A Short History of the World: The Story of Mankind from Prehistory to the Modern Day

by Alex Woolf

A clearly written, accessible and comprehensive text that covers global history from prehistory to the modern day. With more than 350 pictures, this volume is a visual treat. Every double-page spread focuses on a different topic and most contain an at-a-glance timeline, making this ideal for quick reference and for reading in depth. Subjects covered are as diverse as the Empires of Mesopotamia, the European Enlightenment, the American Revolution, and the Space Race.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, Science, Textbooks

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Alex Woolf is a prolific, award-winning author of books for adults and children. In his non-fiction he has written on subjects as diverse as sharks, robots, asteroids, flying reptiles and chocolate. His novels span a range of genres, including crime, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, steampunk and horror.

Alex is a regular author for Fiction Express, online publishers of interactive stories for schools. Fiction Express is read by more than 150,000 students from 20 countries. Two of his stories have won reader awards. In 2021, he won the prestigious ASE award for his non-fiction book Think Like a Scientist. His horror novel, Soul Shadows, was shortlisted for the Falkirk Red Book Award. Bestselling crime author Peter James described his novel Aldo Moon as “a real delight, witty, ghostly and at times deliciously ghastly”.

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading about history, and although this book was not bad it was not my favorite. There was a lot of information in this book and I would enjoy having it in my future classroom to help with research as a jumping off point. My issue with it was that although it was about history it was rather dry. I have read many fascinating historical books but this one was almost on the boring side. As well I found that although it is just a brief overview of the history of the world and not everything could be covered in detail, I felt some very important events were just brushed over or left out. Again not bad but not my favorite.

[Chase Parsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Short History of the World" by Alex Woolf is an adequate book about the sweep of world history. Every two pages (out of 300 total) is about a different theme - usually based on chronology and geography - and it is evenly divided between ancient and modern world history.

I rate this one 2.5/5 stars because although it does its job, it comes across as pretty dry at times. Due to space considerations, many of the case studies and details that make history fascinating are left out, and some of the themes in history could have been explained with more expertise in my view. A lot of what is written focuses on political events heavily. I wonder whether some of the sections were more unfamiliar to the author? I'm not sure. Every once in awhile I noticed some random mistakes too, like how the US Civil War began in 1861 (not 1863, right?). I think that definitions to vocab words, graphs, and charts would have improved the book. In the end though, Alex Woolf does an acceptable job.

[Muhammad Haris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone wanting to read any history book.

I recently read a few books on the history of specific areas but I felt like I didn't fully understand them due my lack of understanding about the geopolitics of that time period. This book filled in all the gaps. Not only does the author discuss history but also ideas and inventions that shaped the world we are in now. It's very clearly written and is extremely accessable.
I would appreciate a 2 volume edition with maps thought

[Masrivan Mokolintad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cocok untuk mengetahui dan memahami garis besar sejarah peradaban manusia secera general (tidak spesifik). Isinya sangat informatif, dilengkapi dengan alur peristiwa yang urut.

Menurut saya, kekurangan buku ini terletak pada gaya kepenulisan yang 'flat' sehingga lebih cocok dijadikan sebagai sumber rujukan akademik.

[Warren Tutwiler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent overview of world history, to about 2011. Each article is only two facing pages, so very easy to read in small portions over time.

[Angela Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's exactly what the title says it is. It's a crash course in world history. No frills, no fluff.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex Woolf provided an enjoyable and informative general history of the world; and by world, I mean truly all cultures not just European history. It taught me a great deal. The structure or arrangement of the book was a little strange for me at first, but I grew accustomed to it.

[Zach Waldis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably about as good as it gets for a short world history. It covers not just "Western Civ" but global history as well.

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book serves as a decent introduction to world history. I do wish the illustrations were in color and the pacing could be better. This book is fine but there are others I'd recommend on the topic before it.

[Mae Alabanza]

Hopefully an interesting read

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It gives some good information, but the author fails to make it enjoyable.

[Larry Van Bibber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy to read light treatment of historical events and people. It is a handy reference for a non professional history buff like me as I read more in depth histories and biographies.