''Asimov's Chronology of the World'' is a 1991 book by

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

, in which the author explains in chronological order important events that happened from the

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Each chapter covers a certain time period. The chapter is then broken down into headings for each important empire or country of the time and describes the events that happened there during that chapter's time period.

Writing and content

The book is mostly a literary and comprehensive summary on historic people, events, and their connection and influence in historical and geographical context. It includes scientific, literary and artistic milestones as well as political and military events. Unlike most history books it gives insights rather than account of facts. The length and detail vary wildly, depending on the time and location described: it is more detailed in recent times, and when dealing with the Western world. A substantial part of the book is dedicated to prehistory. The rest of the book is mostly European centric and most accurate in this regard. The book does have a lot of historical accounts on other parts of the world, but it is not as complete in scope or detail.

Publication data

*''Asimov's Chronology of the World: The History of the World From the Big Bang to Modern Times'', Harper Collins Publishers, 1991, .

Abridgement

An abridged version of the book appeared under the title ''The March of the Millennia'' ( Walker and Company, 1991). Asimov and Frank White were credited as the authors, although the copyright was held by Asimov only, and White's name is in smaller letters on the cover. In his posthumous autobiography '' I. Asimov: A Memoir'', Asimov says that he completed the book by himself (under the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

''The Next Millennium''). The book is a history of the world from 8000 BC to the present day,

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

by millennium, with a further chapter speculating about what life is likely to be like in the year 3000 AD. This idea was suggested by editor Beth Walker in 1989.''ibid'' This book has 196 pages; ''Asimov's Chronology of the World'' has 675.

References

External links

''Asimov's Chronology of the World'' at Asimovreviews.net

1991 non-fiction books Big History Books by Isaac Asimov Universal history books 20th-century history books HarperCollins books {{hist-book-stub