When I went to school we learned history starting with Egypt and working our way forward until we came to the Space Program, discussing Europe and America as if they existed in a vacuum. Oddly, at about Kennedy’s assassination we hit a strange bend in time and went back to the Revolutionary War and proceeded to discuss American history in a vacuum (unless forced to refer to other countries in the context of World Wars.) We suffered this strange time loop so often that I used to annoy my teachers by obviously not paying attention in class and still answering questions correctly when called on. In fact, up until the time I purchased this book I had no idea that places like Asia and the Pacific islands had history.

Ok, that’s not exactly true, but all through school my notion of history involved lots of dead white men and some savages. The Dorling Kindersley History of the World brings some balance and perspective to the study.

The entire line of DK books is designed beautifully. Clean white pages, beautifully reproduced photographs, well-executed illustrations, information broken into small chunks, thoroughly indexed. The History of the World is broken up into 20 chapters with a timeline starts at 570 MYA (Million Years Ago.) Each chapter contains dozens of short (50 to 100 word) essays on very specific topics. Each chapter of human history begins with an illustrated timeline demonstrating, through brief descriptions, illustrations and photographs, what each of the major areas of the world (Oceania, Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa) was up to. Running across the bottom of each page is a continuous timeline letting you know where about you are. Each culture is treated in a balanced, even handed way (as far as I can tell, but I’m the produce of a Midwest education.) Example: there is a photograph of the interior chamber of Newgrange. Despite the fact the Newgrange is one of the single most impressive Neolithic sites in Europe (yes, it’s better than Stonehenge,) it didn’t rate a mention in my history classes, but it’s here. And it’s not treated as an oddity built by the savage Celts, it’s discussed seriously as an architectural feat. (Hey, it’s 1000 years older than the pyramids and it still accurately predicts the shortest day of the year. Find me a Swiss watch that can do that!)

Ok, the research is extremely conservative (historically, not politically.) If they can’t find specific reference or they weren’t absolutely sure, they didn’t print it as fact. This can be a good thing because you don’t want to look like a dope in front of all your history buddies, but it can also mean that you are occasionally wrong. Two things I know are wrong from a cursory glance. On page 44 they state that Newgrange was a burial site. Um, no, it wasn’t. Studies have proven that the bodies found buried there were buried long after it was built and not by the people who built it. On page 158 they state that the Welsh longbow was developed in the 1200s, after the crossbow. Wrong again. The long bow was used by the Welsh when the Normans showed up in 1066. But to the nonfanatical these facts will serve just fine.

I think it should be a requirement that every household have one of these. It is the perfect starting point for any history report. The ideal way to give a framework to dry facts. And it’s great for settling arguments about when the Black Death arrived in Europe. (Unless you don’t talk about that stuff over dinner and if not, maybe you should start. I mean, what else is there to talk about?) The virtues of this reference book are many and its faults are few and expected. Don’t just sit there, go get a copy.


Recommended: Yes