O Futuro Da Humanidade Ebook Torrents
A superb history of the world's people during the last four million years, beginning before the human race moved out of Africa to explore and settle the other continents. Blainey explores the development of technology and skills, the rise of major religions, and the role of geography, considering both the larger patterns and the individual nature of history. A delightf A superb history of the world's people during the last four million years, beginning before the human race moved out of Africa to explore and settle the other continents. Blainey explores the development of technology and skills, the rise of major religions, and the role of geography, considering both the larger patterns and the individual nature of history. A delightful read, gracefully written, and full of odd and interesting pieces of information as well as thoughtful comparisons that span both time and space. Blainey seeks to cover the history of the human species, including its prehistory, in the space of little more than 400 pages. Necessarily, this is not a history in the conventional sense—persons and places and dates, the actions of great men (and a few great women;).
No, this is more a broad-brush cultural history: Where people lived, where they moved to (and from), the religions they followed, their view of the world (constrained, most of the time), the technologies (broadly speaking) they use Blainey seeks to cover the history of the human species, including its prehistory, in the space of little more than 400 pages. Necessarily, this is not a history in the conventional sense—persons and places and dates, the actions of great men (and a few great women;). No, this is more a broad-brush cultural history: Where people lived, where they moved to (and from), the religions they followed, their view of the world (constrained, most of the time), the technologies (broadly speaking) they used to grow their food and make their homes and clothes (and very little more than that for the great majority of humans the great majority of time). He does address those few personages who had profound effects on human history—mostly the founders of the great religions. But most of the time, this is about how people lived—and died. For someone like me, who has not read a history book in a long time, this is an eye-opener, and largely new material—usually where the details are concerned, but often also from Blainey’s bird’s-eye view.
I often wished there was more conventional history, but then it probably wouldn’t have been short. I also found Blainey’s rhetorical flourishes to be at times too much of a concession to story-telling, and his devoting a page to chat about some marginal character a little trying. My main regret, though, is that I wish I had the comprehension to remember even a tenth of what’s in this book. Interesting and readable.
Blainey follows social, cultural, religious and technological themes rather than the political or military. He attempts to tell the story of human experience rather than to recount a sequence of significant historical events, Thus, political and military developments are often unexpectedly relegated to supporting evidence for whichever larger theme he is developing.
This approach enables him to move through large swathes of history quite quickly while still developing a Interesting and readable. Blainey follows social, cultural, religious and technological themes rather than the political or military. He attempts to tell the story of human experience rather than to recount a sequence of significant historical events, Thus, political and military developments are often unexpectedly relegated to supporting evidence for whichever larger theme he is developing. This approach enables him to move through large swathes of history quite quickly while still developing a coherent storyline. He manages to maintain a global approach by constantly linking and comparing human experience in different areas of the world. Overall, informative and refreshingly different. Blainey, an Australian, does a great job of locating his own nation (and my own) in the sweep of world history, often referencing the pre-European settlement period as a point of comparison with contemporary events elsewhere.
This is the second book i have recently on human history as a whole. My first was e.h.gombrich’s a little history of the world which i read 2-3 years ago and was actually a very good read. And this is the second - inspired by again a good post-lunch small-talk on world history, presidents, charisma and space expeditions with cb, e and k in one of those freer afternoons; and which later inspired further discussions with j on egyptian pharaohs, garden of eden and noah’s ark, and e’s recommendation This is the second book i have recently on human history as a whole.
My first was e.h.gombrich’s a little history of the world which i read 2-3 years ago and was actually a very good read. And this is the second - inspired by again a good post-lunch small-talk on world history, presidents, charisma and space expeditions with cb, e and k in one of those freer afternoons; and which later inspired further discussions with j on egyptian pharaohs, garden of eden and noah’s ark, and e’s recommendation of yet another history book with a narrower timeframe, jacques barzun’s from dawn to decadence. Somehow writers of this genre would try to be as neutral as possible – reporting histories objectively despite its nagelian impossibility.
And this is exactly what i like about these books. The author takes a step back and presents historical events by comparing through space (say an empire in the west with a kingdom in the east) and time (say a dynasty in the past with a republic in the present). Technically geoffrey blainey covered most of what e.h. Gombrich had written – just that he elaborated more and did more cross-comparison. But what i like most about him is his poetic titles for the chapters- it makes you wonder what is in certain chapter and want to know more. For example the chapter on the spread of buddhism to china is named “the wild geese cross the mountain”, the founding of america “birdcage”, inventions “the glass eye of science”, industrialisation “dethroning the harvest”, fall of colonialism “the fall of a pack of cards”. Appreciate the chapters on the early mentality toward the night “the dome of night”, on the opening up of africa “beyond the sahara”, on the industrial revolution “noble steam” and the concluding chapter on the blurring of different seasons and the line between days and nights “no fruits, no birds”.
Even history that i thought i know better was written with a nice touch of novelty. Take for example, the descripton of the feud between the assyrians and the babylonians in “cities of the valleys”: “The assyrians became masters of another weapon: this powerful weapon was called terror. When they finally entered a city which had refused its opportunity to surrender peacefully, they would murder, torture and mutilate people on a large scale as a warning to other cities. To be defeated in war was a painful experience in nearly all the early civilisations, but it was especially painful for those defeated by assyria. And yet assyria could also be constructive.
It moved large numbers of rebellious or defeated people to a distant region, there to cultivate the soil or build monuments and public works. Energy and ingenuity were wasted in fighting. Later rulers realized that the powerful rivers could be converted into destructive weapons, like a wave of bombers in a later millenium. American gods neil gaiman summary. The assyrians marched from nineveh and punished their enemies by breaking the walls of dams and canals and by diverting torrents of water against low-lying cities, thus undermining their foundations. About 700bc the king of assyria decided to let loose this ‘water bomb’ on the rival city of babylon. As he recalled with maybe a hint of vengeance in his voice: ‘i completely blotted it out with water-floods and made it like a meadow.’ Babylon rebuilt itself.
Converting the reedy meadow into city streets again, it awaited its opportunity for revenge. It gathered allies from the medes and the scythians who were so skilled with horses. In 612bc the allies began a three-month siege of the enemy city of nineveh. Surounded by moats and walls, the noble city was almost impregnable. But it could not resist a sudden surge if water if the babylonians broke the nearby dams.
The walls were finally knocked down, probably by a man-made torrent. The assyrian king was killed. His city was ransacked. The library, crammed with clay writing tablets, was wrecked. But many of the tablets in their shades of pink and brown and ochre do survive, revealing snatches of history from the last era of a long-lived empire.” Brilliantly narrated.
Well, I enjoyed this book, though I've been meaning to look more closely into the historiography of it all. Geoffrey Blainey, I think though I might be wrong, is a fairly conservative historian, one of those who leaned towards John Howard's side in the history wars. Since I most definitely did not support that side, I suspect this means I should read it again with a critical eye.
Historiography aside, my main complaint with this book was that it spent rather too long discussing the less interesti Well, I enjoyed this book, though I've been meaning to look more closely into the historiography of it all. Geoffrey Blainey, I think though I might be wrong, is a fairly conservative historian, one of those who leaned towards John Howard's side in the history wars. Since I most definitely did not support that side, I suspect this means I should read it again with a critical eye. Historiography aside, my main complaint with this book was that it spent rather too long discussing the less interesting parts of human history, as I see it - the parts that to me are more part of pre-history, and belong more perhaps to the study of anthropology. All the really interesting bits, namely the twentieth century and some of the things that preceded it, were squashed in at the end.
Proportional representation is all very well, but it made for a slightly dull read in places. Nevertheless, a very thorough, readable and overall enjoyable overview of human history. Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC is a prominent Australian historian. He attended Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. He was appointed to a teaching post at the University of Melbourne in 1962, becoming Professor of Economic History in 1968, Professor of History in 1977, and then Dean of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts in 1982. From 1994 to 1998 Blainey was foundation Chancellor at the Universit Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC is a prominent Australian historian. He attended Wesley College and the University of Melbourne.
He was appointed to a teaching post at the University of Melbourne in 1962, becoming Professor of Economic History in 1968, Professor of History in 1977, and then Dean of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts in 1982. From 1994 to 1998 Blainey was foundation Chancellor at the University of Ballarat.
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His first major project in the 1950s was, as an author and researcher working on the history of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, at Queenstown, Tasmania when a significant number of the older residents could remember the beginnings of the community. The resultant book is one of the few company and local histories in Australia to achieve six editions. He has since published 32 books, including his highly acclaimed A Short History Of The World. His works have ranged from sports and local histories to interpreting the motives behind British settlement of Australia in The Tyranny of Distance, covering over two centuries of human conflict in The Causes of War, and examining the optimism and pessimism in Western society since 1750 in The Great See-Saw. Blainey has, at times, been a controversial figure too. In the 1980s, he criticised the level of Asian immigration to Australia and the policy of multiculturalism in speeches, articles and a book All for Australia. He has been closely aligned with the former Liberal-National coalition government of John Howard in Australia, with Howard shadowing Blainey's conservative views on some issues, especially the view that Australian history has been hijacked by social liberals.
As a result of these stances, Blainey is sometimes associated with right-wing politics. Blainey has been an important but low-key contributor to the debate over Australian history since British settlement, often referred to as the History Wars. Blainey coined the term the 'Black armband view of history' to refer to those historians and academics, usually leftist, who accused European Australians of genocide against Aborigines. Blainey referred to the contrasting positive histories as the 'three cheers' school.
Although Blainey's book Triumph of the Nomads was considered to be a scholarly study into the history of Australia's original inhabitants, his opinions opposing High Court decisions in favour of Aboriginal land rights put him in the line of fire and led to accusations of racism.