Book Review + Reflections

“A Little History of The World” begins with a little history of the universe before man was even created. This is followed by the chapter on the pre-historic man with the representation of cavemen, fire, stones, and paintings on rocks.

The beginning of civilisation is through the story of the Pharoahs that lived on the banks of NIle some 5000 years ago. The stories of Mespotamia, the Hamurabi law and the development of papyrus and hieroglyphs are shared in the book. This is followed by the history of the great holy land: Palestine. The emerging monotheism under Prophets send by Allah namely Ibraheem, Moses, Dawood and Suleiman are described briefly. The first alphabets were developed by the Phoenecians.

The story of the Greeks with Athens, Aristotle and Architecture is a fascinating one to read. The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus and the Persian faith set the theme for the next chapters of the book. The eastern part of the world, namely the Mohenjo Daro and Buddha in India and the Confucious and Tao in China are discussed. This is followed by the great adventure that was known till then: the story of Alexander The Great, the man with the thirst to conquer the world like never before. For me, this was one of the best parts of the book.

The story of the Romans and the celebrated Casears and Cleopatras set the stage for the emergence of one of the mightiest Messengers of God, Jesus (Peace be Upon Him). The chapters that follow speak about the life inside the empires and frontiers with the spread of Christianity and with the capture of Constantinople. There emerged a Dark Age filled with superstitious beliefs and authoritative degeneracy.

It is at this point the book shifts to the desert bedouins of the 7th century where “the most extraordinary of all events” E. H. Gombrich had to tell took place. A new Messenger arose from the unlettered Arabs who called on to abandon all forms of idol worship and worship God alone. The call of this messenger, Muhammed ﷺ spread like a wildfire with large areas of Europe, Africa, and Middle East accepting the call within a few decades of calling.

The era of battles that took place under Christianity follows the next few chapters. The story of the Crusade wars and the infamous invasion by Mongols under Genghis Khan are explained in a good manner. After the Hundred Years of War in Great Britain, the book speaks about the emergence of newer ideas of Renaissance in Europe. It is at this stage, that America and Christopher Columbus enter the book with their journey to reach India. This is followed by the establishment of the British Empire in India, The Thirty Years war, and the emergence of modern-day scientific thinking in Europe.

Before the Enlightenment took place and the Prussian army emerged, the siege of Vienna and the founding of St Petersburg took place. The French revolution and the story of Napolean Bonaparte are one of the chapters that I like in this book. The book then enters the world of Karl Marx and his theory of class war. The Civil War led by Abraham Lincoln and the Opium War makes up the next chapter. The final chapters of the book speak about two of the deadliest events in the history of mankind: WW1 and WW2. These chapters speak about the defeat of Europe, the emergence of America, the death of the Communist system, and the propaganda that was spread during the war which hid the common man from having knowledge of reality.

In short, “A Little History of The World” is a history book you will never have read of. You will remember the history given in this book just like you will remember a fictional book. The writing style is fictional and not factual.