Recording the beginnings of Earth up to the outcome of World War I, this book is an extremely compelling narrative of the evolution of life and the development of humankind. Wells examines various topics, such as the Neolithic era, the rise of Judaism, the Golden Age of Athens, the life of Christ, the rise of Islam, the discovery of America, and the Industrial Revolution. With astonishing breadth and passion in his writing, this history remains one of the most readable of its kind.