A Short History of the World [Paperback]

H. G. Wells (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Wells had an intense curiosity and used it to investigate and share the entire history of the world in a condensed form. Wells, the great science fiction writer who wrote The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, was fascinated with the real world just as much as his imaginary ones. This book is a testament to his genius and immense knowledge involving the key events of humanity throughout the history of the world. He allows us to witness how we learned, grew, and reached deeper understandings throughout our physical, intellectual, and spiritual evolution. He also reveals that we are still in our infancy and have only just begun an immense and important journey. The pattern he lays out shows that we are moving toward new ways of understanding, growth, and wisdom.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

British author HERBERT GEORGE WELLS (1866-1946) is best known for his groundbreaking science fiction novels The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Book Tree (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585092118
• ISBN-13: 978-1585092116
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,416,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The World in One Volume, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Short History of the World (Paperback)

If you have ever wondered about how history hangs together, then this is the book for you. From the dawn of civilization to the modern era, Wells takes you along the journey of civilization (and pre-civilization -- the first few chapters of the book cover geology and evolution). This tome, and if ever a volume merited the word this is it, carries you along the way with Alexander, Persian Kings, Khans, Crusaders, Chinese Emperors, Popes, French Citizens, Tsars, and Kaisers. The sweep of characters, times and places includes a wonderful vista of history, all together and seen in relation to its entirety.

Yes, it's dated. Yes, it's slanted. H. G. Wells is very Victorian in his ethics. His politics were Fabian Socialist so you will find a distinct undercurrent for a socialist world government driving the story along. He is as un-Eurocentric as you could expect for the time: Europe and the Middle East take up the majority of the book, China and India play the next biggest role, followed distantly by Africa, Australia and the Americas.

The flaws are few given the task, the style is immensely readable, and the man who wrote The War of the Worlds, Time Machine, The Invisible Man and the Island of Doctor Moreau knows how to tell a story. Wells had the nerve to take on the World and the world gets a ripping good yarn with Mankind as the hero. You're part of the story; why not read it?

Also if you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Guns, Germs, and Steel : The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

Democratic Ideas and Reality by Halford J. Mackinder

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Erudite, vivid, and entertaining...essential reading., May 11, 2003

By 

Penguin Egg (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Short History of the World (Paperback)

This is the book that had such a powerful impact on Malcolm X. Its easy to see why. The history of the world is vividly outlined in an erudite and readable style. (Ever since I read `The Time Machine' when I was sixteen, I have considered Wells to be the clearest writer of prose in the English language.) Wells takes us from the very beginning of life right up to the League of Nations in 1922, stopping off at most points in-between: Neolithic cavemen, Periclean Athens, Roman and Byzantium civilisations, the life of Jesus, Confucius and Lao Tse, the rise of Islam, the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, discovery of America, the Industrial Revolution, World War I, and so on. The book is breathtaking in its scope, but Wells manages to give a succinct, vivid and comprehensive view of world history. I have found myself re-reading many of the chapters and I do not doubt that I will soon be re-reading the book in its entirety. There is little to criticise in this book - maybe it is a little Euro-centric; in the last chapters he does tend to labour his point a bit; and the early chapters are a little dated as we now know so much more about the evolution of our species. These are mere quibbles. Read it and become informed. Read it and be entertained.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ!, October 10, 2011

By 

Trib (USS Normandy) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Short History of the World (Kindle Edition)

H.G. Wells... Can any more be said?? This book is entirely historical (no sci-fi). It is comparable in value to Edward Gibbons History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, all six volumes, with active table of contents, improved 2/1/2011. From the Beginnings of known time (a little bit dated...), to the present (dated, once again). This work will fill your mind with all types of historical knowledge spanning, anthropology, paleontology, religious history, and any other empirical science, to explain what happened by a man who's gift for words and explanations rivalled C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis Signature Classics) and Richard Dawkins The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.