100 Events That Made History

by Clare Hibbert

From bloodthirsty battles and rebellious revolutions, to curious coincidences and unfortunate accidents - 100 Events That Made History has it all!

Get ready for a historical rollercoaster ride as 100 Events That Made History brings the major moments of the past to life in an unforgettable way. Get the lowdown on events that have changed the course of history and shaped the modern world. Find out why Ivan became so terrible, why a sandwich was fatal for Archduke Ferdinand and more of history's key moments.

Incredible photography and colourful illustrations make 100 Events That Made History a perfect project helper for young history lovers.

Genres: History, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2016

Reviews

[Benozir Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birth of lowercase alphabet

Charlemagne wanted a standard script used in books across his empire. The resulting CAROLINGIAN MINISCULE was the basis of our lowercase alphabet.

The secret of silk

The first evidence of silk production in China dates to 2500 BCE, but according to legend, EMPRESS LEIZU (wife of Huangdi) introduced the silkworm as early as 3000 BCE. This talented queen invented the loom, too. Silkmaking was a closely guarded state secret—revealing any detail outside China was punishable by death!

Simplest definition of communism and fascism

After World War I, there was political unrest in Europe. Some believed communism (power to the workers) was the answer. Others, such as Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany, believed in a form of nationalism called FASCISM, where a strong leader controlled a society made up of people of the same race, while those of different races were persecuted.

Death by tortoise

Writing tragedies was the speciality of the ancient Greek AESCHYLUS, but he couldn’t have imagined his own tragic end. According to legend, he was killed in 456 BCE when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his bald head, mistaking it for a rock that would crack the tortoise’s shell.

Birdcage brainchild/ skyscraper

Very tall buildings were the brainchild of 19th-century American architect William Le Baron Jenney. After seeing his wife put a heavy book on top of a birdcage, Jenney saw that a METAL FRAME could support a great weight. He wondered if it would work for buildings.

Birth/purchase of USA

1773 Boston Tea Party Trouble brewed in Britain’s American colonies when settlers objected to paying sky-high taxes on goods. When shiploads of imported tea arrived in BOSTON, the locals wouldn’t pay the duty. Disguising themselves as Native Americans, they dumped the tea into the harbor. This act of defiance against British rule led directly to the American Revolution.

1803 Louisiana Purchase At the beginning of the 19th century, a huge chunk of America belonged to France, about 800,000 sq miles (2 million sq km) called the LOUISIANA TERRITORY. The French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, losing interest in it, sold Louisiana to President Thomas Jefferson for $15 million dollars, doubling US territory.

After Texas became part of the United States in 1846, the USA and Mexico fought a war over the state’s boundary lines. The quarrel ended with the TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO, under which the borders were agreed. Mexico also agreed to give the USA another $15 million worth of territory. This handover, or cession, included what would later be called California.

1867 Purchase of Alaska
The home of polar bears, and RUSSIAN TERRITORY at this time, was up for sale, all 586,412 sq miles (1,518,800 sq km) of it. Russia offered the land to the USA for $7.2 million. The deal, agreed by the Secretary of State William Seward, was seen by many as crazy—until gold was discovered in Alaska 30 years later.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about some of the biggest and most influential events in history. The books is split into sections, social firsts, battles and bust-ups, all change and amazing achievements. Each page has engaging illustrations and small sections of text making it easy to follow and suitable for children in KS2. This would be a great book to help to spark interest in history as well as using specific pages to support learning of different events.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well put written book that brings together world history. The format has pictures and is written in a way that children won't get too overwhelmed with the information. There are little paragraphs of information that make it easy to read. I suggest this for any curious little mind that seeks history.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids will love the overall style of this book, and the facts are interesting. I like how it starts at the beginning of human history, too. It goes WAY back. Fantastic!

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short history of the world. Great content, great illustrations!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Naela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. I loved it.

[Ngoc-Diem Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and relaxing way of diving into history. I like the illustrations and short introduction text. Easy read, I recommend!

[Garrett Huck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read, particularly for middle and high school students LOL! Thanks mom!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 Events That Made History is a fun and vibrant accounting of the most important historical events all over the world. I really appreciated the simple structure of the book where four overriding themes (Social Firsts, Battles and Brawls, All Change and Amazing Achievements) made it easily accessible and highly readable. 100 Events That Made History is shaped by pertinent questions asked about each event (one or two pages) the most important being "how it changed the world." This gives clarity to each event and how it formed modern history. The lively and beautiful pictures in the book will enable even the youngest readers to connect to the material in a fresh and entertaining way.

Thank you to DK Penguin Random House Publishers and Edelweiss for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.