Customer Reviews

National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Both public libraries and high school to college-level collections will find much to appreciate in National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line. Its organization is geared to show historical connections between continents, cultures and nations over the centuries, and allows readers to draw important connections between events around the world. There are other books of timeline history on the market today; but National Geographic uses a stunning combination of art, timeline charts and written history to great effect, here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This reference book is precisely what its title says it is, in that it is a concise view of history. Very concise. If you want detail, this is certainly not the book to get, as this book covers thousands of years. Sidebars give more a little detail on specified subjects, but even these do not delve too deeply into the subject matter.

That being said, National Geographic has done an admirable job of putting together history on a visual timeline which makes the book very accessible, and easy to pick up for any casual reader. Optimally, this book would be used in conjunction with a more detailed book on history or archaeology, or something such as The Encyclopedia of World History or The Oxford Companion to Archaeology.

Admittedly, it is not perfect, as the (re)discovering of Machu Piccu in Peru in 1911 by Hiram Bingham is not on the timeline of the Americas. And it mentions the first year for cartoons in newspapers, but mentions neither the newspaper or the city in which they were published. Even given these provisos, this is a remarkable and highly visual book which is a great reference and should have a place on your bookshelf.

**** 1/2 stars.

This is an excellent source for obtaining a quick, clear, and coherent context for an event or a period. For example, if you want to know what the rest of the world was doing when the Conquistadors sailed onto the shores of South America, this book is the best first step in your research. The entries are concise and the layout is attractive.

I wasn't quite ready for the book's layout- it's written using timeline, column and rows with an occasional break to preface or highlight an era using paragraphs etc. This isn't historical fiction but then how could it be? There's far too much imformation for that- it is after all a history of the world! Once I got the hang of the layout I beggan to enjoy it reading it bit by bit. Probably best used to focus in on a particular time or culture- when backgound info is needed. This NG book will add to anyone's library- pick it up.

Very explicit and easy to follow. Great for referencing your travels and world history.

You would be better off just having a simple timeline downloaded from the internet because this book is not much more. I understand there is a lot of content and this is a concise version but you would think there would be interesting blurbs or an attempt to tie things together. There are some blurbs but they are not nearly as interesting as they could be.

FINDING THE RIGHT TEXTBOOKS FOR A FRESHMAN COURSE IN CIVILIZATION THAT I HAVE TAUGHT FOR 27 YEARS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM. MAJOR TEXTBOOKS ARE ENCYCLOPEDIC AND OFTEN DULL, AND IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO MOTIVATE MY [175 OR SO] STUDENTS TO ACTUALLY READ THE TEXT. TO MAKE IT WORSE, PUBLISHERS CHANGE EDITIONS EVERY TWO YEARS MAKING BACK COPIES OBSOLETE. I SWITCHED TO A LIMITED BUT INTERESTING ANALYTIC TEXT, [CIVILIZATION: A NEW HISTORY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, BY ROGER OSBORNE]AND ADDED "A CONCISE HISTORY..." ALONG WITH A FLEXIBLE "BROWSING" SYSTEM THAT SENT STUDENTS HERE AND THERE REVIEWING BOTH CURIOUS TRIVIA [1800:WM. YOUNG DESIGNS SHOES SPECIFICALLY FOR THE RIGHT AND LEFT FEET] AND MAJOR EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, FROM PRE-HISTORY TO THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD. ALSO, AS A PROF AT A CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY I FOUND "A CONCISE HISTORY..." BOTH FAIR AND REASONABLY INCLUSIVE [e.g., ABRAHAM, ca 2100; AN EXTENDED SURVEY OF UR, MOSES AND THE 10 COMMANDMENTS,1300 BCE; ELIJAH AND ELISHA, c.a. 860] TO BIBLICAL HISTORY.

A good reference for significant world history events. While in depth information is not the purpose of the book the comparative timeline is great for revealing parallel events in other parts of the world.

This book is terrific. I've been looking for a reference that can outline significant events, people, etc., across time and geography, and this book does exactly that. It's a great way to compare and contrast moments in history. This isn't meant to be a detailed encyclopedic tome. It's a well-illustrated, easy to read, quick reference book. Another great product from National Geographic.

This book does not give a very deep look into any of its historical events. It is merely a visual time line. It's not deep. You won't get much history from reading it. You will simply get a better undersanding of how world history events overlap each other. I wouldn't buy it if I had it to do over.