Timelines of World History [Paperback]

John B. Teeple (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2006

Designed for history aficionados, trivia buffs, or anyone with a curious mind, this illustrated record covers all the major events and achievements in human history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Depth is ruthlessly sacrificed to breadth in this atlas of world history. The material is arranged in separate timelines-for Asia, Africa, Europe and "Americas and Australasia"-running vertically down facing pages, with supplementary maps and short sidebar essays. The format is meant to give these regions equal representation and facilitate comparative history by correlating at a glance contemporaneous events across the globe. Unfortunately, while some developments-such as the early spread of agriculture, technology and cities-are occasionally illuminated by this approach, it is almost always historically incoherent. The division of timelines by continent is particularly thoughtless. Events in the Roman Empire are confusingly split up between Asian, African and European timelines, while the Asia timeline jumbles together the journeys of St. Paul with news from Han China. The "Americas and Australasia" timeline stays blank for pages on end as empires rise and fall elsewhere, taking up space better used to flesh out other too-terse entries; its spurious continuity implies that the United States is more an outgrowth of Olmec history than European history. While possibly of value for quick reference, the graphical juxtaposition of factoids presented here is no substitute for skillful narrative synthesis. Photos and illustrations throughout.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Intended for quick reference or for trivia buffs rather than for any kind of genuine historical research, this volume uses time lines to provide "a visual chronicle of human history and development" from 10,000 B.C.E. to the present. Time lines appear in four columns--one each for Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas and Australasia--and are accompanied by gorgeous illustrations and maps. The outer column of each page has sidebars containing summaries of key events, condensed biographies, or descriptions of places. There is no index but rather a concordance, which occupies more than 200 pages at the back of the book, containing its own individual country chronologies, more brief biographies, and cross-references.

As might be expected from a work of this nature, its breadth is so wide that it renders the depth of coverage extremely shallow. In terms of volume of information, there is not much more conveyed here per subject than there would be in a good dictionary. For example, there are a total of about five brief paragraphs on World War I and about seven on World War II. Because world events are segregated by continent and presented in parallel fashion on the page, Timelines seems most valuable for comparing contemporaneous significant events at a glance. This also means that numerous pages contain blank columns for Africa and the Americas because of the relative lack of historical information about those parts of the world. The book's greatest strength is its graphics--13 full-color, foldout maps; more than a dozen smaller color maps; and more than 500 attractive illustrations and trenchant photographs.

This is a kind of deluxe version of the popular The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events (3d ed., Simon & Schuster, 1991), though that work is subdivided by subject (history, literature, religion, science, etc.) rather than by continent. This new title can only be the starting point of any meaningful inquiry, but the colorful graphics may grab the attention of younger readers and casual browsers. Recommended for public libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756617030
• ISBN-13: 978-0756617035
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Cross-Cultural Handbook of History, October 23, 2003

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Timelines of World History (Hardcover)

"This work has been prepared with two major objectives. The first is to provide a reference work which looks at the world as an outsider - as though standing on the moon, a possibility which is no longer the stuff of fantasy. The second is to separate fact from interpretation." ~John B. Teeple

DK is well known for their interest in creating some of the most fascinating books you will ever read. Not only is this book filled with full-color maps, it is also illustrated with contemporary and archival photographs and artwork.

The features include: Entries organized according to dates and geographic regions, beautifully illustrated timelines, feature boxes and captions, cross-reference navigation tools, introductory narrative for each timeline, encyclopedic Subject Index and Glossary, comprehensive information on the arts, science and technology, exploration, philosophy and religion. The sidebars are used for detailed captions and additional chronologies.

I also loved the "snapshot" maps where the pages fold out and you can see how the world evolves over time. You can visually compare the world in 1000 BCE with the world in 1975. The quick reference timelines at the start of each chapter shows the most important events of that time period.

How is this book set up?

As you read through this book you will find four columns: Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas & Australasian.

On page 454 and 455 you will see lots of information, including the following facts:

ASIA: 2002 Musharraf wins Pakistan general election.

AFRICA: 2002 The threat of famine looms large in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho as crops fail due to droughts and floods.

EUROPE: 2002 Single European currency - the Euro-introduced in 11 of the 15 EU Member States.

AMERICAS & AUSTRALASIA: 2002 Estimated Internet users worldwide 530 million.

On each side of the four columns, you will find pictures with information on the Conflict in the Middle East, Asylum-seekers in Europe and a summary of Sept 11.

While it doesn't seem much is going on in the Americas and Australasia until page 249, you have to see this all in context. Often this area is filled with pictures, so the space is not wasted. Basically the timelines show what happened and when. It is that simple.

This book spans from 10,000 BCE to 2002. For instance, you will find entries like: c.1000 Adena culture develops in middle Ohio river valley in eastern N America. Things start picking up after pg. 271 when Christopher Columbus makes his appearance in search of Asia and lands on the Bahamas on his first expedition.

The United States of America is not a big section of this book, simply because it is a young country in comparison to countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. I say all this to put the information in this book into perspective. It does seem that the editors went out of their way to include as much information as they could before the 15th century.

The Main Contents include:

The World to 10,000 BCE
Timeline: 10,000-5000
The Advent of Agriculture: 5000-2500 BCE
The First Cities: 2500-1000 BCE
Early Civilizations: 1000-500 BCE
The Early Classical Age: 1-500 BCE-1 CE
The Later Classical Age: 1-500 CE
Successors to the Classical Age: 500-1000 CE
The Early Middle Ages: 1000-1200 CE
The High Middle Ages: 1200-1400
The Renaissance: 1400-1600
The Expanding World: 1600-1800
The Age of Revolution: 1800-1900
Clash of Empires: 1900-1925
Timelines: 1901-1915
World War I
The World in 1925
The World between the Wars: 1925-1950
World War II
Timelines: 1941-1950
The Cold War World 1950-1975
Timelines: 1951-1960
The Cold War/The End of Colonial Rule
Timelines: 1961-1975
The Modern World: 1975-2002
Concordance - This goes from page 458-666.

I find it interesting that this book has 666 pages. The Concordance section of this book is worth the price alone. It is a collection of major events, brief biographies of key historical figures, lists of major rulers and leaders, individual chronologies of each of the world's nations and also acts as an index and glossary for the book.

If you are researching "Plato," you can look up his name in the alphabetically arranged concordance section and not only read about his basic philosophy, you will also be guided to page 59 where you will the date of 384 where he wrote his philosophical dialogue, The Symposium. If you look up United States of America, you can find all the important dates like 1776, followed by a list of the Presidents of the United States.

If you are interested in world history and want to finally organize your thoughts into an historical context, you will love this book.

I think of this as a History Dictionary/Encyclopedia of sorts. If I need information on any topic, from Microsoft to Buddhism, this is a great place to start and I can then put all the topics I'm researching into the proper historical perspective. This is a good sturdy book with a beautiful binding. A book you will be reading for years and years! I found it to be very reliable and all the facts I knew by heart where listed correctly.

Sadly, the author, John B. Teeple, passed away in the Spring of 2002 and tragically never saw this book in its published form. There is a foreword from the author and it beautifully explains why this book was written.

"Timelines of World History" is Mind Boggling! It is another DK masterpiece. If I could, I would give this book 20 stars.

~The Rebecca Review

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Rate and Compare World History Atlas Books, December 18, 2005

By 

J. E. Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timelines of World History (Hardcover)

As a reader I like to have quick reference books at my finger tips including a new version of the Oxford English Dictionary about 3500 pages long - that I use almost daily. So I decided to add a "history atlas". In the process of doing my research I read the other amazon.com reviewers and then made three trips to two large book stores to actually look at the books and get a better feel for which was the best. I ended up buying the Oxford Atlas of World History. Here are my picks and rankings.

Listed by My ranking, #1 is the best, #2 is a creative alternative but no substitute.

1. Atlas of World History, Oxford University Press 2002, 368 pages, $57.80, 13.5" x 10.3" x 1.62" ranked 46,632 on Amazon.com. Hands down winner - professional - good text descriptions, outstanding maps and drawings, covers most things from the cave man forward. Negatives: Big and heavy. If you want to save a few dollars buy the "concise" version.

2. Creative alternative: The Penguin Atlas of World History, Penguin Books 2004, $11.20, just a paperback sized, just published, 304 pages. Surprisingly impressive, lots of text and pictures mixed together and it is easy to carry around. A nice quick alternative but it will be printed in two volumes.

3. Timelines of World History, DK Publishing 2002, 666 pages, $27.20. 10.0" x 1.6" ranked 25,800 on Amazon.com. Second with lots of value but in some ways not as comprehensive.

4. National Geographic Almanac of World History, National Geographic 2003, 384 pages, $28.00, 9.6" x 7.8" x 1.17" ranked 24,426 on Amazon.com. Similar to but less impressive than Oxford books. More text, narrower coverage, fewer maps and drawings.

5. DK Atlas of World History, DK Publishing, 352 pages, $35.00, 10.96" x 14.66" x 1.28" ranked 10,716 on Amazon.com. My last place book seems like a giant comic book. I love the DK travel books but this seems like one step beyond DK's area of expertise. Superficially it is similar to the Oxford book and it is cheap, and some might like it but it tries to be politically correct and fails.

6. Oxford Dictionary of World History, Oxford University Press, 704 pages, $7,66, pocketbook sized, sales rank 330,000. Mainly terms, people, and dates but has a few maps also. Limited use but an alternative. I prefer the new Penguin book but this is the best history dictionary to buy.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good starting point., December 7, 2003

By 

Eileen Eisemann "inanna" (Moriches, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Timelines of World History (Hardcover)

This book is a good place to start research, but only if the reader uses it as an initial reference. Readers would be wise to cross-check facts, since in a few moments I found errors in the early eras: the Hyksos in Egypt at the wrong time, Naram-sin of Agade ruling at the wrong time, Babylon mentioned before it ever was founded, Eqypt ruling Crete.
Later eras may have more accurate information.
The book is a good over-all view for one who wants the whole picture before going deeper into any particular time or place.
For general knowledge of contemporaneous events Jacquetta Hawkes' book has yet to be equaled.