Joe Fullman

I really have to hand it to DK publications. They produce some outstanding illustrated books. And this is one of them. The amount of information packed between the covers in 512 pages is simply astonishing. And the quality of the photos is superb. However, It's one of those books that I always aspire to to read cover to cover, but never manage to do so. And in the rapidly contracting years left to me, it's unlikely that I will ever read this cover to cover. However, I've delved into it and show more checked out a few sections where I felt I had reasonable knowledge. The first was about Alexander the Great. Basically they see to have the story correct although it is greatly abbreviated and the is no mention of Alexander fancying himself as a god or the Oracle in Egypt confirming this fantasy. Elsewhere where I looked for similar detail (for example with the Olmecs in Mexico, the basic facts were there but it lacked detail and there was not even speculation about what caused the Olmec decline and resurrection followed by a decline). One thing which I liked about the book is the they have made a semi-serious attempt to cover world events. For example they mention what is happening in China at around 770 BCE but it really lacks detail and the history is decidedly lop-sidedly european biased. They have included extensive time lines on most of the pages where there is a chronological sequence of events in the text. And there are feature pages on special topics such as Metalworking, Agriculture, The rise of the Roman Empire, The American Civil War. I liked these. they are like visual summary cheat sheets. They don't replace reading multiple specialist books on a particular topic but are great for getting a fast overview.
One reservation that I have is that if you really want to know about some specific period or detail of history then the sweep of the DK book is at a too high-level. It doesn't get into the detail. For example, when I wanted to know exactly where the Sogdian Rock was located ....it's not even shown on the very small map of Alexanders travels.
Still really fascinating to dip into and one can earn a lot. An easy five stars from me. show less

A very basic little guide, suitable to the first-time visitor who only wants to see the highlights. All this information is available for free elsewhere. For my third trip to London, I thought this small guide might be handy to throw in my bag for its maps but I didn't use it once. The free map provided by my hotel was covered a wider area and had more information. This is suitable only for someone who doesn't know much about London and who only wants to visit the top tourist areas of the city.

this is an awsome book for anyone who likes History.