanta), but the organization is very distracting. Instead of actually telling a coherent history of the world, Overy instead jumps from era to era, location to location, with no real logic or connection. For example, he talks about the Reformation without explaining the importance of the printing press save in passing. In the early modern era, he takes Korea up to the Korean War. He has the United States interacting with the world tens of pages before talking about the American Revolution. Disappointing, considering the caliber of the writer.

[Vanessa Molano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading this along with other books, such as Sapiens. The table of contents breaks down human history into sections, which you can then use to parallel with Sapiens, as well as open up to the right page to get context and visuals for Sapiens. It’s such a fantastic book to understand the overall patterns of history, and it really comes in handy when you’re reading it with a few other history books at the same time!

[Nicole Tuttle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did read this book. The art, the maps and timeslines are exciting. I showed it to a friend of mine she thought it was neat, only thing I didn't like about it that it doesn't have stuff on composers like bach, beethoven etc. A great book nevertheless.

[Flowquietly · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read so far - recommend to everyone

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this so far!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview on a massive subject. Would have been good to have an overall timeline to pull the highlights altogether where timescales jump back and forth.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great coffee table book.

[Zuwl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative book with cheap price? Bless my soul!! :D

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, it provides a good backgrounder on world history.

[Hayley Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a history and archaeology graduate, this is a must have. So interesting. One of those must have coffee-table books.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

(read this before Goodreads, added this years after reading the book)

Probably liked it.

[Hollis Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a one-volume world history book to replace your collection, this is the one.