Customer Reviews
Not an Adult nonfiction Harry Potter. - By: Bardamu, 05 Jan 2009 
I gave this a low mark, as it appears marketed to adults. It's a kids book that older parents or grandparents would buy for a smart primary school child. It's not for adults to read, this isn't a nonfiction `Harry Potter' semi-literate people will enjoy. The style of writing suggests this is a book people should read aloud to their children. The book design isn't something that would appeal to an under ten year-old; I think parents will have to participate & help explain the difficult words then elaborate on facts not explained. It needs to be a living, breathing book that parents can excite a childs imagination & interestin learning about history. Without the parents involvement, it will be an unloved present like socks or vests on a birthday. If you have those parenting skills, this book could be a brilliant investment, otherwise it will be a dated book for 21st century kids more interestedin games & neon bright puppet shows on TV. It lacks colour, illustration & a format that would encourage a young child to read it alone. It's content is too basic & will infuriate any adult whose last book wasn't a `See Spot' paperback. If a parents copy doesn't end up ragged & littered with notes, it hasn't been read properly to their child. This should be a springboard to further learning for a child who will ask their parents to fillin the gaps. I expect Gombrich intended parents to be involved & answer a childs curiosity. With parent it's a `five star' book, without it's nothing.
Good Read - By: D. Glowacki, 31 Dec 2008 
A joy to read,with a narrative that flows like a novel.A book for most (though not all) ages.Some minor deficiencies though.It is a Europe centric book,and mainland Europe at that.Britain hardly features.It's accuracy at times bordering on subjective.China coming out ridiculously unsullied.The suffering of the Jews is well covered,butin his 1980s chapter no mention at all of the world problem of Israel.However they are minor,and l would thoroughly recommend this book,written by a charming man.Not suitable for the young,but okay for the young adult (too much death & suffering)
Too much for such a little history ? - By: Ponytail, 30 Dec 2008 
This is for children. No matter that the reviews are written by adults, the most appropriate review should be written by a child. At first I thought this was a lovely book, but the language started to really irritate me by the end, & the lack of background explaination could really leave a reader wanting to know more, but unable to satisfy their curiosity.
It's a lovely idea, but I think there is too much ground covered, especially bearingin mind the audience it is aimed at. It's difficult to know which age group would best appreciate this, & this is why I feel a review from a child (as opposed to an adult) would be much more helpful to potential future readers.
Child Friendly - By: J. J. O'neill, 26 Dec 2008 An elegantly written, illustrated & produced history book, designed as a general introduction to the study of the subject for children. In this, it is successful, the chapters are concise enough not to discourage younger readers, but full of sufficient information to reward completing.
The book was written over half a century ago, so it is unsurprising that the general approach: concentrating on heroic figures rather than the broad sweep of history, can seem a trifle old fashioned. Having said that, I still cannot think of a better way to inspire interestin the civilisations of the past than by telling the stories of Hannibal or Alexander.
Gombrich himself was writingin a turbulent time & the story of how the book came to be written is interestingin itself. Most valuable is Gombrich's afterword admitting how wrong he was (and, crucially, WHY he was wrong)in his assessment of American responsibility for the Second World War. Rather than simply correcting or omitting this error, by taking the trouble to explain it, he teaches a lesson as to the limits of history. Likein all human studies, the facts can be bent to the will of the person presenting or interpreting them.
Boys own' introduction to classics and history - but simple and biblical - By: DRJ Sayer, 24 Dec 2008 This book reminds me of the sort of thing I had as a child, artistically written but biblically driven overviews of the whole classical past. Starting with the ancient city states of the Middle East it takes a classical view of the development of society shunning away from wars & conflictin favour of development & advances to human knowledge. A good starting point, butin today's historical narratives the evolution of humans, the mind, fire & domestication are among the most interesting discussions availablein children's histories. The saying a `picture paints a thousand words' is no more apt than here as the book paints pictures of the past it describes using professionally considered pros but you can't help but think that it would be enhanced with just a few images inside. I also could not help but be put off by the publishers inclusion of the raised American flag on the back cover, a horrible statement of American imperialism for a book which does not advocate such things & particularly ill placed here as the German language origins & peaceful overtones of the book come from a post war Germany.
In short this is good fun & a welcome relief from the patronising overenthusiastic narratives that have become commonin children's histories - however, it is rather old fashioned & is more likely to inspire nostalgia amongst adult readers than a deep routed passion for historyin its younger readers. A `boys own' introduction to classics & history but one cannot help thinking it is rather to simple for today's reader, adult or child.
