Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
International Collectors Library (1971), Leather Bound, 1103 pages
Description
H. G. Wells was disillusioned by the World War I peace settlement. Convinced that humanity needed to awaken to the instability of the world order and remember lessons from the past, the author of science fiction classics set out to write about history. Wells hoped to remind mankind of its common past, provide it with a basis for international patriotism, and guide it to renounce war. The work became immensely popular, earning him world renown and solidifying his reputation as one of the influential voices of his time.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jasongibbs
Not such a great book for history. Wells was a great story writer but this work is full of his socialist and humanist philosophy.
LibraryThing member stevetempo
An interesting survey of world history with Wells' biases.
LibraryThing member keylawk
This is the 2d Volume of the 2-volume library of knowledge authenticated by a remarkable plagiarist. H.G. Wells made his first liberating income from the 1920 publication largely pilfered from the lifetime of work performed by the brilliant and discerning Canadian scholar, Florence Deeks, whose
This subsequent revision by H.G. Wells was never purged of the plagiarisms, but much scholarship, and H. G. Wells himself by dying in 1946, moved on, and is evidenced in this 1971 edition produced by his son, Professor G. P. Wells, and Raymond Postgate, "the noted writer".
Volume 2 begins with Chapter 31 - Christendom and the Crusades, and essentially ends with the Cold War set in place between USSR and USA, with brief notes on satellite launching and nuclear weapon competition, Castro's victory against Batista in 1959 followed by a stealthy 1962 missile crisis, and the Chinese under Mao placing embassies in uncommitted nations' capitals.
In the penultimate paragraph, the author documents Nasser ordering UN troops out of the Gaza strip while closing Israel's access to the Gulf of Aqaba and barring the Suez Canal. Ahmad Asaad Shukhairy, a "Palestinian Arab leader", is quoted on the prospect of "killing all young Jewish males and taking charge of the women and children". The book ends with the six day war, noting that "Neither of the two major powers had intervened to help its presumed friends." [1045]
The authors add a concluding comment on that fact that Wells ended all of his earlier editions on a note of confidence: "He saw the future as bright." He felt that dozens of "keen youngsters" were replacing the old, and he like to speak of them as in "open conspiracy". The authors assure us "But before he died he abandoned this optimism. So must we."
The book ends in doubt, "but doubt is not defeat". As Kipling wrote "the cities rise again". "Greece was a tiny light in a vast encircling night of ignorance and brutality". [Of course that is quite wrong from the Persian or Lake Cities, and African POV.] "After a thousand years of darkness, a very few men indeed were responsible for the great renascence of Europe. [Quite wrong again, as to the chiasm of "darkness"!] The authors look to the "men and women of this generation which path the world will follow in the coming years."
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work had been submitted to the same publisher.This subsequent revision by H.G. Wells was never purged of the plagiarisms, but much scholarship, and H. G. Wells himself by dying in 1946, moved on, and is evidenced in this 1971 edition produced by his son, Professor G. P. Wells, and Raymond Postgate, "the noted writer".
Volume 2 begins with Chapter 31 - Christendom and the Crusades, and essentially ends with the Cold War set in place between USSR and USA, with brief notes on satellite launching and nuclear weapon competition, Castro's victory against Batista in 1959 followed by a stealthy 1962 missile crisis, and the Chinese under Mao placing embassies in uncommitted nations' capitals.
In the penultimate paragraph, the author documents Nasser ordering UN troops out of the Gaza strip while closing Israel's access to the Gulf of Aqaba and barring the Suez Canal. Ahmad Asaad Shukhairy, a "Palestinian Arab leader", is quoted on the prospect of "killing all young Jewish males and taking charge of the women and children". The book ends with the six day war, noting that "Neither of the two major powers had intervened to help its presumed friends." [1045]
The authors add a concluding comment on that fact that Wells ended all of his earlier editions on a note of confidence: "He saw the future as bright." He felt that dozens of "keen youngsters" were replacing the old, and he like to speak of them as in "open conspiracy". The authors assure us "But before he died he abandoned this optimism. So must we."
The book ends in doubt, "but doubt is not defeat". As Kipling wrote "the cities rise again". "Greece was a tiny light in a vast encircling night of ignorance and brutality". [Of course that is quite wrong from the Persian or Lake Cities, and African POV.] "After a thousand years of darkness, a very few men indeed were responsible for the great renascence of Europe. [Quite wrong again, as to the chiasm of "darkness"!] The authors look to the "men and women of this generation which path the world will follow in the coming years."
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LibraryThing member cakecop
Wells develops the idea of different races of mankind. He is balanced in his review of races and rejects the idea of any racial superiority. I enjoyed this topic because it explains many of the conflicts in our world society.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1920
Physical description
1103 p.; 8.2 inches