The Story of Mankind

By: Hendrik Willem van Loon

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The Story of Mankind revolutionized former methods of telling history. It received the first Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Nevertheless, critics and public alike hailed it as a book for all ages. Van Loon recounts history as living news, relating everything in the past to the present. He writes informally, making world history wonderfully alive and exciting.

Of this book the author writes, “the entrance of America upon the scene of international politics as the most important actor…convinced me that proper and reasonable understanding of historical cause and effect was the most important factor in the lives of the rising generation. And so my book treats the entire history of the human race as a single unit. It begins with the dim and hardly understood realm of the earliest past; it can be contained forever.”

Public Domain (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Eurocentric, but interesting

The book is a very good book in general, but it was written around the 1920s, so the information is very biased. If you're looking for a book that tells the story of ALL of mankind, this is the story of "mankind" by 1920s Europe's definition, so it is mostly about Europe. That said, it is a good book if you want to see how someone from that time would see the world and its history in relation to the author.

Take it in Chunks

The writing is pretty good, but the book is too long. As a child, I would have gotten bored by the 20th chapter. I know it was written in the 1920's, but still. The subject matter is presented in an accessible way. All in all, it's a good read, but you may have to break it up in chunks.

Thumbs DOWN

This is by far the worst book I have ever read. If it weren't the beginning of a lofty goal, I would have abandoned it.

hmm...

This isn't a story! It is not a fiction book. bummer in the summer. I will get an another book.