Here is a masterly account of the grand adventure of human history, brilliantly narrated by a distinguished historian. It is the story of the world's people during the last four million years, beginning before the human race moved out of Africa to explore and settle the other continents. Geoffrey Blainey explores the development of technology and skills, the rise of major religions, and the role of geography, which often governed what could not happen. He concerns himself not only with major transformations but also with what people ate and how hard they worked in order to earn their daily bread; with the intense power of the moon, the stars, and the night sky on human experience and on the ways in which the universe was seen.The spell that Mr. Blainey's narrative casts is unmistakable. He makes the reader see what life may have been like for a prehistoric cave dweller, or what the map of the world looks like when there are land masses that might be traversed from Ireland to Alaska. He has a compelling sense of the novelty of the patterns of history, and a keen sense of the strangeness and congruency of the earth's many cultures. A Short History of the World is that rare book that will delight every kind of reader.