To Explain It All: Everything You Wanted to Know about the Popularity of World History Today

World history is not a subject; it is all the subjects. Because of this, world history as a discipline has never fit well with the traditional definition of historical research. H.G. Wells wrote the first true book of world history in 1920 and only a few authors have made the attempt to "explain it all" since Wells. In that time, world history has become the chosen subject of polymaths and the field possesses the most potential to unite all of the disciplines of knowledge. The subject of world history has developed several approaches, with "Big History" being the most modern, and flawed, of its variants.

Introduction

Chapter 1: H.G. Wells: The Outline of History

Chapter 2: A Short History of the World for Children

Chapter 3: Will and Ariel Durant's The Story of Civilization

Chapter 4: Variations on the World Historical Approaches

Conclusion

References

About the Author

Ambitious is the author who attempts to write the history of the entire world. Equally daunting is the historiographical challenge of writing an accessible account of the production and scope of the most influential of these grand narratives. Written by a veteran educator with decades of experience teaching and developing world history curricula at the secondary school level, To Explain it All masters this challenge with verve and deft expertise. Refreshing in its clarity of writing and unflinchingly honest in its opinions, this two-volume survey will be of interest to both general readers and those who write or teach world history.

Chris Edwards has had his "connect-the-dots" teaching methodology published by the National Council for Social Studies, is the author of two books of philosophy, and is a frequent contributor on topics of law, logic, and theoretical physics to the science and philosophy journals Skeptic and Free Inquiry. He proudly teaches world history and Advanced Placement world history at a public high school in Indiana.