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A Short History of the World: By H. G. Wells - Illustrated Paperback – July 25, 2017

by H. G. Wells (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
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How is this book unique?

  1. Font adjustments & biography included
  2. Unabridged (100% Original content)
  3. Illustrated

About A Short History of the World by H. G. Wells

A Short History of the World is a period-piece non-fictional historic work by H. G. Wells first published by Cassell & Co, Ltd Publishing in 1922. It was first published in Penguin Books in 1936. It was republished under Penguin Classics in 2006. The book was largely inspired by Wells's earlier 1919 work The Outline of History. The book is 344 pages in total, summarising the scientific knowledge of the time regarding the history of Earth and life. It starts with its origins, goes on to explain the development of the Earth and life on Earth, reaching primitive thought and the development of humankind from the Cradle of Civilisation. The book ends with the outcome of the First World War, the Russian famine of 1921, and the League of Nations in 1922.
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  1. Print length
    204 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 25, 2017
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.51 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1521933162
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1521933169
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (July 25, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 204 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1521933162
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1521933169
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.51 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 33 ratings

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
33 global ratings
Cheap, no illustrations, weird/bad formatting. Buy a better copy.
2 Stars
Cheap, no illustrations, weird/bad formatting. Buy a better copy.
Yeah the content is there but why keep all of the image captions when there are no photo’s/illustrations. The very few illustrations look like 3rd grade drawings that aren’t corresponding to the paragraph. Not great formatting.
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Top reviews from the United States

dAb
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Wells writing in nonfiction
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2021
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Written in short sections. A pleasure to read.
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Ed Barton
4.0 out of 5 stars Readable Survey
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019
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A readable survey of history from 10000 BCE to 1922. High School level text with illustration and photos as well. Wells is a gifted writer and brings it to bear here. Good read - though the perspective is 1922 British Colonial.
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Matthew Johnson
1.0 out of 5 stars Illustrations missing, poor formatting--a clear cash grab from the publisher.
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
This product is very disingenuously advertised. The title indicates that this is edition contains the original illustrations; however in reality, the only illustrations in this book are a few images repeated over and over again without respect to context. There are images of colonial-era soldiers early in the book before Wells even got to covering the rise of agriculture in the neolithic era, for example, and images for which the caption claims to depict a specific named work of art will instead display an entirely unrelated image that is repeated some many times throughout the book.

What I suspect happened is that the publisher failed to acquire the rights to publish all the images found in the original work, so instead they only grabbed a few and published a scuffed version of the book, replacing all the missing illustrations with the handful they were able to acquire so they can claim that this edition is "illustrated." Totally unacceptable. The illustrations are actually kind of integral to this book, since art and maps are used at various points to give the reader a more thorough understanding of the time period. Being missing, they really mar the utility of this book.

On top of that, the book's formatting is incredibly bad. Font sizes are inconsistent and even letter spacing is flawed at various points. At the end of chapters, sometimes the words stretch out to encompass the rest of the page rather than simply ending--it's kind of comical really.

Save your money and buy a legitimate copy from a more reputable publisher.
One person found this helpful
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Thomas Hinshaw
2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Edition
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2017
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Wells is an excellent writer and his summary of history is enthralling even though dated and from an "old-dead-white-guy" perspective. However, this edition (the one on Amazon by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) has none of the original's numerous illustrations, which really kills it. For example, the first chapter refers to 7 illustrations which are missing in this edition. The print is so tiny you practically need a magnifying glass to read it. It appears the publisher is embarrassed by the poor quality because it does not put its name on it. For just a few dollars more you can get a much better copy for your shelf elsewhere on Amazon.
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Robert A.
3.0 out of 5 stars An illy-illustrated knockoff of an illustrious author's opus
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2020
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HG is probably doing 300 RPM underground, reacting to this bollixing of his book. The "illustrations" in this cheap knockoff tome have nothing to do with Wells' original text/book.

Very frustrating.

It's as if, after paying to enter an art museum, all you see are empty frames around the word "Painting."

Nonetheless, Wells' writing remains wonderful...despite his occasional temporal blunders. For example, he thought the "Piltdown Man" (discovered in 1912, the year the Titanic sank) was real. That's understandable, given that the book was first published 10 years later, in 1922.

Alas, it turned out that Mr. Piltdown was a hoax. However, that was only proven in 1953...some 7 years after HG's death.
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Daniel Knopf
2.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, no illustrations, weird/bad formatting. Buy a better copy.
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
Yeah the content is there but why keep all of the image captions when there are no photo’s/illustrations. The very few illustrations look like 3rd grade drawings that aren’t corresponding to the paragraph. Not great formatting.
Customer image
Daniel Knopf
2.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, no illustrations, weird/bad formatting. Buy a better copy.
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
Yeah the content is there but why keep all of the image captions when there are no photo’s/illustrations. The very few illustrations look like 3rd grade drawings that aren’t corresponding to the paragraph. Not great formatting.
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James L. Wunsch
1.0 out of 5 stars stay away from the digitized scanned edition
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018
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This is a brilliant world summary by HG Wells, but stay away from the cheap scanned edition ISBN 978-152-1933-169. The layout and text are just awful and there a few token pictures even though the ad suggests full illustration.
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and per se Andy
2.0 out of 5 stars Know what you're getting
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2010
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On the back cover you will find the words "digitally remastered" and "facsimile." This edition is scanned from an old edition rather than printed anew. Some pages are difficult to read, and even the ones that are adequate still look like a photocopy.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Daryoush attar
3.0 out of 5 stars Review
Reviewed in Canada on November 7, 2018
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It is not illustrated as supposed to be
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John Tinsley
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2017
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Enlightening, HG Wells reaches back through history , and his summation of the treatment of the working class by their "superiors" is well observed. Ignore history at your peril.
One person found this helpful
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kk
5.0 out of 5 stars superb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2020
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H g wells is the very classic author.
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D. Njoku
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2015
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Quite informative and relevant
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