A Little History of the World, by E.H. Gombrich
This delightful recounting of the history of the world (though actually I think it was pretty much euro-centric at heart) is told by the well-known art historian (The Story of Art) and was first published in 1936. Gombrich's aim was to beguile, rather than flumux, a young readership with the magical stories from various episodes of man's history on the planet. The whole book, which spans from 'once upon a time' (which Gombrich describes as standing between two mirrors and seeing an endless reflection), reaches the second world war .
The story has a soap opera feel about it as Gombrich frequently reminds you to think about events , characters and themes that reoccur; Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants, the strength and determination of the young empire-builder Alexander the Great, the fervour-driven misson of the knights of chivalry, the startling discoveries and revelations of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo, new appraoches to religion following the lives of Muhammad and Luther.
Having last studied history seriously as a school subject (a long time ago!) in concentrated and disjointed snippets of a particular era or event, it was interesting to grasp it all in one go and to see how events spanning decades and centuries were so inter-related. Most of all, the little history provided a amazing insight into who we are and why we live as we do today. The didactic tone of the story-telling could be interpreted as being slightly patronising. However, if you have such a patchy knowledge of history as I do, you will find the simplified approach both refreshing and memorable.
I chose this book after listening to a talk given by Neil McGregor describing some of the objects from his radio show 'The History of the World in 100 objects.' The first object he talked about was a pair of swimming reindeer carved from a mammoth's tusk. The object, which is serenely beautiful, was carved 13,000 years ago. But when you look at the object there is a flicker of a thought - were people then so differnt from us? Well, our understanding of the world and the objects that control our every day lifes may be very different from the Ice Age, but the emotions ruling our hearts may not be so different ...
The recurring theme of the Little History is that we continue to strive for the same order, wealth and enlightenment as all of our ancestors. The equipment and tools that we use to achieve it, however, are different. What Gombrich does so well is to put it all into a perspective that is manageable and modern.