A Little History of the World

Douban link: A Little History of the World

It really is worthy of being a children’s book. Although my historical knowledge reserve is fairly decent, my English is only average. Even so, I was still able to read the English edition smoothly. The original should be in German. I am not sure whether the author translated it himself or someone else translated it. It is hard to imagine that this book was written in 1935. When I first saw the publication year, I thought it was a book from the new century, but it turned out to be a work from 90 years ago. Yet the quality was already this high. Only when I read that his grandfather had lived before the founding of Germany, and that he himself had met the Austrian emperor, did I realize how old-fashioned the author was. Obviously, the final chapter was added later by the author, filling in the history after World War I up to the changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, namely what he called the history he personally experienced. The Western perspective, especially the German perspective, is quite obvious. The book spends some space emphasizing German-related history, which is therefore not surprising. It differs somewhat from the mainstream Anglo-American perspective. The writing and intent are both very high-level, especially its praise of the Enlightenment and of reason, human rights, and liberty, equality, fraternity. It is worth reading for children today and for most adults as well. Looking back at the history classes in the flower-growing country, they are entirely driven by propaganda and the needs of rule. No wonder they are called filthy history.

I learned an English word:
Celestial Kingdom.