A People’s History of the World

From the Stone Age to the New Millennium

By: Chris Harman

Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan

Chris Harman describes the shape and course of human history as a narrative of ordinary people forming and re-forming complex societies in pursuit of common human goals. Interacting with the forces of technological change as well as the impact of powerful individuals and revolutionary ideas, these societies have engendered events familiar to every schoolchild - from the empires of antiquity to the world wars of the 20th century.

In a bravura conclusion, Chris Harman exposes the reductive complacency of contemporary capitalism, and asks, in a world riven as never before by suffering and inequality, why we imagine that it can - or should - survive much longer. Ambitious, provocative and invigorating, A People's History of the World delivers a vital corrective to traditional history, as well as a powerful sense of the deep currents of humanity which surge beneath the froth of government.

©2017 Verso (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

“I have had many people ask me if there is a book which does for world history what my book A People's History of the United States does for this country. I always responded that I know of only one book that accomplishes this extremely difficult task, and that is Chris Harman's A People's History of the World. It is an indispensable volume on my reference bookshelf." (Howard Zinn)

Should've been narrated by anyone else

The information is indispensable, but the narration is terrible. It sounds as if he's trying to make his performance the focal point instead of book.

Actor's voice distracts from content

I found myself completely distracted by the overemphasized inflection and odd accent which the actor seems to be able to turn on and off. I had trouble getting into the content because of this. Its like the actor is trying too hard and faking direction from someone who hasn't listened to 30 hour audio books and therefore doesn't understand how distracting this dude's horrible fake inflection really is.

perfect for the layman eager to learn

this one took me awhile but it was really insightful and informative. if one wants to understand the world as it is today one must understand the past and this book definitely helps one understand history.

Mortal Coils History

This is one excellent book! Equal to Howard Zinns People's History of the United States, no doubt. If better at that. The narrators British accent is pleasing and clear. And the contents are way beyond anything you have ever gathered before in your pursuit of history. Purchase it and you will never regret it. Study history, for the world is a mystery. Read or bleed people, learn or burn!

Well written and compelling!

This book is beautifully written and has a complimenting voice actor accompanying it. I have learned so much and anticipate more to come. As a history major I'm used to listening to history lecture after lecture but I could listen to this all day. Thank you! AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Ambitious but falls short

I enjoyed this; I did. But, it was ambitious, incredibly Eurocentric, and told from a very obvious Trotskyist perspective of Marxism. The chapters from the industrial revolution through the First World War are very well done, but again, they mainly focus on Europe. Ancient to pre-industrial history is glanced over very fast, while WWII to the 2008 Recession is thrown in the last 2 hours of the book. The Cold War is told from both side's perspectives, and in my opinion, not the most accurate. I lost faith when the author referenced Florida as 60 miles from Cuba during the Missile Crisis. Stopping my ramble, it’s a long book that will pique your interest if you want a less serious tale of history. All in all, Harmon falls very short of the incredible story Zinn created that he tried to mimic.

Narrator is fine

Napoleon Ryan is a little hammy but you get used to it. It didn't distract me from the content.

Changed my view of history and explains so much!

This book helped me see how extensively white-washed the history we were taught in school was.

No wonder we don't question why we work harder than ever so the multinational corporate big wigs, who already have so much more than any human needs, can double and triple that wealth.

The 1% get richer and richer while we the people struggle just to pay bills and provide for our children.

This brand of insanity is what helped bring down the Roman Empire, and many other empires, and it may well bring down the American Empire (yes, it's an empire).

PS: My only quibble is that the narrator has a slightly unnatural and distracting style. You can ignore it much of the time, though.

refreshing history from working class perspectives

It is refreshing to hear a history of the world that is clear about its bias and has no pretense of being "objective." For those of you uninitiated in historiography, there is no such thing as "unbiased" history, as it is the job of the historian (and archivists!) to highlight and discard the aspects that they wish to write about, introducing bias into any work of history. Those that say they are "unbiased" are lying to you.

So this book does not pull any punches in telling history from a working-class perspective. That does not make it any less "true" than other accounts of history, those focused on Great People, for example, or on the actions of states. All are valuable in building a comprehensive picture of world history.

If this bothers you, if you're afraid of "ANTFA" or whatever, then by all means don't read. Uncomfortable truths can cause uncomfortable cognitive dissonance, and not everyone wants to deal with that. But for those intellectually curious about what may have been left-out of traditional world histories, this book is for you.

Audiobook version is painful!

Reading and listening to this book are two wholly different experiences. The narrator’s voice is the most affected and pretentious-sounding voice I’ve ever heard. And I like English accents! But this guy … like nails on a chalkboard. I cannot finish it.
Go with the print version.