Customer Reviews

History of the World

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The problem with writing a History of the World is that every student of history has a different idea of what's important and what isn't. Since the book can't be of infinite length, the author has to leave a lot out. Roberts has left out most of African, South American and Asian history and has concentrated his work on Europe and its colonies.

Roberts may be accused of Eurocentrism, and perhaps with some justification; but he's European, and by definition sees the world as a European in the same way that an American writer sees the world only from an American viewpoint.

His scholarship is sterling, though, and his judgments sound. I read the book from cover to cover (and those covers are pretty far apart); it's well-written, engaging, and accurate. However, if you're looking for a history that encompasses the globe, this isn't it.

If you're like me and have a apalling lack of historical perspective, then this is the place to start. It's not a boring set of dates and events, Roberts' aim appears to be as much to show why things happened as what things happened. If you read this entire book, twice, then you will have a wonderful base upon which to build out a deep understanding of world history. If you're the type that tends to wait until things comes out on video, though, I recommend forgetting about this book - it's pretty darn hard work.

This is simply the best general history book I have yet read (I am a history teacher). The writing is sharp and sophisticated (and not without wit). For a one-volume tome, it does a fine job of encompassing human history. Roberts expertly melds general trends with singular events. Roberts' basic driver of change is cultural interchange (war, trade, migration, etc), hence the (unfounded) accusation of Eurocentrism. Roberts does not spare Western excesses, but does not apologize for them either. A jewel.

As far as general surveys of world history go, this book is excellent. Roberts doesn't deluge you in events, dates, places, names, nor does he overindulge in anecdotes or generalizations. Rather he lays out the major trends and happenings in history, examining the important events, causes, and consequences of each.

He does a good job of tying the history together, which helps enormously in making it interesting. It's long enough to not have to gloss over many important developments without being (too) imposing. And the style is intelligently readable, neither too scholarly nor too chatty. If you're interested in how the world came to be what it is today, and want to give yourself a comprehensive overview of history, this is a great book to read. Chances are you'll become fascinated with some era or event and want to learn even more about it.

The first and worst of its minor problems is that this book won't help you learn more. There are no references, citations, recommended readings, or bibliography. Roberts didn't research all of history himself; I'm certain he knows of many, many great resources, and it would have been helpful for him share them with us. The 2000 multivolume edition supposedly fixes this, but it's quite expensive.

Roberts' stated overall theme is the shaping of the modern world through history, and the book is paced accordingly. About half of it is dedicated to the years 1700 onward, which may or may not suit your interests. If you're inclined towards classical and medieval history as I am, you'll probably want to find good surveys of those periods. The modern section is detailed enough as to make one redundant.

I especially would have like more descriptions of social and cultural life; those included are relatively minimal. The grand trends, major transformations, and sweeping changes of history are well-covered. The details of everyday life, though, are often glossed over; there is often relatively little sense given of what a culture at a particular time was actually like.

Roberts makes no bones about his focus on the West. He is not Eurocentric in any moral or judgmental sense, but he does give relatively little space to societies (early African, Native American to name a few) which had little impact on shaping the modern world. If you're mainly interested in them, this book is probably not for you.

For an general introduction to world history, though, this book is excellent. It gives a good overview of, well, what humankind has done in the last 6000 years. It ties together all those tidbits you learned -- about Egypt, Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution -- into a coherent fabric of world history. And it does so readably, without being dry or assuming an attention span of 15 minutes.

J.M. Roberts is a good popular historian. Of the several works of his for the popular audience that I have read, all have come across as interesting and well organised, accessible and fairly objective. Roberts also writes for scholarly audiences; while his popular works are not a rigourous, his other works prove that there is serious scholarship underpinning these works.

Roberts' large, one-volume 'History of the World' joins many such volumes in having strengths and weaknesses, the primary weakness affecting them all being the inherent problem of selectivity. The history of the world, even if one simply means by this the history of human civilisation, has so much data in so many directions that ultimately no single volume (or, indeed, whole series of volumes) will satisfy all on every count.

Roberts begins with the pre-historical beginnings of human beings in various parts of the world, based on archaeological evidence. He then explores of civilisation in various parts of the world (Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India - all the places civilisation arose largely independently of each other). From there, Roberts traces the advances of civilisation through the Classical Mediterranean period, the post-Roman imperial time, the period of European expansion around the world, the period of world wars, and the modern post-war period. Within these broad divisions, Roberts introduces the history of other parts of the world -- the Islamic civilisation, more advanced the post-Roman lands, is not seen as a mere afterthought or addendum to the 'real' action in Europe; Roberts also traces historical development in China, India, and Japan as major centres of civilisation.

The majority of the text does centre upon the European stage and their expansion around the world, as this historical strand (for better or worse) is still the dominant influence around the world today. More than half the text deals with the past 300-400 years, in which European hegemony politically, militarily, and culturally took hold. Roberts keeps speculation and judgement to a minimum for the most part, reporting the facts of European growth and the response in the various lands around the world.

In my opinion, the primary piece lacking here are New World (western hemisphere) civilisations prior to the colonial conquests. While it is true that the influence of Native American cultures does not have tremendous impact upon the world stage today, it is also true that the civilisations of the Incans, Aztecs, Mayans and others were at least as interesting and advanced as various Sumerian and Egyptian ancient civilisations, even if they lack the historical continuity to today's world.

Roberts does add the occasional 'colour commentary' to his analysis. For example, in discussing the Lutheran Reformation, he mentions that Luther replaced the idea of eucharistic transubstantiation (the idea that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ) 'with a view which is even more difficult to grasp'. Roberts' biases are definitely Eurocentric and toward a progressive, humanist view of history's path. However, there can be no total objectivity in any historical presentation, and Roberts keeps his biases in check for the most part.

There are nearly 100 maps, and hundreds of images and graphics, including many full-colour plates. These are photographs of places, artifacts, paintings, and other images of importance serving to highlight the text. There is a worthwhile index. The text lacks recommendations for further readings, which is a drawback, given the survey nature of the text. However, it is one of the better single-volume histories of the world available today, particularly for those who are looking for broad historical trends leading to the present day.

This work is the best one-volume history of the world I have ever had the pleasure of owning. I own two editions of this grand text and keep reading it over and over.

I begins with the history of humaniods, and continues up to close to the present day. I covers all the major points of history, and most of the minor points... even if with just a paragraph or two.

I use this as a reference work a lot, as well as for just a history book that reads well for pleasure.

Highly recommended.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Before reading this book, I knew quite a lot about some historical periods (e.g., ancient Rome, ancient Egypt) and very little about others. This is the book that helped me put it all in perspective: it plugged many of the previously gaping holes in my knowledge of history and helped me understand how each period related to the next.

Granted, it's a one-volume history and hence cannot go into any great detail; but I find that it more than makes up for it with its refreshingly original judgements. Such nuggets as can be found in the book include the observation that the Egyptians were not, as is commonly thought, good mathematicians (they built their pyramids so accurately on the basis of an accumulated body of architectural experience, not mathematics); nor were they particularly skilled at mummification. Also debunked is the oft-repeated myth (originating with Pliny) that Rome lost much of her gold by trading with the East. Not so, says Roberts.

Other valuable insights include the observation that the current strife in the Mid-East can be seen as an "Ottoman war of succession." Very astute! We forget that the Ottomans, who held the region together for centuries, have been gone for less than a hundred years; it should not surprise us that their departure should bring about a major upheaval of the region.

Roberts' judgement is impressive, and I found myself nodding with most of his assessments. He also keeps anecdotes to a minimum, which allows him to focus more on the topic at hand--we don't really have to hear about Alexander's horse Bucephalus for the thousandth time, do we?

One caveat: I believe that this book presupposes a fair bit of historical knowledge. Those with little background might find the deluge of facts and names to be a bit overwhelming. But to someone who already has an interest in history, this book really helps put everything in perspective.

I have learned more from this book than from any other book I have ever read. That's saying quite a lot, but it's true -- it is thrilling to get the "big" picture in one place. Although the book is quite long, if you read just one chapter a night, you will find yourself absolutely enlightened in a couple of months. Plus, you'll be much better at Jeopardy!

John Roberts' "History of the World" is an impressive tome that undertakes what many thought to be an impossible task: writing a single-volume history of the world from pre-human times until the present day. The result is not a book for those who lack either time or commitment. With 922 history-packed pages, "History of the World" is a book that cannot be read in any short amount of time.

However, I did have a couple of problems with Roberts' work. For one thing, Europe clearly occupies the central role in the narrative. The entire precolonial histories of India and China receive only 15 and 17 pages in this book, respectively. The mere 400 years of Western Europe's "Dark Ages" (AD700 - 1100) on the other hand, are discussed over 25 pages. While some amount of Eurocentrism in a historical work can be forgiven due to Europe's global domination in recent centuries, discrepancies such as this one seem excessive, to say the least. Roberts' book at its worst moments seems to be a history of Europe with occasional chapters on the rest of the world tossed in at the appropriate times, as opposed to a balanced history of the world.

I was also mildly irritated by some of the illustrations and maps which appear in the "History of the World." The artwork and photographs were generally related to the text, although they didn't add much to the narrative. Some, however, were completely random. Why would someone include Byzantine art with a discussion of Japan's Meiji Restoration? The maps were usually of decent quality, though many were cramped and hard to read. Some of these also appeared to be included in the book as afterthoughts. I'll supply one example: a map detailing the spread of Muslim rule in India accompanies a discussion of the Indian Mauryan Empire, which rose and fell centuries before the founding of Islam. Some readers may not be bothered by these rather slight annoyances; others may be irritated, as I was.

Ultimately, though, the central dilemma of Roberts' "History of the World" is its very nature. Trying to write a one-volume history of the world seems an act of almost foolhardy ambition. The end result packs in so much history that it is too imposing to be of use as an introductory reading, but at the same time is not able to go 'deep' enough to please history buffs (who will likely know most of what they read). To put it simply, I don't think that super-large one-volume histories are the best way to read (or write) history. Although Roberts' work is certainly impressive, I would recommend that readers seek out more in-depth works on more specific historical topics instead of devoting themselves to this "History of the World." Three stars.

This book gives the reader an excellent knowledge of world history. It glosses over artistic history at times but it is very comprehensive in explaining changes in our world.