It's About Time : How Long History Took

Rating:
Summary: Mildly Intereresting Gimmick Book
Review: This book is easy reading and has some interesting tibits. However, some of the events the author chooses for his timeline are on the trivial side--for instance, the trial of Bill Mitchell. Some historical events are simplified--unavoidable certaintly, but also occasionally unfortunate. It is questionable whether the Mongol Empire really lasted 490 years. Very little of it was left at its end for it to really have been considered an empire. There is at least one typo--I seem to recall more--but the Civil did NOT begin on "April 12, 1862" (p. 48). Flanagan, the author, says so at the top of the page. Then there is question of how he decided which events to include in this timeline. Obviously, an effort was made to include events that increased a bit more in their time span one after another--a difficult task, to be sure--but the question at the end of a book without a theme other than time is, so what?


Rating:
Summary: It's about Time
Review: This book is for readers of all types, occasional readers, history buffs, frequent readers, and even mystery novel readers! The detail and details on each subject is quite amazing! For instance most Americans would not believe the Gettysburg address took only 2 minutes to deliver by President Lincoln and the main speaker at the event spoke for 2 hours! Most Americans would not believe that we have not set foot on the moon since 1972! Most Americans remember John Glenn as a U.S. Senator and Astronaut but few know that he flew 59 combat missions in World War II! It is these important details of history and time that make this book so wonderful to read and appreciate. It doubles as a coffee table book because when friends come over, they immediately pick it up and start reading it! It is worth double or triple the price I paid for it! I heartily recommend this book to readers of all ages, young and old who want appreciate history and the Time it took to make that history!