History at a Glance Blog Tour: Review

History at a Glance
Release Date: November 12, 2019
Publisher: National Geographic; Illustrated Edition
Format: Hardcover; 416 pages 

Description:

Beautifully illustrated, this penetrating book offers a sweeping view of humanity from prehistory to the modern day, presented in a unique time-line format. 

Sweeping but succinct, this comprehensive reference presents all of world history in a browsable format featuring more than three dozen maps, along with hundreds of photographs and illustrations. From the dawn of humankind to today's global complexities, this book provides a compelling reminder that history is unfolding all around us. 

The epic story of humanity on all seven continents is explored through a unique design that combines concise essays with expansive time lines that invite deeper reading on milestone moments, explained within the broader context of the era. The final chapter highlights such recent events as SpaceX's heavy rocket launch, the restoration of U.S./Cuba relations, and the historical trends that were the precursors to the state of our world today. 

Informative and richly illustrated, this authoritative take on world history will be a compelling reference you'll turn to again and again.

 

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

History at a Glance is another gorgeously illustrated reference book published by National Geographic that will have you so absorbed in the information that you'll forget you're learning important history. This book is certainly intimidating with over 400 pages of illustrations, time lines, maps, graphs, and loads of information filling each page. I don't think it's possible to sit down and actually look through and read this entire volume in one sitting. Even if you're not a big history buff, there's something in this book that you will enjoy and end up learning from. I don't really consider myself a big history fan, but this book was so beautiful and full of cool information that I forgot I was learning about history. I was completely absorbed into the various time periods that the book is broken down into. Each has a detailed timeline to describe a variety of things happening around the world during these times. I liked comparing how different aspects of societies - like government or culture - was both different and similar across the continents. The pictures and illustrations are on every single page, some taking up the entire thing and others only a small part. But each one is amazing and includes a fascinating caption describing it or the culture/time it represents. I'd say even if someone just went through and looked at the pictures and read their descriptions, they would still get a fantastic experience and even learn some history without knowing it. This is another wonderful reference book by National Geographic and one that I highly recommend to history buffs and readers of all kinds - no matter age or genre preference.