History is the mighty Tower of Experience, which Time has built amidst
the endless fields of bygone ages. It is no easy task to reach the top
of this ancient structure and get the benefit of the full view. There is
no elevator, but young feet are strong and it can be done. -Hendrik Van
Loon, in the Foreword to The Story of Mankind It was intended for
children, and of course much of the science is hopelessly out of date,
but this ambitious, even audacious attempt to offer an overview of the
entirety of human history remains a breathtaking work today. A 1921
bestseller, The Story of Mankind won the first Newbery Medal in 1922,
and it is no wonder: the book-which begins with the origin of life
itself on our planet and the arrival of the earliest protohumans on the
scene and ends with "The Last Fifty Years, Including Several
Explanations and an Apology"-is abundant with an offbeat charm and
packed with the author's own beautiful illustrations and maps that are
alive with a fresh, delectable humor. As a document of early modern
science writing, it is invaluable. As a delightfully entertaining read,
it is not to be missed. AUTHOR BIO: Dutch-American author and educator
Hendrik Willem van Loon (1882-1944) sold more than six million books
during his lifetime, including The Story of the Bible (1923), Tolerance
(1925), and America (1927). After studies at Harvard, Cornell, and the
University of Munich, he had a diverse career as a popular professor of
European history at Cornell and of social sciences at Antioch College,
an Associated Press correspondent in revolutionary Russia and World War
I Belgium, and associate editor of the Baltimore Sun from 1923 to 1924.
In appreciation for his dedicated anti-Nazi writing during World War II,
he was awarded the Order of Knight of the Netherlands Lion.
