Jerome Burne

The charming conceit of this work is to write each discrete illustrated chronicle as if it was a headlined current event. The present tense is compelling without distorting the venerability of the item: For example, the short column headlined "Walking hominid 'Lucy' dies at the age of 25 years", recounts the event in Ethiopia, c. 3.1 million BC.[15].

We eagerly ingest history presented as fresh fact-based Headlines and "current events" content. In addition, the scope is wonderful -- global, broad-spectrum coverage. I particularly appreciate the details about the Moslem, African, and Oriental cultures, since "the West" is so often (quite wrongfully) accused of ignoring very significant people and events in the world at large.

In addition, the work keenly and ironically limns the role of powerful women, even the "desaperacida", those fallen among the "disappeared" from the vision of patriarchies.

For example, the brightest years of the Ottoman Empire were during the rule of Sultana Baffo. But for an earthquake, the Sultan's entire Army would have fallen to the Hungarians in 1596, and the Janissaries (kidnapped Armenian Christian children raised as mercenary cavalry) were in open revolt. The ruling women established "soft rule" which kept the Empire intact and at its end, established a basis for the nationalist anti-Islamic statesman and soldier, Mustafa Kemal, to proclaim the Republic in 1923.… (mer)