The Outline of History
Cover of the 1920 edition
|
|
| Author | H. G. Wells |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | J. F. Horrabin |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | George Newnes |
|
Publication date
|
1919–20 |
The Outline of History, subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a work by H. G. Wells that first appeared in an illustrated version of 24 fortnightly installments beginning on 22 November 1919 and was published as a single volume in 1920. It sold more than two million copies, was translated into many languages, and had a considerable impact on the teaching of history in institutions of higher education. Wells modelled the Outline on the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot.
Many revised versions were produced during Wells's lifetime, and the author kept notes on factual corrections he received from around the world. The last revision in his lifetime was published in 1937. In 1949, an expanded version was produced by Raymond Postgate, who extended the narrative through World War II, and later up to 1969. Postgate wrote that "readers wish to hear the views of Wells, not those of Postgate," and endeavoured to preserve Wells's voice throughout. In later editions, G. P. Wells, the author's son, updated early chapters about prehistory to reflect current theories; previous editions, for instance, gave credence to the Piltdown Man hoax. The final edition appeared in 1971, but earlier editions are still in print.
The third revised and rearranged edition is organised in chapters whose subjects, grosso modo, are as follows: Ch. 1–2: The origins of the Earth; Ch. 3–6: Natural selection and the evolution of life; Ch. 7: Human origins; Ch. 8: Neanderthals and the early Paleolithic Age; Ch. 9: The later Paleolithic Age; Ch. 10: The Neolithic Age; Ch. 11: Early (prelinguistic) thought; Ch. 12: Races; Ch. 13: Languages; Ch. 14: The first civilisations; Ch. 15: Sea voyages and trading; Ch. 16: Writing; Ch. 17: Organized religion; Ch. 18: Social classes; Ch. 19: The Hebrews; Ch. 20: Aryan-speaking (or Indo-European-speaking) peoples; Ch. 21–23: The Greeks; Ch. 24: Alexandria; Ch. 25: Buddhism; Ch. 26–28: Rome; Ch. 29: Christianity; Ch. 30: Asia (50 BC-AD 650); Ch. 31: Islam; Ch. 32: The Crusades; Ch. 33: The Mongols; Ch. 34: The "renascence" of Western Civilization; Ch. 35: Political developments, esp. the great power concept; Ch. 36: The American and French revolutions; Ch. 37: Napoleon; Ch. 38: The nineteenth century; Ch. 39: The Great War; Ch. 40: The next stage of history.
...
Wikipedia