Book description
Andrew Marr, author of two best-selling histories of Great Britain now
turns his attention to the world as a whole. A Short History of the
World takes readers from the Mayans to Mongolia, from the kingdom of
Benin to the court of the Jagiellonian kings of Poland. Traditional
histories of this kind have tended to be Euro-centric, telling mankind's
story through tales of Greece and Rome and the crowned heads of Europe's
oldest monarchies. Here, Marr widens the lens, concentrating as much, if
not more on the Americas, Africa and Asia. Instead of focusing on one
episode of history taking place in one place, he draws surprising
parallels and makes fascinating connections, focusing on a key incident
or episode to tell a larger story: for instance, the liberation of the
serfs in Russia, which took place at the same time as the American Civil
War, which resulted in the abolition of slavery in the US. But he
begins the account with an episode in the life of Tolstoy, who racked up
huge gambling debts and had to sell land and slaves as a result. Fresh
and exciting, this is popular history at its very best.
