Can one tell the history of the world in less than 400 pages? For this writer, the answer is yes. The world, from biology to culture, from art to history is exhaustively described in this small book. Through a series of agile vignettes of moments in humanity, from its worst and best, Von Schonburg shows us cities, dynasties, republics, and countries. He offers us an entertaining tool to discover the past and illuminate the present.