The Oxford Illustrated History of the World

Imagine the planet, as if from an immense distance of time and space, as a galactic observer might see it--with the kind of objectivity that we, who are enmeshed in our history, can't attain.

The Oxford Illustrated History of the World encompasses the whole span of human history. It brings together some of the world's leading historians, under the expert guidance of Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, to tell the 200,000-year story of our world, from the emergence of homo sapiens through to the twenty-first century: the environmental convulsions; the interplay of ideas (good and bad); the cultural phases and exchanges; the collisions and collaborations in politics; the successions of states and empires; the unlocking of energy; the evolutions of economies; the contacts, conflicts, and contagions that have all contributed to making the world we now inhabit.

Imagine the planet, as if from an immense distance of time and space, as a galactic observer might see it--with the kind of objectivity that we, who are enmeshed in our history, can't attain. The Oxford Illustrated History of the World encompasses the whole span of human history. It brings together some of the world's leading historians, under the expert guidance of Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, to tell the 200,000-year story of our world, from the emergence of homo sapiens through to the twenty-first century: the environmental convulsions; the interplay of ideas (good and bad); the cultural phases and exchanges; the collisions and collaborations in politics; the successions of states and empires; the unlocking of energy; the evolutions of economies; the contacts, conflicts, and contagions that have all contributed to making the world we now inhabit.

"When a renowned academic publisher such as Oxford University Press gathers well-known (mainly British and American) historians to write an illustrated history of the whole world, one can expect a cross between the highest condition, light and metaphorical language and opulent visualization - and this is exactly what this volume delivers." -- Matthias Middell, Comparativ

Condensing the story of humanity's 200,000 year tenure on Earth into 450 pages (including pictures) could be an act of hubris or the result of orderly - yet imaginative - minds making connections across centuries and continents. The Oxford Illustrated History of the World is more the latter... a pleasure to read with many thought-provoking passages. -- David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express

"A handy compendium of some of the major moments and periods of transformation in human history, set in a global context." -- Lucia Marchini, Minerva