A Little History of the World

Description

E. H. Gombrich’s bestselling history of the world for young readers tells the story of mankind from the Stone Age to the atomic bomb, focusing not on small detail but on the sweep of human experience, the extent of human achievement, and the depth of its frailty. The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history. In forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colorful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind’s experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity’s achievements and an acute witness to its frailties. CONTENTS Preface 1. Once Upon a Time 2. The Greatest Inventors of All Time 3. The Land by the Nile 4. Sunday, Monday 5. The One and Only God 6. I C-A-N R-E-A-D 7. Heroes and their Weapons 8. An Unequal Struggle 9. Two Small Cities in One Small Land 10. The Enlightened One and his Land 11. The Great Teacher of a Great People 12. The Greatest Adventure of All 13. New Wars and New Warriors 14. An Enemy of History 15. Rulers of the Western World 16. The Good News 17. Life in the Empire and at its Frontiers 18. The Storm 19. The Starry Night Begins 20. There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet 21. A Conqueror who Knows How to Rule 22. A Struggle to Become Lord of Christendom 23. Chivalrous Knights 24. Emperors in the Age of Chivalry 25. Cities and Citizens 26. A New Age 27. A New World 28. A New Faith 29. The Church at War 30. Terrible Times 31. An Unlucky King and a Lucky King 32. Meanwhile, Looking Eastwards ... 33. A Truly New Age 34. A Very Violent Revolution 35. The Last Conqueror 36. Men and Machines 37. Across the Seas 38. Two New States in Europe 39. Dividing Up the World 40. The Small Part of the History of the World Which I Have Lived Through Myself: Looking Back