The History of the World

For the first time, Ewald Frie tells the story of the world from a completely unprecedented and truly global perspective. Athens is on the sidelines, but no one who reads this wonderfully light-hearted book will forget the fantastic beauty of Kilwa in Africa. Until now, the history of the world was told with Europe at its center and it’s about time for a fresh outlook. Australia was populated by Homo sapiens earlier than Europe. People sailed thousands of miles across the open ocean of the Pacific, while the Romans were still anxiously hugging the coastline. The pyramids and cities of the Americas can hold their own with Babylon and Egypt. And while modern era Western Europe was fighting wars of religion, a multicultural exchange was being negotiated from Hungary all the way to southern India. Of course, the barbarians of the Occident aren’t forgotten. Ewald Frie writes about their discoveries and conquests, revolutions and wars that have changed the world. Our planet has since become a global Megacity, where the rich and poor are segregated, but we are all still inextricably linked. And the Megacities of today’s world stand in the same locations where large cities existed before—outside of Europe. Ewald Frie is a professor of modern history at the University of Tübingen, where he directs a global history research project. In addition to numerous publications on German, European, and Australian history, he also is the author of the young adult history book Das Schokoladenproblem (The Chocolate Problem, 2009). Ewald Frie is the father of three children. Sophia Martineck studied visual communication and she has worked in Berlin, New York, and Liverpool as an illustrator, designer and comic artist for German and international publishers. Her work has become well-known through various publications, exhibitions, and prizes.