I love this book. Although it is rated for ages 9-12, I am a graduate of an Ivy League school and I find that it quickly refreshes as well as adds to my (already good) knowledge of world history.

Its point of view is commendable: the author writes as if he were an extra-terrestrial just visiting Planet Earth, thus can write about all peoples--American, Europeans, Hispanics, Polynesians, Africans, Japanese, Chinese, Asian Tigers--in a neutral but interested and caring way, for his people out there in the stars to read.

He touts the amazing achievements of several peoples but also pokes fun at their faults and confusions in a breezy but not overblown style. He tells us of nationalism and the rise and fall of individual empires and nations including their feats, truths and dreams as well as their lies, illusions, and exaggerations. Even Science is shown as a rising God that blesses us with favors but also punishes us with headaches.

The book is illustrated in full color, comic-book style, and peppered with delightful stories in virtually every page. It is a good first book or refresher for anyone wishing to start, or again get going at, delving deeper into world history, from the Big Bang several billion years ago to the present. The readers ends up both appreciative and skeptical of humanity, in short with the truth.

I noticed a couple of typos at the end of the book, but they are minor blemishes in a truly excellent book of about 120 pages.

This is an excellent book for anyone wishing to know more about the second world war - it is clear, interesting, well illustrated and informative. An ideal book for pupils studying at school, but also for those more mature readers who need a good introduction to the subject.

it was realy love story , i was very proud of jane eyre and also of mr. rochester . it was a crazy love and it shows that the good person must be considered at the end.

The Title says it all. Along with enchanting stories, the facts are fun, interesting, and true. If you like magic, mystic, and truth all wrapped up in one book, this is THE ONE for you.

Got it from the library, even enjoyable from an adult's perspective.

In "Shakespeare and Macbeth," Stewart Ross takes us to London, 1605 as the Elizabethan era has come to an end and a new Scottish king sits on the throne of England. Knowing King James loved the theater and was fascinated by witchcraft, Shakespeare wrote a play to please the king. Ross tells how Shakespeare conceived and wrote "Macbeth," covering the playwright's sources (such as Holinshed's "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland") and telling about the actors who performed the play at the Globe theater, such as Richard Burbage. Ross talks specifically about how Shakespeare transformed the raw facts of history into his tragic drama, putting in things that would hopefully impress the new king from Scotland (when we see Banquo's heirs that will come to sit on the throne the last figure represented is, of course, King James himself). The artwork by Tony Karpinski and Victor Ambrus is based on careful research with regard to period clothing and the like. There is also a cut-away diagram of the Globe Theater and in the back of the book there are some excellent pencil drawings accompanying the synopsis of the actual play (I believe Karpinski did the paintings and Ambrus the drawings, but do not hold me to that conclusion). "Shakespeare and MacBeth: The Story Behind the Play," has a foreword from actor Kenneth Branagh, who praises it for conveying much of the excitement he felt when he was first introduced to "live" Shakespeare. The strength of this volume is that it does indeed give young readers an idea of how Shakespeare's plays were written and produced. True, it only scratches the surface of such things, but then the book is clearly intended as an introduction to the world of Shakespeare. As such, "Shakespeare and MacBeth" certainly succeeds in its goal, just as the Bard succeeded in having King James calling for a performance at court during the first state visit of King Christian of Denmark to England (when Ross has Shakespeare cut out a reference to a Scottish victory over the Danes during the performance you have to be impressed by his attention to to details).

A balanced analysis of renewed Balkan conflicts that began and ended the twentieth century in war. Kosovo is a Muslim populated region in the former Yugoslav Republic that the Serbian Republic wished to dominate. To conquer the region, the Serbs initiated a genocide that they called "ethnic cleansing."

Presents the history of the war from the dissolution of the Yugoslav Republic through the rise of the Serbian state under the leadership of Milosevic. Juxtaposes accounts of NATO's efforts to bring peace to the region with press photographs of atrocites and interviews of refugees. Includes a chronology of important events, a glossary identifying people, places and political groups, index and sources for further information.

Kenneth Clark gives an unpropogating look at Da Vinci. All too often Leonardo's name has been attached to support a variety of causes of this or that nature. Being, seemingly, irreligious and unphilosophic while being the quintessential Renassaince Man. His name is often used as a mascot to justify the ideals of this or that group of whatever. He was clearly an animal rights lover, possibly a closet Franciscan, in all probability a homosexual (although not much of an activist). Leonardo was into his thoughts and had little patience for something that was already complete in his mind. He left scores of unfinished works, and minons of angry patrons - contrary to Bornstin's book that Leonardo was in constant search of patrons - Clark says he had many unhappy patrons. Leonardo was an animal lover who hated violence (although he designed armaments of various sorts). His depth of religious devotion could be argued, but he was not irreverant, as some have claimed. Leonardo was rather Franciscan and had a fondness for animals and individuality. He was free and valued his own individualism. Other than Da Vinci's notebooks nothing much authentic comes down to us. Every other work of Leonardo has been severally retouched or destroyed, what there is left of Leonardo's work is highly speculative - what bit is in his hand ect. Clark gives a healthy, vibrant, nonproselytizing look at a genius - something anyone might find interesting.

Kenneth Clark's book is probably the best available introduction to Leonardo da Vinci. It is both a good biography and an insightful analysis of Leonardo's art and artistic career. The text is appropriate for both laymen and students of art history. Clark's writing is concise and extremely engaging (to the point where I would recommend reading this book for fun), but it is also intelligent and very informative, with a clear thesis that ties the vast body of matieral covered together into an easily comprehensible package. This book is slightly out of date now, but Martin Kemp's introduction and revision help to ammend for that. I particularly recommend this most recent edition as it is well-illustrated.

This is the best book available in English on Leonardo da Vinci. True, the book was first published several decades ago, but the art historian Martin Kemp has added footnotes that bring the text up to date. Kenneth Clark made a tremendous contribution to the study of Leonardo da Vinci with this book - Science and Technology Museum notwithstanding!!!!

I purchased this book after reading the previous reviews. I was really looking forward to reading it with my son. We will travel to Ireland, this summer, and I wanted to get a book so that both of us could learn something about the history and culture of Ireland. While the book is very colorful, both my son and I found it utterly confusing and disjointed. I am honestly disappointed with the purchase.

"The Story of Ireland" by Richard Brassey and Stewart Ross is told between two maps of Ireland, the first of Ireland before 1500 and the other of Ireland after 1500. It starts, in the grand tradition of Michener, millions of years ago when Ireland was part of the huge super-continent Panagae. But then we have a whirlwind tour through Irish history, which includes Noah's grandson making up Gaelic from the best bits of all the languages created when the Tower of Babel fell, Irish icons like the Limerick Treaty Stone and Guiness beer, and the Great Famine. The information comes fast and furious, aided and abetted by funny pictures and witty captions, so that the result is a book that is more informative and entertaining. This is a book that can tell you how to become an English lord and identify all of the architectural sites in Dublin. If you can claim Irish descent, like one third of American presidents, then your children will probably enjoy this book more than if they are simply assigned to find out about the Emerald Isle for a school report. Brassey and Ross have also done "The Story of Scotland," and I would expect to see "The Story of Wales" from them before they get around to "The Story of England." Just a guess on my part, but I have my reasons.

Cartoon color illustrations by Brassey pair with historical facts to make for an unusually inviting Ireland expose in the Story Of Ireland. From Irish folklore and history to social development, youngsters receive a basic view of Ireland and the Irish people.