Giving three pages of text to each of 50 significant historical events, Days that changed the world by Hywel Williams is a great introduction to history. Starting at The Battle of Salamis in 480BC and going through to 11 September 2001, the book looks at the significance of many events not just battles and wars. The invention of the telephone, the publication of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, the OPEC oil price rises and the rise of Bill Gates all get a look in as well.
The book givea a small taste of many events, just enough to let you decide whether it is something you would like to read more about. I though I had a reasonable knowledge of history, but the section called “Tokugawa Ieyasu win the battle of Sekigahara” made me realised that I know nothing of Asian history.
The layout of the book is pretty straight forward and is practical rather than attractive. Regardless it is a very entertaining read, and since eacg section is only 3 pages, it is good for reading in situations where you don’t have time to complete entire chapters. Recommended.
Tags: asian-history, battle-of-salamis, tokugawa-ieyasu
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