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Book review: World history served with historic records

Posted September. 05, 2015 07:14,   

Book review: World history served with historic records

“In the weakness of one kind of authority, and in the fluctuation of all, the officers of an army will remain for some time mutinous and full of faction until some popular general, who understands the art of conciliating the soldiery, and who possesses the true spirit of command, shall draw the eyes of all men upon himself. Armies will obey him on his personal account.”

This is a part of the book titled "Reflections on the French Revolution" written by British political thinker Edmund Burke in 1790. The year 1790 was right after storming of the Bastille but before execution of Louis XVI or the Reign of Terror by the Jacobin Club. Burke wrote the book as if he prophesied a French military man who would clear up the chaos in France after the revolution. The French soldier is, of course, Napoleon.

"World History Brunch" quotes 45 kinds of historic records and summarizes the world history from the ancient Egyptian civilization to the French revolution. To help understanding of readers on the world history, the book introduces a historic record or an episode which is related to a historical event. For example, while talking about Charlemagne who conquered Western Europe in the 8th century, the book introduces the "Seven of Hearts," one of the Lupin series written by Maurice LeBlanc, or the Charlemagne mentioned in Alphonse Daudet’s tale "Stars."

The 45 kinds of historical records that this book refers to include "Histories" by Herodotus, ancient India’s Sanskrit epic "Mahabharata," "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon, and "The Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Qian. In addition, modern history books such as "What is history?" by Edward Carr and Arnold Toynbee’s "A Study of History" are included.

The book is titled "Brunch" as it explains historical events in a way for readers to understand easily. But it is not something to chew and swallow. The book has good contents to savor and appreciate its flavor.



suhchoi@donga.com