A Short History of the World


Read by Kristine Bekere

(4.3 stars; 27 reviews)

A Short History of the World is a non-fictional historic work by English author H. G. Wells, largely inspired by Wells's earlier 1919 work The Outline of History. The book summarises the scientific knowledge of the time regarding the history of Earth and life. It starts with its origins, goes on to explain the development of the Earth and life on Earth, reaching primitive thought and the development of humankind from the Cradle of Civilisation.The book ends with the outcome of the First World War, the Russian famine of 1921, and the League of Nations in 1922. In 1934 Albert Einstein recommended the book for the study of history as a means of interpreting progress in civilisation. - Summary adopted from Wikipedia (13 hr 51 min)

Chapters

The World in Space 6:11 Read by Kristine Bekere
The World in Time 6:14 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Beginnings of Life 6:12 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of Fishes 9:07 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of the Coal Swamps 9:39 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of Reptiles 8:59 Read by Kristine Bekere
The First Birds and the First Mammals 10:08 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of Mammals 9:17 Read by Kristine Bekere
Monkeys, Apes and Sub-Men 9:13 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Neanderthaler And the Rhodesian Man 9:11 Read by Kristine Bekere
The First True Men 9:51 Read by Kristine Bekere
Primitive Thought 10:18 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Beginnings of Cultivation 10:21 Read by Kristine Bekere
Primitive Neolithic Civilizations 10:56 Read by Kristine Bekere
Sumeria, Early Egypt And Writing 10:01 Read by Kristine Bekere
Primitive Nomadic Peoples 9:21 Read by Kristine Bekere
The First Sea-Going Peoples 11:07 Read by Kristine Bekere
Egypt, Babylon And Assyria 14:50 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Primitive Aryans 10:37 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Last Babylonian Empire and the Empire of Darius I 9:11 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Early History of the Jews 12:08 Read by Kristine Bekere
Priests and Prophets in Judea 9:58 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Greeks 12:24 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Wars of the Greeks and Persians 9:24 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Splendour of Greece 8:16 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Empire of Alexander the Great 9:47 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Museum and Library at Alexandria 12:16 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Life of Gautama Buddha 12:15 Read by Kristine Bekere
King Asoka 4:45 Read by Kristine Bekere
Confucius and Lao Tse 12:10 Read by Kristine Bekere
Rome Comes into History 11:53 Read by Kristine Bekere
Rome and Carthage 9:39 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Growth of the Roman Empire 25:10 Read by Kristine Bekere
Between Rome and China 10:30 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Common Man’s Life Under the Early Roman Empire 13:56 Read by Kristine Bekere
Religious Developments Under the Roman Empire 14:39 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Teaching of Jesus 13:42 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Development of Doctrinal Christianity 8:35 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Barbarians Break the Empire into East and West 10:24 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Huns and the End of the Western Empire 12:38 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Byzantine and Sassanid Empires 10:05 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Dynasties of Suy And Tang in China 4:46 Read by Kristine Bekere
Muhammad and Islam 8:14 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Great Days of the Arabs 8:02 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Development of Latin Christendom 17:38 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Crusades and the Age of Papal Dominion 20:38 Read by Kristine Bekere
Recalcitrant Princes and the Great Schism 20:32 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Mongol Conquests 10:57 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Intellectual Revival of the Europeans 21:06 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Reformation of the Latin Church 9:11 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Emperor Charles V 20:03 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of Political Experiments; of Grand Monarchy and Parliaments and Republi… 24:41 Read by Kristine Bekere
The New Empires of the Europeans in Asia and Overseas 11:23 Read by Kristine Bekere
The American War of Independence 12:04 Read by Kristine Bekere
The French Revolution and the Restoration of Monarchy in France 18:22 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Uneasy Peace in Europe that Followed the Fall of Napoleon 10:11 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Development of Material Knowledge 20:57 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Industrial Revolution 10:25 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Development of Modern Political and Social Ideas 27:47 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Expansion of the United States 18:37 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Rise of Germany to Predominance in Europe 4:14 Read by Kristine Bekere
The New Overseas Empires of the Steamship and Railway 13:22 Read by Kristine Bekere
European Aggression in Asia, and the Rise of Japan 11:58 Read by Kristine Bekere
The British Empire in 1914 4:58 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Age of Armament in Europe, and the Great War of 1914-18 10:43 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Revolution and Famine in Russia 11:28 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Political and Social Reconstruction of the World 14:37 Read by Kristine Bekere
Chronological table 29:36 Read by Kristine Bekere

Reviews


(3 stars)

Interesting scientific narrative read by heavy Russian accented female voice

A great summary of human history


(4 stars)

HG Wells is one of the greatest thinkers of recent times. This book is a remarkable account and he focuses on key events with perceptive analysis, however it does make for a long audio book so stamina is required! Thank you Kristine, I found your accent delightful and no impediment to my understanding.


(3.5 stars)

An interesting book (though a very English perspective in view of the title) and Wells is a great writer. The mispronunciation of some words and place names was occasionally jarring, but otherwise very well read.


(5 stars)

Interesting perspective! The accent of the reader makes it difficult to understand at times.


(5 stars)

an excellent summary of world history