The Usborne Book of World History

Biased and too much nudity.

I use this book to homeschool my daughter, and I've found it to be a good introduction to history for young children. It's not the only resource you will need, but it provides a good framework. It does jump around a bit, because of the commitment to chronological presentation of *world* history. It's difficult to get the right mix on this, because one wants to see the continuous development of a particular region, but one also wants to see events in the greater context of World history. If the mix given in the book doesn't suit, though, it's possible to simply skip over parts and come back to them later. We use the book to provide a frame of reference, and a jumping off place for further study. In that respect, I think this book is better organized than The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. The latter has far more text, but, in my opinion, it's too dense for young children.Some reviewers have mentioned the nudity in the pictures. I'm not sure what to make of that. Presumably they don't allow their children to view works of art that contain nudity either, since the Usborne nudity is far less graphic than a classical or renaissance statue. I don't know what harm a child could suffer from viewing Michelangelo's David, or Botticelli's Birth of Venus, though. The pictures in the Usborne book are harmless.Other reviewers have claimed that there are inaccuracies in the Usborne book, particularly in how the catholic church is portrayed. I've looked at the examples that they've provided, and don't find them convincing. For example, one mentions the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and the Emperor, Henry IV. The claim that the pope made Henry stand in the snow for three days is one that I've seen in adult history texts. To call it "voluntary" penance is stretching things a bit, since Henry had been excommunicated, was in danger of losing his crown, and later reverted to his original opinion. It's also claimed that the text doesn't present both sides of the Protestant/Catholic wars equally. Yet, on p.135 it says, "priests on both sides were tortured and even hanged. Both Protestants and Catholics believed they were saving their opponents from hell by doing this." Another objection concerned the book's statement that "people decided [Joan of Arc] was a saint." There's nothing false about that statement. Of course, a saint must be cannonized by the church, but the pope doesn't make someone a saint out of the blue. Her sainthood was acclaimed by the people first, and then confirmed by the pope. It seems trivial to take issue with this.I could go on about the other alleged inaccuracies, but I will just urge people to take these claims with a grain of salt. Read through all of the reviews of this book, and make your own decision.The book is sketchy on detail, but that's to be expected. It's aimed at elementary school age children, it is heavily illustrated and it is wide-ranging. It skims the surface of history, and the parent/teacher is expected to provide grea

I received this book and other books in the usborne history series as a young child. I was enthralled and entertained by them for years. As I progressed through high school, I was always far ahead of my other classmates in my knowledge of history, something which I attribute to the love of reading and learning that was instilled in me early by this and other Usborne books. Now that I have graduated from university I would reccomend this book to anyone, and will certainly purchase one for my own family.

Someone gave me this book when it first came out and I was about seven. I must have read it hundreds of times--it was totally captivating. I went on to study History at an Ivy League school. Coincidence? Well, probably. But I think any curious child would love this book. I remember it vividly and am about to buy a copy for a young cousin. I'll be sure to read it again myself, too. Note: I am editing my review five years later in response to the reviews of home-school parents that have appeared since. I have no idea why anyone would consider this an appropriate history *textbook.* It is a very broad overview--a good free-reading book for a young child. The content isn't objectionable if you don't have a particular agenda. I guess there are some nude people, but the illustrations are tiny and it's definitely tamer than National Geographic!