The Story of the World in 100 Moments: Discover the stories that defined humanity and shaped our world
- Downloads：4021
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-16 08:42:35
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Neil Oliver
- ISBN：1804991392
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In his brilliant and excitingly ambitious new book， Neil Oliver takes us on a whistlestop tour around the world and through a million years to give us a unique and invaluable grasp of how human history pieces together。 From the east to the west， north to south， these 100 moments act like stepping stones allowing us to make sense of how these pivotal events have shaped the world we know today。 Including many moments readers will expect， there are also surprises， and with them， some remarkable， unforgettable stories that give a whole new insight on our past。
Reviews
Karen Keane
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Some chapters interested me， others didn’t and I did tend to skim these。 Nice， concise chapters told in a matter of fact way made it easier to understand。
Mark Rendi
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I so love Neil’s way of writing。 Listened to the audible version which has the bonus of him reading the book himself。 Wonderful。
Emma Dargue
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This was really good。 Short chapters of a few pages in length this book goes from ancient times to modern times and charts the progress of humanity in 100 moments。
Owen
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This chap can’t get to the point。 It’s mainly waffle。 What I found most irritating was that the title of a chapter might well，one might think， indicate the subject of said chapter。 In some cases the subject of the title might only receive the merest reference。 I’m sure Neil has an encyclopaedic knowledge of history， shame he can’t convey it。 I am not condemning his literary skills but I feel the style he has chosen does not suit the subject matter。
Yvonne Clemson
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Neil says it's a personal story， so you can't argue with that。The best thing I found about it is that it pulls together so many of the odd bits of history that I'd come across， from Genghis Khan and his descendants to the Ottoman empire and China， and the moment he explains is the one that starts all these off and puts them in context， setting them in their time and place and relating them to the others ， so I'm left with a far more complete picture of the world than I had before。 It's not all W Neil says it's a personal story， so you can't argue with that。The best thing I found about it is that it pulls together so many of the odd bits of history that I'd come across， from Genghis Khan and his descendants to the Ottoman empire and China， and the moment he explains is the one that starts all these off and puts them in context， setting them in their time and place and relating them to the others ， so I'm left with a far more complete picture of the world than I had before。 It's not all Wars and and trouble- well， some taxes， I guess- I just wish I didn't have the feeling he's going to have to write Moment 101， and it's going to follow on from the explanations of eastern European history and be equally if not more disastrous。And written in Neil's own words， with the personal phrases and anecdotes that make it an easy read before bed！ 。。。more
Brooke Jacobson
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Fascinating read from Scottish archaeologist and journalist Neil Oliver。 Lots of "big" historical moments here， including the Wright brothers flight， but also loads of super interesting "tiny" moments that still echo through history and make the world what it is today。Great to either dip in and out of， or read in one sitting。 Fascinating read from Scottish archaeologist and journalist Neil Oliver。 Lots of "big" historical moments here， including the Wright brothers flight， but also loads of super interesting "tiny" moments that still echo through history and make the world what it is today。Great to either dip in and out of， or read in one sitting。 。。。more
India （IndiaReadsALot）
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I am slowly getting more and more into non-fiction and I read this in audio form！ Which is one of my favourite ways to get non-fiction content into my life。I loved the writing， the narration and being able to learn about things I previously wouldn't;t have known。 I am slowly getting more and more into non-fiction and I read this in audio form！ Which is one of my favourite ways to get non-fiction content into my life。I loved the writing， the narration and being able to learn about things I previously wouldn't;t have known。 。。。more
Vicki Horsburgh
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I dont usually like history books， I find them stiff and， for lack of a better term， boring。 This book， however， is the exception。 Very easy to read and in short chapters I feel like I have been thoroughly educated more so than when I was a schoolgirl。 I would recommend to anyone who isn't a history buff。 I dont usually like history books， I find them stiff and， for lack of a better term， boring。 This book， however， is the exception。 Very easy to read and in short chapters I feel like I have been thoroughly educated more so than when I was a schoolgirl。 I would recommend to anyone who isn't a history buff。 。。。more
Sean Beckett
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Quite simply one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read。By the time I got to the end， I was tempted to start over with it straightaway。
Dan Cohen
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This book didn't really do it for me。 The history is too shallow and the writing too flowery。 It might suit someone who doesn't like typical history books。 This book didn't really do it for me。 The history is too shallow and the writing too flowery。 It might suit someone who doesn't like typical history books。 。。。more
Jean Marriott
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Oliver at his usual best。
Dropbear123
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3。5/5 rounding up for Goodreads。 It was a gift so I don't want to be too negative。About 400 pages with very short chapters， some only 2 pages long （like on Henry IV and the investiture issue in the 11th century）。 Pretty well written and casual in tone so easy to pick up and read a chapter then stop。 A mix of historical 'moments' are chosen but there is a decent amount on technology， some cultural moments， and some political moments， as well as a few stories of individuals。 I think I got more out 3。5/5 rounding up for Goodreads。 It was a gift so I don't want to be too negative。About 400 pages with very short chapters， some only 2 pages long （like on Henry IV and the investiture issue in the 11th century）。 Pretty well written and casual in tone so easy to pick up and read a chapter then stop。 A mix of historical 'moments' are chosen but there is a decent amount on technology， some cultural moments， and some political moments， as well as a few stories of individuals。 I think I got more out of the earlier ancient moments， due to a mix of me not knowing as much about the Babylonians or whoever and Oliver being an archaeologist who I suppose would know more about the ancient past than the recent past （the ancient chapters felt longer as well and make up a decent chunk of the book）。Criticism - Apart from a few namedrops of historians there is no real list of sources or even a brief bibliography。 Very little depth due to how short the chapters are。 Oliver does go on some weird tangents at times trying to make points about modern politics。 For example taking Caesar crossing the Rubicon to talk about how societies fall to totalitarianism and Hannah Arendt which are topics that might be worth reading about but is a bit out of place in a small chapter of a casual world history book。Overall I would say if you are just starting to get into history or are looking for a casual book that can be read for a few minutes a day then this might be worth a read。 If you are already quite into history then maybe not。 。。。more
Mark
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It is a personal 100 moments and beautifully written although I would have said Magna Carta he did sneak it in cleverly with the American constitution I loved it and learned a lot of stuff especially in the ancient section taking us to the Halfway point。 The achievement of this book was no mean feat the achievement of us as humanity well that’s debatable when we’ve so much history we should have learned from。
Pixie
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This was an engaging way to show the history of the world in a slightly sociological yet still archaeo-historical way。 The author selects certain events and/or people to identify seminal moments in history， however these could only be known in hindsight， i。e。 looking back， because at the time they happened， it would not have been apparent what the subsequent chain of events would be nor perhaps their importance。 Very enjoyable and a great way to refresh one's world history whether or not you agr This was an engaging way to show the history of the world in a slightly sociological yet still archaeo-historical way。 The author selects certain events and/or people to identify seminal moments in history， however these could only be known in hindsight， i。e。 looking back， because at the time they happened， it would not have been apparent what the subsequent chain of events would be nor perhaps their importance。 Very enjoyable and a great way to refresh one's world history whether or not you agree with his choices and interpretation of some events。 。。。more
Colin Parry
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Some moving and thought provoking chapters。 Neil Oliver takes us on a thinking journey around the world。Finishing one if his books leaves me wanting to start another。
Sharon
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