Concise Atlas of World History

A great book at a fair price.

It is also my favourite among all history atlases. It is the most comprehensive and all-around user-friendly. The gazeteer is a great addition and is probably worth the extra dollars for this version. It also happens to be very international, and while many claim to be international they seem to me to be eurocentric. Each area of the world has a parallel writeup in each section of the book, though obviously somewhat more is written about areas with more written history.

Some honest opinion coming from someone who dives really deep into history- I find, despite the length, it really only glosses over each part of history. Not much depth. The writing style may not grasp your attention and is vague in feel, contributing to me not feeling a lot of depth. The maps are great. However I must say the inclusion of some seems questionable, though they can be interesting all the same.

In terms of build quality, the pages and binding are great. The coverguard is very prone to tattering/bending etc. and the cover will suck in ANY moisture (I mean it this book will take the slightest water droplet or grease from anything and it will stay in the cover). Which isn't a problem for most as most use the coverguard.

When you set it to its paces with the other books, though, it is more comprehensive, well-balanced, alluring, and is a must-have if you don't already own a 300+ page world history atlas.

There's just no real depth here. A good overview of major periods of history, but very low level. Not much detail.

As a proud owner of the two volume set "Anchor Atlas of World History" I was hesitant to buy something new. But each year that classic becomes more dated so I figured now was the time. I looked at several historical atlases and decided on this one. The text is thorough and the maps are very good. One can learn a lot from this atlas but I still defer to the "Anchor Atlas" as being the best ever written.

For a remarkable overview of the history of the world so far - it is difficult to imagine this book being bettered. It is endlessly fascinating, and covers every part of the world and all major cultures. To have such an insight into the inter-relationship of nations and cultures and their development is rare.

Well written (if a little 'dry'), and with generally good maps (some scales on the maps would have been useful) - enjoy reading carefully just a couple of pages each day (no more) - and it will delight you for months to come.