History of the World, Updated

By: J.M. Roberts

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 54 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

In the History of the World, Updated, J. M. Roberts has revised his monumental previous work, History of the World, taking into account the great range of discoveries that have altered our views on everything from early civilizations to post-Cold War globalism. Large portions of text have been rewritten, addressing events as recent as the relationship between the Arab and Western worlds in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

As in his previous work, this is also a book of extraordinary ambition, clarity, and style that follows the central notion that human history is the story of change, a deliberate shaping of experience and environment. Among the elements that have made the book uniquely appealing are its powerful vision and voice.

Roberts's book is exceptional in its genuinely global and comprehensive nature, showing the development of different civilizations through the ages, from our origins on the African savannah to A.D. 2002. Like no other book, it succeeds in conveying the staggering diversity of the human experience across a vast range of circumstances and habitats.

If there is one book anyone truly interested in history should hear, this is it.

©2002 J.M. Roberts (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Davidson's reading of this behemoth is actually a nice match of text and reader. His voice is clear and easily understood." (AudioFile)

indispensable

The standard for world history. while it is impossible to please everyone this comes closest.

listening a second time

I tried listening to this though earmuff type headset. Sound was too muffled. I then used a loose fitting pair of earbuds and this worked fine. There was a comment from another user saying the narrarator's voice was difficult to listen too. On my second listening I've turned down the playback speed to slow. This is an improvement in my opinion.
The book starts from the early day's of earth's life and man's evolution. There is much detail covering the different earlier epochs.
I will just say that I'm looking forward to continuing with the second listen.
I have listened to probably 100 books over the past 2 years. Many were dissapointing. I would not rate this book as dissapointing. I feel a greater understanding of history. I believe the presentation was above average.

I wish I could get through it...

What did you like best about History of the World, Updated? What did you like least?

I love history and am willing to invest dozens of hours listening to good history audiobooks. It hurts my heart that I couldn't get through this one. The narrator's accent is really hard for me to listen to, so I wasn't able to engage at all with the content. I tried listening at different speeds, too, but it still didn't work for me. It frustrated me, because I LOVE history and I looked forward to listening to this audiobook. I have hard copy books by JM Roberts, so I knew what to expect content-wise. As an Audible subscriber for more than 10 years, this book was one of my biggest disappointments. I didn't return it because I thought I could give it another listen at some point in the future and perhaps I'd like it if I gave it another chance, but no dice so far.

History with analysis

Perhaps not a book for the absolute beginner but excellent for those with some background.

For the serious history enthusiast

Granted, at over 50hrs of listening time, this audio book is impressive, but the quantity, diversity and scope of the information provides a large window of understanding. In addition, compared to current history books, this one is biased with personal opinions or social issues. Finally, it is a very good back-up after reading the book.

Wonderful, but skewed

This was a very refreshing listen for me. Well written and read. My only complaint is that the text is very euro-centric. The author is in fact making a point that the world is the way it is due to European influence. However, I would have appreciated a balanced perspective that treated, for example, India on its own merits. India had writing for quite a while and plenty of conflict, invention, etc. This is glanced over at best. What about the spread of Buddhism? I think that gets a couple of sentences when in fact it is a key topic of eastern civilizations. Overall I still recommend this one for the great content that it does offer.

too general for me

So many people gave the audio such a good review that I cannot bear to slander the book. I just found it so general that it could not grab my interest. I believe history buff's who are familiar with details will enjoy it more, and appreciate how he threads the epocs together. I made it through 3 downloads by shere determination, but am giving up.

Takes a lot of time to finish but well worth it

I spread this audiobook out over many months listening to it in small pieces. It was much better than any comparable history textbooks you will find and if you want a great overview of the major historical characters and events this is a great source. I'd like to get a hardcopy just for reference and to see what charts, lists and maps I missed out on.

Narration is distracting,weird accent, punctuation

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It is difficult to focus on the content, which appears to be thorough and relevant: I am missing parts of sentences because of the narrator's bizarre accent, which leaves me frustrated and disappointed

Long but worthwhile. Main theme:rhythms of history

Reader:

Roberts's sentences can get long, but you hardly even notice because Davidson guide's the listener to the important words merely with the way he speaks. This is a special skill and augments the clarity of the writing significantly.

For an American listener, Davidson's accent is hilarious British but somehow eminently appropriate for the gravity of the subject and the erudition of the scholarship.

Writing:

The main theme of the book is the "rhythms" of history. His main topic is civilization. His main lens for understanding civilization is the interplay between (political/economic/religious) power and culture, but occasionally throws in insightful tangents on topics such as scientific, artistic, or women's history. Roberts mentions important figures (and dwells on a few of his favorites) but many you would expect (e.g., Da Vinci, Madison) don't show up at all. He starts at the *beginning*, approximately 3 million years ago, and gives a very good impression of just how long man went before the first civilization, and how long civilization had been around before modern times. He holds out surprisingly long before passing judgement on anything at all (with some minor exceptions such as Aztec mass killings), making his tone reassuringly objective, which he breaks only for a moving passage on World War II.

An excellent overview, but had some drawbacks. In ancient and pre modern times, Mediterranean-centric, missing detail I would have liked on India, China, Africa, and Europe. In the modern era, often quite Eurocentric. This all balances out once the story gets to European imperialism, though I would have liked more on South America.