1/29/23

Roberts is a master of the broad brush, managing to make world history a page-turner and 1200 pages seem like 300 (or so). Because the subject’s so large, it always feels like you’re moving at high speed and observing from high above. There’s little room for detail, but that’s the nature of world history. The beauty of it is that Roberts makes connections and observations of patterns, and we’re able to do the same, which wouldn’t be possible in a history of smaller scope with more detail (of course, we need both). One particularly valuable example is the context in which he places the American Revolution and subsequent US expansion. At the time, the revolution was a relatively small matter and Europe was focused on more important things. After the war, Britain controlled the seas and also controlled the territory north of the new nation. With a weak power (Spain) controlling much of the areas south and west, and with France checked by Britain in North America, the US was able to expand in an essentially invisible bubble of protection created by Britain. It was in Britain’s interests to let this weak little English-speaking upstart expand rather than allowing another European power to fill the relative void of North America (it doesn’t make it right, but one of the European powers would have done it if the US hadn’t). A little deflating for our national mythology, but isn’t that one of the purposes of history done well? ( )

Imagine you're sitting by the fireplace with a stuffy historian, but you think, "Well, he's a scholar in his field, so I'm going to listen. Plus, I have to be here, since my class is forcing me to 'listen' to him."

He starts talking, nay, rambling, jumping from year to year, with run-on sentences, unclear subjects... Your confused look betrays you. He pauses momentarily to look down over his glasses and pipe and says, "I presume you already understand everything there is to know about world history, yes?" and without waiting for your answer, he continues his overview, emphasizing his contempt for Europe and America and for every past historical position ever taken. You discreetly pull out your phone and google everything he's saying, just so you can keep up. You feel like this fireplace chat (class) will never end.

That's what this book is like. ( )

How do you cover the history of the world in 1100 pages or so? By being very careful in what you cover of course.

The previous editions of J. M. Roberts's book had been around since 1976 (for the first edition) and had long be considered one of the better one volume histories out there. For the 6th edition Odd Arne Westad rewrites the first and last parts of the book (prehistory had changed a lot in the last decades and adding the collapse of USSR and its aftermath could not have been done earlier) and revised the rest. The result is an uptodate book (or mostly uptodate - things keep changing with new discoveries).

You will not find a list of battles here or a list of all the rulers of a country or an empire. You won't find the list of political entries in certain territories listed anywhere. The book starts with an introduction which is important - it tells you how the authors built the book and explain what you are about to read. It is all about influence - an empire existing for 300 years and leaving no traces in the history or culture of the area (or outside of it); a ruler who was there for 10 years and conquered everyone will get more space than that empire.

The book is not a political history or a cultural history; neither it is the history of the English speaking world. If one believes their country to be considered the best in the world, they will get disappointed - while some countries have outsized influence, they are not the only ones covered and they are not just praised (looking at the British) and Americans may be a bit disappointed that until the very last section, USA is pretty much ignored - and even there, it is its foreign influence that matters so it is not that prominent.

It sounds almost disjointed in parts, it feels like it omits too much and covers weird things in detail but it all adds up to a narrative history that works. It has a lot of maps but I wish that there were a lot more (and even an Atlas to accompany it - with maps of the different areas in different times). It also can make you laugh in places - for example when the Portuguese and the Spanish split the known world between each other, the Pope agreed, all was going well and then a Portuguese ship swings too wide on the way back from Asia to work around some winds and hits land - and Brazil's history is changed forever. The way it is written is almost like an old joke - with a pun line and all. The serious and the curious coexist and the analysis added allows for connections to be seen where they are almost hidden.

It is not easy to summarize a history that usually takes 200 pages in a page (or less). Things need to be missed, priorities need to be set. And somehow it works here. It made me read more about a lot of times and places (and people and cultures) but it is a great overview. And thinking on what it covered, all the places and battles and people it actually covered, you wonder how exactly that happened on this number of pages. It is a dense text, it requires attention and the more you know about the history of the places and times you are reading about, the more you will see in these sections. I suspect I will be returning to this book over and over.

It is a narrative history - it flows as one story, parts relies on what you already read about before. While different sections can be read on their own, you will miss a lot if you do not keep what was already said in mind. The important comparisons and connections are spelled out but the details are not.

If you are looking for a one volume history of the world and you can read dense texts, this is a marvelous choice - although it requires a lot of patience and focus. ( )

History of the world in about 1200 pages. That's some achievement. Although this size means you rarely take the foot off the gas and things keep passing by so quickly. My only small gripe is with the chapter concerning WW2 that had a small amount of moralizing in it, but that is to be expected. Otherwise a fantastic overview and really good job by the authors for sticking to history and not passing judgement on who was good or bad. ( )