The People's Chronology: A Year-By-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (A Henry Holt Reference Book) [Paperback]

James Trager (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1994 | Series: A Henry Holt Reference Book

Now in paperback and updated through 1993, the ever-popular People's Chronology presents more than 35,000 entries that chronicle the major historical events in 30 categories of human endeavor--from art to communications to literature to music to religion to science and more. "Enormous fun to read."--The Washington Post.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- This chronological desk reference for social and political history covers prehistory through 1991. The concise, although chatty, entries are arranged by category (identified by a symbol in the left margin). A comprehensive index is included. Although one may initially plan to search for a specific bit of information, both the style and content make it difficult to stop reading. Students can locate information for assignments and collect data to bring conventional reports to life. Those working on decade reports will find popular songs, political figures, major events, hit movies, and much more. All will garner a better understanding of politics, daily life, and the arts during any time period, and almost any region of the world. Or, they can simply bone up on trivia through the centuries.
- Barbara Hawkins, West Potomac High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Trager's revised and updated chronology, first issued in 1979 ( LJ 9/1/79), joins a bevy of similar sources, including the recently published Chronicle of the World (Prentice-Hall Pr., 1990), The New York Public Library Book of Chronologies ( LJ 1/91), and a third edition of Bernard Grun's well-known The Timetables of History (Touchstone: S. & S., 1991). Of these works, Trager's packs in the most facts, conveyed via relatively lengthy accounts in two-column pages of more than 30,000 events covering all major areas of human endeavor from three million B.C. through 1990. Although the revised edition contains only about 40 more pages than its predecessor, much new material has been added, most obviously for recent years; likewise, much has been cut from the original, most of which will not be missed. The index--justifiably criticized as inadequate in the first edition--has been greatly expanded but remains an imperfect finding device; the 13-line account of Augustus Deodat Taylor's prefabricated house (the so-called "balloon-frame" house), for instance, is not indexed under such logical headings as "architecture," "buildings," "construction," "housing," or "Taylor." Entries in the text are loosely grouped by topic, designated by graphic symbols (dollar sign, artist's palette, mortarboard, etc.), but the symbols tend to be too numerous and ambiguous to serve as effective guides for pinpointing specific information. On balance, Trager's tome succeeds more as a browsing item than as a work for serious reference. Librarians will still prefer the standard, Grun.
- Kenneth F. Kister, author of "Best Encyclopedias," Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1251 pages
• Publisher: Owlet; Rev&Updtd edition (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805031340
• ISBN-13: 978-0805031348
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,326,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one absolutely indispensable chronological volume, August 14, 2003

By 

Chrijeff (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The People's Chronology: A Year-By-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (A Henry Holt Reference Book) (Paperback)

There are several good chronological overviews out there, but this one (overdue, after 11 years, for a newly revised edition) is the best I know of and the one I reach for most often. No matter what historical period your greatest interest falls in, you can browse through it year by year. You can look up your own birth year and those of friends and relatives and find out what was happening then, or refresh your memory of past times. You can follow the repercussions of a given incident from beginning to end while noting how the world continued to spin all the while. Of course it's heavily weighted toward more recent events (the 19th and 20th Centuries occupy 68% of the volume), but the detail is superb. You'll find *everything* in this book--kings and presidents and prime ministers, wars and assassinations, financial landmarks, inventions, new developments in science and research, the founding of universities, newspapers, paintings, sculpture, theater, ballet, music, industry, population, and that's just the year 1801! If you have any prospect of ever needing to know "what happened when," you need to own this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich and valuable historical resource unlike any other, May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The People's Chronology: A Year-By-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (A Henry Holt Reference Book) (Paperback)

Every time I pick up this book I am sucked in, following one historical trail through the years and being distracted by another path, and then another. It is set up so brilliantly, each year broken down by category--politics, music, food, religion, etc--and covering both Western and some Eastern history, that it puts all of history into accessible context and perspective. After looking up a detail in 1099 about English royal politics, it is easy to trace the repurcussions year by year, and to quickly glance at the music, the French situation, the new foods, the new theater, the global exploration, the current Chinese dynasty, and myriad other details all the way up to the present. Or just follow Mozart's career, or the Industrial Revolution, or agricultural innovations. Sure, it is not intensely detailed on each event, but it makes a great jumping off point towards other reference material. It is also the most appreciated gift I have ever given. Let's just hope the publisher decides to reprint!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn Something New Everyday - for a Long Time, January 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The People's Chronology: A Year-By-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (A Henry Holt Reference Book) (Paperback)

As soon as you receive this book take a few minutes to reinforce the binding because (a) it's big and thick for a paperback, and (b) you'll find that it will spend very little time closed once it's opened. This book is an absloute necessity for those of us who are fascinated by not only the major landmarks of history, but the everyday flavor of past times. This book presents an eternal well of interesting notes and accounts that are organized ingeniously by subject, within years, across time. The cross-referencing that accompanies most entries makes the book nearly impossible to put down. The thoroughness provides a much needed perspective on almost any of today's pressing issues. The international scope only serves to make it that much more interesting for those with a thirst to know something about everything. Truly, you will learn something new everyday - for a long time.