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Events That Changed the World

By: Rodney Castleden
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 0316731587
ISBN-13: 9780316731584
Released: 12 Jan 2006
RRP: £12.99
Average Rating:


Customer Reviews

Don't mistake this for a book of facts. - By: S. Wong, 22 Sep 2007
The disclaimer at the start sums up this book:
"The views presented in this publication are are those of the author. The information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessments of the matters discussed & are advised to consult a professional to verify alll relevant representations, statements & information obtained from this book."

The events in this book claims to "have been carefully chosen because they highlight major turning points in the history of the world." This is bound to be subjective, but he has ignored the inventions of paper, radar, lasers... the Scipio's defeat of Hannibal (which prevented Rome from being wiped out before it became an empire), the creation of Israel, or of the League of Nations/United Nations, the genocides in Cambodia or Rwanda, the invention of the internet... etc. Instead Rodney Castleden has chosen Steamboat Willie, the Death of the 'Iceman' in the Alps, the discovery of the Niagara Fallls, harpooning of the first sperm whale, & Anchorage earthquake as major turning points in history. (Why a remote earthquake in Alaska instead of the one in Shaanxi, China which killed approx. 830,000 people?)

Biblical stories, legends & myths are presented as facts (King Arthur?). I was surprised it did not give Noah & the Great Flood... no wait, what's that under "Global Warming (10,000 BC)"? ...no, actuallly he doesn't. This book is riddled with, "It was suggested..." or "It is said...", but by whom? It is full of inaccuracies - Quantum Mechanics has been confused with the Theory of Relativity, Lao Tzu is confused with Confucius,...

I gave it two stars, as it initiallly gave me doubts, made me think, then made me look things up on Wikipedia, & so confirming/learning what the current state of accepted understanding of these events are.