If you have read any of British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore’s previous books, say, The Romanovs: 1613–1918 or Jerusalem: The Biography, you know how well he captures both the epic sweep of his subject and the telling anecdote. But none of those quite prepare you for both the panorama and detail of his new book, The World, which traces human history from the earliest families to present times. It is a brilliant way of organizing material that otherwise could fill a score of books, and Montefiore tells the story with psychological insight and stylish verve. You will not finish it in one go, so rich and concise is the detail, but that only means you will have many pleasurable sittings with the most captivating book of the season.
JIM KELLY: I think the best way to describe your new book is to use a highly technical word, and that word is “Wow.” There have been world histories before, but what makes yours different is that you begin with families, the first evidence of which are the footprints of a family found in eastern England that date back to 850,000 to 950,000 years before today. Older footprints have been found in Africa, but this is the first evidence of a family, probably, as you write, a male and four children. Why was it so important for you to focus on families in telling your story?
