Author:Dave Rear
Refreshes the parts other history books can’t reach...
A bit ropy on the Renaissance?
In the dark about the Enlightenment?
Or, in fact, do you need a revision course on the entire history of the world and want to read a witty, irreverent, definitely not boring romp through everything that has ever happened on planet earth – from 15 billion years BC to the present day?
Good.
A Less Boring History of the World tells you everything you need to know from the Big Bang to Barack Obama, taking in the Byzantines, the Black Death, Bin Laden and the fall of bankers along the way, all boiled down to bite size chunks so that you can finally piece together all the different bits of history - and see how on earth we ended up in the mess we are today.
A Less Boring History refreshes your memory and broadens your mind. And, if that’s not enough, it will also make you laugh. A lot.
Animals come close to being Durrell's best friends. He writes about them with style, verve and humour
—— TimeAn amusing writer who transforms this Argentine backcountry into a particularly inviting place
—— San Francisco ChronicleA splendid success
—— New YorkerA delight, with never a dull moment from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, thanks to Durrell's extraordinary ability to communicate his exuberant pleasure in his chosen work
—— New York TimesMoving and magical...a fascinating story...touching, funny and written with warmth and compassion
—— Lancashire Evening PostInspirational. A heart-warming read for anyone interested in wildlife and conservation
—— CompassAfrica has never been more vividly described...I read it straight through and it nearly broke my heart...her warnings about the decline of wildlife should be heeded the world over
—— Joanna LumleyIt's the clearest and most beautifully written introduction to science I've ever read. Again and again I found myself saying "Oh! So that's how genes work!" (or stars, or tectonic plates, or all the other things he explains). Explanations I thought I knew were clarified; things I never understood were made clear for the first time
—— Philip PullmanThe Magic of Reality provides a beautiful, accessible and wide ranging volume that addresses the questions that all of us have about the universe...written with the masterful and eloquently literate style of perhaps the best popular expositor of science, Richard Dawkins, and delightfully illustrated by Dave McKean. What more could anyone ask for?
—— Lawrence Krauss, author of Quantum Man, and A Universe from NothingThis book may be exactly what's needed to increase science literacy for readers of all ages
—— Publishers WeeklyThis book is primarily aimed at teenagers, but plenty of adults will get a kick out of it too...McKean's drawings bring the text to life brilliantly ... Dawkins writes convincingly about everything from chemistry to statistics
—— Independent on SundayDawkins uses a simple, brilliant technique highly appealing to young and old
—— The Washington PostFew scientists manage to reach a huge popular audience. Even among them Richard Dawkins is distinctive for the clarity and elegance of his prose. The Magic of Reality... will be appreciated by inquisitive children while illuminating much for the adult general reader.
—— The TimesThis is not a book about the end of the world but about an imagined beginning ...The results of this huge thought-experiment are both fascinating and surprising. Fascinating for what they tell us about the impermanence of the works of man, and surprising for the simple reason that it soon becomes clear that our world would carry on regardless, indifferent to our demise
—— Daily MailWeisman's gripping fantasy will make most readers hope that at least some of us can stick around long enough to see how it all turns out
—— New York TimesEngrossing
—— New York MagazineAn idea that is so lateral and clever, so powerfully evocative and masterfully executed that the only appropriate response is fervent envy
—— New StatesmanA wonderful idea ... a hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking book
—— ScotsmanFascinating, absorbing
—— Good Book GuideA quick, absorbing read - a summer beach book with brains
—— BloombergIf you can stomach only one end-of-the world-as-we-know it story this summer, none is more audacious or interesting than Alan Weisman's The World Without Us
—— The Boston GlobeHis is an extraordinary story laced with tragedy
—— Mail on Sunday[Root's] life story, vividly related here, is crammed with incident and adventure. Curious, creative and fearless, he has diced with death on numerous occasions and been mauled several times in his efforts to capture the daily lives of everything from silver-back gorillas to leopards in the wild on film. A gripping account of a life well lived
—— Good Book Guide