Little History of the World

Gombrich E. H., Harper Clifford, Mustill Caroline

In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in an intense six weeks, and "Eine kurze Weltgeschichte fur junge Leser" was published in Vienna to immediate success, and is now available in twenty-five languages across the world. In forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colourful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind's experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements and an acute witness to its frailties. The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history.

About the Author

E. H. Gombrich, author of the international classic "The Story of Art", was born in Vienna in 1909. He moved to London in 1936, where he later became Director of the Warburg Institute and Professor of the History of the Classical Tradition at London University. Winner of the Erasmus Prize, the Hegel Prize, the Wittgenstein Prize, and the Goethe Prize, he was admitted to Britain's highest honour, the Order of Merit, in 1988.

Reviews

"His enthusiasm for his subject is irresistible... With Gombrich's 'Little History', at last available in English there will be many generations of future historians who will attribute to it their lifelong passion for history-and for truth" – Lisa Jardine, The Times

"... the book charms, amuses and informs superbly... In 'A Little History', Gombrich triumphantly proves he is as much a story teller as a professor" – Andrew Roberts, Daily Express

"The publishers tell us that Philip Pullman calls it 'irresistible'. So it is... as an outline of how we have come to be where we are I doubt it could be bettered... a perfect birthday present for a child with an enquiring mind. I wish it had been available when I was young" – Allan Massie, Literary Review

"... another charming work of history for children which is shortly to be published by Yale and first appeared in 1935... It's as fresh now as it was then. If I were Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, I'd order a copy for myself. Then I'd make it prescribed reading for every primary school in the country" – Melanie McDonagh, The Evening Standard

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