I just finished reading “A little history of the world” by E H Gombrich. It is basically a history book for kids. Written in 1935 by a Austrian art historian it was originally produced in German. More recently it was re-released in English.
I really enjoyed it as an easy read. It focused on European history (from pre-historic to modern day) mainly as this is what has impacted him most plus doing a history of the whole world would surely mean years worth of reading.
Of course when it was first written back in 1935 there was a lot that wasn’t known at the time. However, in the recent English update he has added a last chapter correcting errors he had made now with hindsight to his advantage. I liked that. Often we think history is set in stone but it is only with distance from something that we can begin to understand particular motivations or situations differently.
I will be keeping this book on my shelf not for reference for historical facts but to see how history continues to be rounded and understood the further we move away from that point.
