Customer Reviews

The Outline of History (The Bestsellers of 1921)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even though this book is only called the outline of history, I have found it to be the most comprehensive history book in my very large collection. Even though the book is as old as my grandparents, the information it contains is still valid today, and since I am a history buff, it occupies an honored place in my library at home. I do not agree with all of his conclusions, but his insight and honesty (I am glad he is not one of those who worships the past) are very refreshing. A must read for anyone who wants to find out about the history of the world.

In a time of "political correctness" in everything including our history texts, it's not startling to find the most unbiased look at world history is in a text that was first published 80 years ago! H. G. Wells was a man well in advance of his time. Not afraid to contradict the jingoistic attitudes of contemporary European and American historians, he places equal importance upon the development of Asian and African civilizations in his text, making sure the reader realizes that many events were happening simultaneously around the world, as well as pointing out the follies of European colonizing policies. (At the same time, he doesn't hesitate to point out mistakes made by African and Asian governments in their dealings with Europeans and each other.) His history reads like a sweeping fictional saga as he shows how events all over the world tie together in a cause-and-effect scenario. His history is not just names and dates, but explanations as to WHY things happened as they did! (The 1940 edition is particularly fascinating, as the final chapter in it details his amazingly-accurate analysis of the then-present situation in Europe, the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the failure of the other European powers to stop him when they had the opportunities! Remember, Wells is the man who predicted mass bombings of cities, extensive use of tanks and submarines, and other aspects of warfare pooh-poohed by military "geniuses" of his time!) He's brutally honest in his assessments of events and the people who caused them. There's no glossing over or whitewashing of history of the type seen in today's histories. I can see why many educators don't want it in today's classrooms. Find it and read it--if you have the guts.

i was in prison when i read this book so i only got to read the second volume but it made me change my whole perspective on history. It is a very good book for anyone who wants to REALLY UNDERSTAND history because instead of just giving a plain account of it, it puts history in perspective, in more of an outline, hence the title. i think it lays it out better than any history book i read in my high school. it makes history look rational and not just like a bunch of random, unconnected events. I think it exposes a pattern and a natural sequence to the events that have shaped this world. After reading it, i kind of look at what's happening today and put it in a historical context. It takes a step back to view history as a whole instead of getting too close to look at the details and making you lose focus of the BIG PICTURE that makes history so very important.

This work ranks among the premier volumes on the subject of world history.
The writing is of the highest order as to sentence structure, vocabulary
and general usage. The author discusses the history of the world from the
BC period up to the 20th century. There is a considerable coverage of the
Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Industrial Period and the global
struggles of the early 20th century. The life and times of the Mediterranean peoples, Mesopotania and Asia are explained . The author discusses both the historical and cultural dimensions of world history
including some reference to the pre-historic period and longstanding
Chinese dynasties.

The contents could fill a dozen or more dissertations.
The presentation is geared for collegiate study/review or well-read/sophisticated readers. These volumes
would make a good starting point for a dissertation on world history,
culture or politics. The contents of this book could be helpful in
crafting a global framework for better understanding in today's world.

Sample topics include the following:
1. Space and Time
2. The Beginnings of Life, Fishes, Reptiles , Birds and Mammals
3. Primitive Thought and Early Civilizations
4. Sumeria, Early Egypt and Writing
5. Nomads and Seafaring Peoples
6. Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Ancient Greece
7. The Wars of the Greeks and Persians, Alexander the Great
8. Confucius and Lao Tse
9. The Roman Empire, the Huns, Chinese Dynasties, Muhammad and Islam
10. The Crusades, Popes and the Great Schism, European Revival
11. The Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
12. Steamship, Railways, the Rise of Germany and Japan
13. The British Empire, World War I, Russian Famine
14. Political and Social Reconstruction

I have the 1921 edition - the original which I picked up at a local second hand shop a few months ago for just $1.00. I had no idea that H.G. Wells had written a history text. Being a history buff and having earned my degree in history I was suprised. I never heard this text mentioned once in four and a half years of higher education - why? Well for one Mr. Wells does not fit the academic mold nor does his book follow what is still established doctrine for history texts. He has opinions about everything, he dosen't hesitate to tell the reader what he thinks was wrong with ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, Alexander ect. This isn't a man suffering from hero worship. Being a fan of all things Roman I didn't necessary agree with all his evaluations of the Empire and it's civilization, but I have to respect his courage in stating it. This is a book which challenges the reader to think. While Wells is guilty of ommission and some commission which historian isn't? No this is a daring work and even though my addition is eighty years old I found it very relevant and lacking in pretension. I'm proud to have this book sitting on my shelves. Excellent.

I first ran across this book more than 25 years ago at a book salvage sale. So much of what Mr. Wells wrote was so new, or different, from what I'd learned in school that I would go to another source to verify or challenge what he'd stated in a sentence, paragraph or page. Mr. Wells was, usually, very accurate. Moreover, when I did check some statement from other sources, it might take hours of research to find a good reference resource. It took a year to finish this book because I flagged many para- graphs or pages and reread and re-researched passages. Whew! One of my copies notes that this book is the world's #l selling history book and is still being used in many classrooms world-wide. I repeat: I'd never heard of this book ever mentioned in school. "The Outline of History," absolutely, needs to be studied by U. S. students in Junior or Senior High School--- preferably 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Our children are being cheated if they do not study this; but, that's another story. Most Sincerely!

W. J. Bryan III

Today, when there is little but propaganda on TV and at the bookstore, it is astonishing to read a 20th century English-speaking author write in a way devoid of the propaganda. I doubt that the work could be published as is today were it new, even if by such a well-known author. Those were the days of free, or at least freeer press.

Because the time span is so great, more attention is paid to 19th Century history up to the end of WW I, where it stops than to older periods. But earlier periods are treated in ways according to the information available to the non-specialist. Wells' history is easier to read than that of the Durants and lacks their obvious bias. With the exception of Spengler, Wells' History is perhaps the last history or biography in which the European point of view is taken as matter-of-fact.

For those interested in reading about the species' history, Wells' _Outline_ is a nice supplement to new, more scholarly history books that make closer studies of power distributions and events in certain places at certain times. His timeline of Western European History is generally accurate (though by no means comprehensive) and makes for enjoyable reading.

While a well-educated reader will overlook Wells' racism (he holds the absurd belief that a monolithic culture once ranged from Ireland to China and is destined to be recreated by the superior Germanic builders of Europe) and skim for facts, a younger or less-informed reader might find it difficult to recognize the author's regular slips into a defunct worldview.

Above all, this book will gratify those readers whose memories of papal, royal, and cultural (primarily Western European) successions need to be revamped.

This work is written in an elegant style typical of HG Wells.
The vocabulary is superb. The presentation is highly involved.
The reader traverses a considerable amount of history from
ancient times through the Roman Empire to Alexander the Great
up through the Middle Ages and more modern times. The work
is informative and well-researched in a highly abbreviated form.
It is so voluminous that the reader has difficulty gleaning
the historical character of individual periods because each

piece of history is weighted on an equal plane. This work
is perfect for world history buffs and readers of complex
literature. The presentation could occupy multiple
academic dissertations. Students at every level could utilize
this book as a resource for college papers and obtaining
supplementary material for courses in comparative world
history . The work is geared for students in college or
advanced-level students in the later part of high school.
HG Wells is one of the finast writers to rise to prominence
in the last hundred years or more. This work ranks alongside
some of the historical writings of Sir Winston Churchill and other academic researchers of considerable standing in the
literary community in Europe and the Americas.

An ardent amateur historian, I've found this book to be one of the most instructive and illuminating I've ever found on this broad subject. Wells's vaunted mastery of the language and subject enthrall this reader. I've read it in toto thrice. I have two undated two-volume editions published by Garden City which contain Wells's 1946 revisions, revised and updated by Raymond Postgate, and all the maps and plans by J.F. Horrabin, and would part with one of them.