Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times [Hardcover]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 1991

From the world's greatest science writer, a history of the world from the Big Bang to 1945, told in irresistible short takes and highlighted by a timeline.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

An author who has written 465 books unquestionably knows the craft well, and here Asimov tackles nothing less than a history of the Earth from the creation of the universe to 1945. The format is similar to Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery ( LJ 10/1/89): blocks of time are isolated and their events chronicled, first with theories in prehistory and then through historical records. One finishes the book feeling that history has been more the march of armies than of enlightenment. Asimov's style is crisp, concise, and devoid of jargon, and he is not above interjecting an occasional ironic or strongly felt opinion when a human foible invites one. Some, perhaps most, concepts and events are treated in an overly simplified manner, but that is unavoidable in a book that attempts to cover 15 billion years of history. Events are conveyed in broad terms, and proportionately few dates are included to interrupt the narrative, making this book as useful in a circulating collection as in reference. Its use as a ready reference tool, either to answer basic questions or as a starting point for more detailed research, will depend largely on the thoroughness of the index, unavailable for review. Those wishing for a more concise historical chronology might purchase Bernard Grun's Timetables of History (S. & S., 1982. rev. ed.); though an older title, it covers a more manageable period, from 5000 B.C. to 1978. For public, school, and university libraries.
- James Moffet, Baldwin P.L., Birmingham, Mich.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

To list Isaac Asimov's honors, as to list his books, would be excessive. Let it simply be noted that Isaac Asimov was the most famous, most honored, most widely read, and most beloved science fiction author of all time. In his five decades as an author, he wrote more than four hundred books, won every award his readers and colleagues could contrive to give him, and provided pleasure and insight to millions. He died in 1992, still at work.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers; 1st edition (November 6, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062700367
• ISBN-13: 978-0062700360
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > History

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have, January 22, 2000

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times (Hardcover)

If you have any interest at all in the world you live in, you should have this book. Basically chronicling the complete history of the world from its creation until 1945, it is an amazing, concise, helpful, fun quick referance.

If you are reading a historical novel and want to check how accurate it is, this book'll help you. Want to know what else was going on in the world during this war or that revolution? Just open 'er up!

I have this book handy at almost all times when I am reading. It is compartmentalized into sections concerning individual countries or groups, not just a big mishmash of everything going on all at once, and it reads very easily, not like a school history textbook. It includes a nifty "outline" timeline at the beginning, too, so you can just skim it over without reading every word.

An amazingly hefty, helpful, well researched book that no one should be without.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential, January 26, 2004

By 

Calion (Murphysboro, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times (Hardcover)

Asimov's Chronology of the World is a superb reference work. Although not really (and not meant to be) a coherent narrative, it is highly readable and absolutely essential to any historical research. It is useful as a reference tool in almost any historical context; if you're not sure when something happened, or exactly what happened, consult the Chronology. If it was a major happening, it's almost certain to be there, and realtively easy to find.

Asimov does sacrifice depth for breadth in this work; many more minor events are not covered. Also, if you plan to read this work cover to cover (I did, and it was very well worth the effort--doing so gives a broad perspective on history very difficult to find elsewhere), you need a good historical atlas on hand to understand how events unfold.

The only complaint I have with this work is that Asimov did not live long enough to write the sequel, chronologizing the events from 1945-2000. If anyone has found a good book to fill this gap, please let me know!

In sum, Asimov's Chronology is the essential one-volume reference to world history. No home library should be without it.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Asimov's best non-fiction works, January 3, 2000

By 

David N. Reiss (Haymarket, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times (Hardcover)

This is probably Isaac Asimov's best non-fiction history book. It tells the story of history from a simple prespective of what happened when. Lots of modern historians have gotten away from that simple approach. It helps that Asimov is not a historian in the traditional academic way. He was just a person who knew a lot about many things, one of them being history.

Coupled with his work about Science and Discovery, it makes for a good reference work that is also a good read.