The World
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3.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $37.99
Publisher Description
THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family.
We begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, Bonapartes, Habsburgs and Zulus, Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Krupps, Churchills, Kennedys, Castros, Nehrus, Pahlavis and Kenyattas, Saudis, Kims and Assads.
A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee.
Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children.
This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.
Customer Reviews
World of their own
To keep him occupied during Covid lockdown, the author set about writing a history of the known world told from the point of view of important families of various eras and locations from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day. The scope is remarkable: China, Africa, America, not just Europe and the Near East. Nothing about the land down under, of course. (No written records).
If you thought you had trouble with your relatives, you ain’t seen nothing till you’ve read this. Intrigue, bloodshed, torture, gore, sexual deviance the puts PornHub to shame, treachery, megalomania, romance, even occasional benevolence. It’s all here.
Mr Sebag writes well but he has a lot of ground to cover. There’s more breadth than depth and he must, of necessity, refer back frequently to material, and characters, already covered. You need to keep your thinking cap on. He’s best on his old stamping ground of Russia and Europe. The multiple voices used in the audio version did not aid comprehension, at least in my case. I had to buy the text as well.
Don’t choose the audiobook
The book may be well researched and I’ve certainly enjoyed reading several others by this author but the audiobook’ readers seem to be incapable of bringing the text to life. Avoid the temptation to buy in this this format, read it instead. If I could only have a refund….