A review by mimmyjau
A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
2.0
To preface, I know little history. My hope in picking up this book was to get a general survey of humanity starting from the beginning (I wasn't sure what that meant but I figured the historians had spent time thinking about it for me). I also didn't know what a general survey was supposed to do, nevertheless I came away feeling pretty ambivalent about this book.
I guess my idea of an introductory survey was more than just names, dates, locations, and battles. I was hoping to come away with a better understanding of the "why" behind history – to find patterns, commonalities, and differences between the small slice of history I've experienced and the much larger piece of history that spans the millennia and locations I haven't.
Unfortunately this book didn't deliver. While I can now better link names of great empires and principle actors to specific geographies and moments in time (e.g. hopefully I'll no longer confuse Mesopotamia and Macedonia), I can't necessarily explain why any of it was relevant nor could I relate to any of the major players. The characters felt impersonal, their stories rushed, and the narrative non-existant.
Maybe it's my fault for expecting more from a general survey of history (and specifically one written for children), maybe I'll better appreciate this book more once I explore other history books, or maybe I just need to let the ideas in this book marinate for a month or two. With all that being said I'm still looking forward to reading The Story of Art by the same author.
I guess my idea of an introductory survey was more than just names, dates, locations, and battles. I was hoping to come away with a better understanding of the "why" behind history – to find patterns, commonalities, and differences between the small slice of history I've experienced and the much larger piece of history that spans the millennia and locations I haven't.
Unfortunately this book didn't deliver. While I can now better link names of great empires and principle actors to specific geographies and moments in time (e.g. hopefully I'll no longer confuse Mesopotamia and Macedonia), I can't necessarily explain why any of it was relevant nor could I relate to any of the major players. The characters felt impersonal, their stories rushed, and the narrative non-existant.
Maybe it's my fault for expecting more from a general survey of history (and specifically one written for children), maybe I'll better appreciate this book more once I explore other history books, or maybe I just need to let the ideas in this book marinate for a month or two. With all that being said I'm still looking forward to reading The Story of Art by the same author.