A Little History of the World(RoughCut) - Hardcover

Ernst Gombrich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300108834 ISBN 13: 9780300108835

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2005

Synopsis

'Exceptionally clear and beautifully organised...the sheer brio of storytelling...irresistible' - Philip Pullamn. A new book by Sir Ernst Gombrich, author of the international bestsellers The Story of Art and Art & Illusion (among others), and Director of the Warburg Institute of the University of London 1959-1976, is clearly an event. In 1935, with a doctorate and no job, the 25 year-old Gombrich was invited by Walter Neurath (later founder of Thames and Hudson) to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Written in an intense six weeks, Eine Kurze Weltgeshichte für Junge Leser was first published in Vienna the same year. An immediate success, it has since been translated into seventeen languages, tailored for the different markets. The original German edition was reissued in 1985 with an Epilogue bringing the story to the present, and Gombrich further revised it shortly before his death, aged 92, in 2001. The Little History, as it came to be known, has never been published in English until now. In forty chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. There emerges a colourful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, the spread and limitations of science, tribes evolving towards society. This is not a text dominated by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind's experience across the centuries, a guide to man's achievements and an acute witness to his frailties. What has made the Little History an international success? The key is its tone - completely clear, straightforward, relaxed, unpompous, humane - Gombrich makes immediate contact with the curious of all ages. It is the product of a pan-European sensibility, and is wholly free of nationalistic preoccupations. The broad sweep of mankind's history seems freshly intelligible when told in this profoundly generous spirit. The first English edition of this classic book is being produced by Yale to reflect its status as a timeless work to be collected and savoured: fine design and setting, printed on a high quality of paper, cloth binding, ribbon marker, and newly commissioned illustrations.

Note: The pages of the book are cut unevenly to give the book an antique look.

About this title

Review:

'Conversational in style, as of a grandparent talking with a child, the story of humanity from prehistory is told.' --Peter Andrews, School Librarian, vol. 54 no. 2, Summer 2006

'...a perfect present for a child with an enquiring mind. I wish it had been available when I was young.' --Literary Review, September 2005

'Had I a dozen grandchildren...I'd order two dozen copies, one for the children, the other for their parents.' --Evening Standard, 26 September, 2005

Synopsis:

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 this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0300108834
• ISBN 13: 9780300108835
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284