A People’s History of the World cover art

A People’s History of the World

From the Stone Age to the New Millennium

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A People’s History of the World

By: Chris Harman
Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
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About this listen

Chris Harman describes the shape and course of human history as a narrative of ordinary people forming and re-forming complex societies in pursuit of common human goals. Interacting with the forces of technological change as well as the impact of powerful individuals and revolutionary ideas, these societies have engendered events familiar to every schoolchild - from the empires of antiquity to the world wars of the 20th century.

In a bravura conclusion, Chris Harman exposes the reductive complacency of contemporary capitalism, and asks, in a world riven as never before by suffering and inequality, why we imagine that it can - or should - survive much longer. Ambitious, provocative and invigorating, A People's History of the World delivers a vital corrective to traditional history, as well as a powerful sense of the deep currents of humanity which surge beneath the froth of government.

©2017 Verso (P)2017 Tantor Freedom & Security Politics & Government World Socialism Ancient History Middle Ages Capitalism Human Rights Imperialism War Africa Self-Determination Latin American Soviet Union Middle East Liberalism Iran Taxation Refugee Russia Winston Churchill Colonial Period United Kingdom Social justice China British Empire Interwar Period World History Nonfiction Science

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Critic reviews

“I have had many people ask me if there is a book which does for world history what my book A People's History of the United States does for this country. I always responded that I know of only one book that accomplishes this extremely difficult task, and that is Chris Harman's A People's History of the World. It is an indispensable volume on my reference bookshelf." (Howard Zinn)
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A great overview of history from a Marxist perspective if slightly western centric at times.

Great overview of leftist world history

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read as if it's Jackanory. as if reading a bedtime story to a toddler, i persevered because of the subject matter only. Very patronisingly read. annoying.

awful narration

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Tried to listen, his monotone and non-engaging voice threw me off. Struggled to listen. Would be nice if it wasn't inherently politically biased. I want to know the facts.

Get a different narrator

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A really good listen, this book really helps to open up ones mind to different realities.

interesting approach

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The voice must be from an old AI model as the intonation and pronunciation is regularly unlike natural human speech.

The AI voice is very unrealistic

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The book is excellent and really important right now as we see that capitalism is destroying the world.
But the narration is not good - I could only listen to it in tranches. The phrasing was formulaic regardless of sentence structure.

Brilliant book, poor performance

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Can I take the opportunity of gently suggesting to the kind folks at Audible: Please, oh, please extend the sleep timer by at least ONE HOUR to help me get through massive tomes such as this. The present sixty minutes is totally inadequate for insomniacs like me. I know you'll do this for me so I'm going to take the liberty of thanking you in advance ! Oh, and by the way, this is a tremendous work, worthy of at least six stars.

Totally Absorbing (but I have a gripe)

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Clearly this is a great work and I recommend it to anyone deeply interested in world history, economics or sociology. It is pretty heavy and will test any reader not already well informed on the themes. A basic course in sociology would no doubt help with terms and general appreciation.

An epic work by a giant in the field

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If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

A patient Marxist.

Has A People's History of the World put you off other books in this genre?

No

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Napoleon Ryan?

He has a deep, resonant voice; the problem is that he reads each sentence ponderously. And pauses after each.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Perhaps—I didn't get to the end.

Any additional comments?

I don't mind a left-wing view of history, but this is extreme; everything is framed as class struggle or ideological—even cavemen. And the evidence consists of citing other historians' conclusions.

Disappointing

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