A Little History of The World encompasses a winding path from the very first humans to the end of the first World War. Additionally, it doesn’t just cover the highlights most relevant to our modern selves. Gombrich features numerous stories and whole chapters about things you’ll never focus on in school. Bits and pieces of fascinating events that, while millions could have lived through them, are forgotten or ignored by most people. The book often goes into truly enlightening detail about the events that occurred and the contexts in which they happened. The numerous processes and background information associated with historical events are presented and they elevate your experience with the book. An interesting facet of the book is that it was written in the early 1900s and updated by the author near the end of the same century. As a result, a fascinating outlook on life and history is perceivable in the book, leaving the reader wondering how future generations will interpret the events you live through now.
Often, we learn about history in school as a series of mundane occurrences and commonalities. “Oh, the French and Ottomans legitimized themselves through monumental architecture” and “Nationalism united nations.” The book, on the other hand, focuses on constructing a narrative of events that highlights major turning points in the fate of the world while providing detail on the circumstances and traditions of the time. If you have a piecemeal understanding of history, the book is a must read to understand how we got here and for what reasons. Detail is constantly given to how events transpired, painting a beautiful and sometimes treacherous path to our modern day. But, as the book implies, it is a little history. The book only has so many pages. While it succinctly fills them with fascinating information, someone could write a whole book or whole book series about every chapter. The book is a springboard for you to use to learn about and explore history. The topics that interest you should be further delved into using other resources like documentaries, books, YouTube videos, or podcasts.
-Raymond
