A Little History of the World: Illustrated Edition [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

I originally got this book for my young niece, but once I started reading, it was hard to tear myself away.

In contrast to a typical "dry" history book with facts and dates, this book's style was extremely engaging. Gombrich did not shy away from using the first person and second person, and that made the style feel very interactive. For example, the section on Alexander the Great included, "His commands could now be said to reach all the way from the Nile to Samarkand. This would probably have been enough for you or me, but Alexander was far from satisfied." More importantly, Gombrich liberally inserts his own unique interpretations of the key takeaways, which add to the charm and coherence of the book. I loved that the book interprets rather than just relates. For example, he concluded his Bronze Age section with, "They were people just like us. Often unkind to one another. Often cruel and deceitful. Sadly, so are we. But even then a mother might sacrifice her life for her child and friends might die for each other. No more and no less than often than people do today." This also illustrates the author's ability to relate ancient events and people to modern people and current practices.

In fact, what amazed me about the style is that it managed to be conversational and dynamic but the author was still able to seamlessly integrate profound observations and sweeping statements. One of my favorite sentences was the description of the Spartans and the Athenians: "Knowing how to die like that isn't easy. But knowing how to live is, perhaps, even harder." Nonetheless, the grand generalizations were balanced by carefully selected details which made the history come to life. Also, even though a lot necessarily had to be left out for this to be a "little" history, the details that were put in seemed just right. Although there are many examples of these, I particularly liked the story included in the Alexander section which related how Alexander went to see the philosopher Diogenes and was so impressed that he said " ` If I weren't Alexander I should like to be Diogenes. ` " In addition, the writing had a subtle sense of humor that made me smile as I read certain parts.

Another great thing about the book is the organization. It is split up into forty relatively short chapters, and even the chapter titles seem well thought out and incorporate a touch of poetry. Each chapter starts with some creative introduction to get the reader interested in the topic, but seems to come full circle at the end. The chapters seamlessly build on top of one another and the book felt very well integrated. I was also impressed by the way Gombrich would smoothly shift into the point of view of whatever people he was discussing while not hesitating to criticize them where needed. It felt like he really made a lot of effort to consider different perspectives and show multiple sides to each story.

Finally, it would be impossible to complete a review of the book without noting the attractiveness of the book itself. The relatively "squarish" shape of the pages, the interesting effect of the half-cover in the front, the glossy paper, the fonts, and the frequent illustrations gave the book a very luxurious feel and amplified the pleasure of reading. I also greatly enjoyed the illustrative maps.

While I suppose it could be said that the book was not entirely objective, may contain a few factual inaccuracies, leaves a lot out, and gives a disproportionate amount of attention to European history, I feel that none of these are really relevant criticisms of this particular book. The lack of complete objectivity added to the charm of the book. I'm sure the engaging style of the book more than outweighs any mistakes in detail or omissions as it makes the topic so interesting that it really encourages readers to research the topics in more depth. And while I believe the argument that a balanced view of history beyond European history is important for people to have, this particular book was clearly told from Gombrich's perspective and he did a great job covering the areas he did focus on.

`A Little History of the World` is a real gem. It is both beautifully written and illustrated, and will capture the attention of anyone who reads it. Not only is it suitable for all age groups but it will undoubtedly stimulate a genuine interest in its subject matter. It can be used as an easy to read history book or even as a bedtime storytelling book.

A truly wonderful way to get young children interested in history. A must read for parents and grand parents who love to read or tell bed time stories. It opened my curiosity to look for ways to explain and tell stories to my 3 year old grand daughter.