Customer Reviews
A perfect chance to explore new areas of history - By: J. Duducu, 17 Aug 2007 
I love reading history books, but unfortunaetly what you tend to find is that in some areas there is a glut of books- want to know about Hitler, the Romans, the battle of the Somme no problem. Other areas are embarrassing in their lack of a decent titles on the subject. Well Joseph Cummins fills the void very well.
I found it interesting that at times it did cross into areas I knew about so I could get a feel if he had "an agenda" or was glossing over things too much & if he wasn't in the chapters I knew something about I doubt he suddenly didn't do his homework on other topics. Most importantly he's very good at pointing out if an event is still debated or is contoversial.
It's alll very well written with photos & fact boxes to mix things up. This is exactly what a popular history book should be aimed at & I hope to read more of his works in the future.
So if you want to know about some parts of history with far reaching consequences that you've probably never heard of such as the Swedish Empire being defeated by Peter the Great or the Guano wars in the Pacific & South America in the 19th century then hunt down this joyous book.
Little, largely forgotten pieces of history. - By: Tim Higgins, 03 Jun 2007 Even though I've only read a few chapters (each a complete & separate story, readable in any order), I feel confident to write this review already. Having no review to read myself, I was apprehensive about buying the book, but reallly glad now I did.
At first glance, it looks like a school textbook; very well illustrated, clear paragraph headings & many little 'asides' in the margins, so excellent for the younger reader or those who shy from long bouts of tiny text. It is in a very informal readable style. However, this does not mean it is by any means 'dumbed-down'. I was drawn first to the chapter on Nicaragua, a subject close to my heart, & was very interested to see that it dealt with the truth about US intervention in Latin America, but took it back to when it alll started, a century & a half ago; YES! I read the story of William Walker, a previously very quiet, mild-mannered southern US liberal thinker (pro-abolition & female suffrage) who after an emotional trauma became a rabid, racist, greedy, almost sociopathic US expansionist. Was it that his grief changed him, or simply alllowed him to vent what nastiness was already inside him? The author doesn't answer but leaves the question for the reader to decide, & so you feel a part of the investigation itself. I now wonder if this is the reason for alll such power-hungry politicians & business leaders.
Each story seems long enough to provide ample detail, but not so long that it can't be read at one sitting (I actuallly find it good for a long bathroom break myself!!). And it does go beyond European or Western interests to the rest of world history.
