The No-Nonsense Guide to World History (No-Nonsense Guides) [Paperback]

Chris Brazier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Series: No-Nonsense Guides

Who was the first black queen? How much do you know about China’s history? Most people’s knowledge of world history is hazy and incomplete at best. This No-Nonsense Guide to World History gives a full picture, revealing the hidden histories and communities left out of conventional textbooks—from the civilizations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America to the history of women.

It includes a final chapter on how climate change, 9/11, the Iraq war, corporate power, and China’s headlong growth fit into the broader patterns of world history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'For anyone who wants a lucid, factual, reliable guide to some of the most important issues of our time, I strongly recommend you check out the No-Nonsense Guides.' Howard Zinn, historian, playwright and social activist 'A splendid series of pocketable guides to issue politics... rigorously clear.' The Guardian, London 'The No-Nonsense Guide to World History is vivid, informal and informative. Perhaps every professional historian should be required to write a history of the world in forty thousand words - nothing would be more conducive to humility.' Professor William Beinart, St Antony's College, Oxford, UK

About the Author

Chris Brazier has been a co-editor of New Internationalist magazine since 1984. His previous publications include Vietnam: The Price of Peace and (as editor) Raging Against the Machine. Since 2001 he has also been principal writer for UNICEF's The State of the World's Children report.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: New Internationalist; 2nd edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904456472
• ISBN-13: 978-1904456476
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works for me, November 9, 2002

By 

Squid Fizzy (Planet X) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The No-Nonsense Guide to World History (No-Nonsense Guides) (Paperback)

This book is worth it's weight in gold, 'nuff said. I use it for My world history course as a secondary aid to the Barron's book. It's easy to read whenever, requires no special skills, and is small and easy to carry, unlike Barron's. What makes this book so great is that it offers facts in an easy to understand form, almost as if you're talking to a classmate who happens to be a lot smarter than you. With so many history books that are way to long and hard to read, it's refreshing to be able to have something to relate too.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but..., April 4, 2004

By 

Kevin J. St Onge (Manchester, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The No-Nonsense Guide to World History (No-Nonsense Guides) (Paperback)

This book is a fantastic guideline to the history of humans on Earth. However, I was not pleased with how opinionated the author was at times, wasting entire pages on opinionated rants. Again, this book is a fantastic, just a warning to those (like myself) who prefer strong opinions stay in the editorial column if at all possible.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brief *and* complete world history book? Yes, this is...., June 19, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The No-Nonsense Guide to World History (No-Nonsense Guides) (Paperback)

The authors, regular contributors to the excellent _New
Internationalist_ magazine, have created a book that is
clear, bereft of waste and unnecessary filler.

All major cultures and events are covered, and I don't
mean the "Europe only" history taught in most schools:
African empires, women's history, and the world that
existed white Europe are discussed.

This is by no means a complete book; no book of 10,000
words can be that, but it proves to be a great starting

point: people will read this book and say "I didn't know
that...". It's slim profile and light weight in grams,
not content, also make it a great book for travellers
and college students. I work and travel among cities
and don't have room even for Guizot's book of European
history, but this book fits in nicely.

To quote from the film "Good Will Hunting", when asked by
his psychiatrist what history is worth reading, Hunting
says "Whatever blows your hair back." This is such a book.