A Brief History of the Human Race [Paperback]

"A smart, literate survey of human life from paleolithic times until 9/11."

'Anyone needing a really good account of the historical part of humankind’s history could do no better than Cook’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘An elegant, quick and engaging way to review what has happened in history, the whole world, not just the West’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘Cook adroitly accomplishes what his title declares, but the real joy of this book is in the detail’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘A rigorously and exhilaratingly "why"-driven work...constantly stepping back to the big picture’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

'A concise, intelligent study of human beings… a pioneering masterwork of research, science, politics and will.’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

'A highly accessible read, definitely worth the time for anyone interested in what human beings get up to' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Why has human history been crowded into the last few thousand years? Why has it happened at all? Could it have happened in a radically different way? What should we make of the disproportionate role of the West in shaping the world we currently live in? This witty, intelligent hopscotch through human history addresses these questions and more. Michael Cook sifts the human career on earth for the most telling nuggets and then uses them to elucidate the whole. From the calendars of Mesoamerica and the temple courtesans of medieval India to the intricacies of marriage among an aboriginal Australian tribe, Cook explains the sometimes eccentric variety in human cultural expression. He guides us from the prehistoric origins of human history across the globe through the increasing unification of the world, first by Muslims and then by European Christians in the modern period, illuminating the contingencies that have governed broad historical change. "A smart, literate survey of human life from paleolithic times until 9/11." Edward Rothstein, The New York Times

Michael Cook, a specialist in Islamic history, is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.