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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This was not a quick read - too me months to get through it, but i learnt so much! like getting an education all over again. Fascinating stuff. def one to re-read. Might be my non-fiction read of 2018!
To write a history of the world - hefty undertaking by Marr but deftly and intelligently pulled off. The thing that I enjoyed most about this lengthy book is that it filled in ‘gaps’ in my knowledge of lesser known periods of world history and added to or helped analyse those which I was more knowledgable about.
The book was very well written and it’s organisation into concise understandable ‘chunks’ was excellent.
The book was very well written and it’s organisation into concise understandable ‘chunks’ was excellent.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
I really enjoyed this book! Marr states the obvious from the start- no one book can cover all of history, so he has chosen to focus on the movers and shakers. But considering how ambitious a task he laid out for himself, I think this is a pretty good attempt. Marr has a very readable writing style and I only noticed one typo throughout the book which is quite impressive given its size.
Sometimes Marr is a little presumptuous. I found the sections where he focused on India a bit difficult to get my head around without consulting the internet due to not being too knowledgeable about the region. But in the areas which I know more about- Europe (including Russia), China and the modern USA- I found he had a good balance between writing enough to tell the stories he wrote about without going into a huge ramble with unnecessary facts.
A History of the World is rather daunting prima facie due to its size and the topic which it covers, but upon reading, it is surprisingly readable and quite enjoyable.
Sometimes Marr is a little presumptuous. I found the sections where he focused on India a bit difficult to get my head around without consulting the internet due to not being too knowledgeable about the region. But in the areas which I know more about- Europe (including Russia), China and the modern USA- I found he had a good balance between writing enough to tell the stories he wrote about without going into a huge ramble with unnecessary facts.
A History of the World is rather daunting prima facie due to its size and the topic which it covers, but upon reading, it is surprisingly readable and quite enjoyable.
informative
slow-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I listened to this book and it took me absolutely ages. I had to keep going back and listening again because I had fallen asleep. Lots of very interesting facts but I think it was maybe just a bit beyond me in a lot of parts. A lot of people and places that I haven't heard of which made it hard to keep up. I did like different parts of it but some periods of history are just not for me at all 😴
Pleasantly surprised to see Marr end with the truly defining issue of our age, how we treat the environment and handle climate change.
Book full of plentiful insights on the lessons of history, fascinating.
Book full of plentiful insights on the lessons of history, fascinating.
informative
slow-paced