Absolutely Everything!: A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things Too Numerous to Mention by Christopher Lloyd [Review & Giveaway]

 Author's goal in researching and writing Absolutely Everything "...accessible, interesting, accurate, and balanced for young readers--and adults too!"

ISBN: 9781999802837
Hardcover $21.99
What On Earth Publishing

My thoughts: Any individual or publisher that takes the assumptive attitude that knowledge about everything can be bound within the spine of a single volume is delusional. (Just check the qualifications of the author, Christopher Lloyd. He is certainly well qualified to write a book about history!) However, it is a catchy title and it is a kid's book. Albeit an educational and not fictional work, the author takes the reader on an interesting romp over the pages and eras of the history of the universe and our of own speck of a world within its confines.

Can the knowledge of everything be contained in this volume or even of any one particular aspect of our history accurately portrayed in any measure of depth? No. But we can have a sprinkling of information, and we can trust that the author is recounting historical information with as much clarity and accuracy as possible presenting as much detail as his publisher will allot.

What does he actually cover? Well, he takes the old Earth, Big Bang approach to the beginning of the universe or cosmos. So if you prefer the Young Earth or Creationist approach to our beginnings, you may want to approach this book with care. He then traipses through the perceived evolution of man and presents the more expansive approach that several forms of "man" lived at one time or another here on Earth. Each having distinctively different aspects that brought man closer to becoming the evolved man that he is today. Again, Old Earth vs Creationist theory.

Man at war. Man at genius. Man at creativity. Man at social living. Earth as a habitat. Much to learn and much is addressed in this single volume.

It doesn't answer all or even most of the questions about which one might wonder. It DOES, and quite nicely, open an exploratory portal of the reader's mind enabling him or her to reach out and further their grasp of our World and our existence.

Kids that love to learn will find themselves immersed in the pages reading about the time there were medieval battles where soldiers or knights wore full body suits of armour. Or the knowledge that abounded well over 1,000 years ago and even before that shows up in archaeological discoveries.

I remember my brother and I loved to delve into the many volumes of The Book of Knowledge (an encyclopedic collection of books published many years ago) learning of peoples in countries far away and about the stars, the Sun, the Moon. Bits of knowledge planting seeds for further discoveries. I see this single book, Absolutely Everything! a History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rules, Robots and Other Things too Numerous to Mention, as one that kids will pick up on rainy days and read page after page and that they will also reach for when preparing reports for school.

The book is hefty and very well bound. The paper is nice, heavy stock. The illustrations are comprised of drawings and photographs. The book is colorful and interesting to look at. There is a glossary and an index at the end of the book. The Table of Contents at the front of the book follows a timeline of the Earth's history.

As I look at his goal (see above), I can say he is qualified for accuracy (his education and experience), it is accessible (a lot of information in one intensely expansive volume), and it is interesting and balanced in that there is a wide scope of areas covered. The book touches on natural and human history and provides a good overview. I don't agree with all the presuppositions, but I do think this is a pretty good book and is educational and entertaining. I'm a bit of a history buff and would have loved this book as a child or when my own children were growing up. I recommend it.

GIVEAWAY

Begins September 20

ENDS October 12 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT

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About the book: A comprehensive look at the history of Earth, from the Big Bang to the ways in which we can shape the future, for readers ages 10–14.

Each chapter of this educational and entertaining narrative focuses on a different period and travels the globe from a legendary Chinese Empress said to have invented silk, to researchers figuring out how ancient Egyptian embalmers really got the brains out of dead people, to an African emperor on a gold-laden pilgrimage.  Then there’s to T.Rex, King Tut, Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, wars, climate change, conquistadors, revolutions, religions, computers, artificial intelligence, and more. Hundreds of illustrations, photographs, maps, and quotes bring the distant past to vivid life in “a riveting mosaic of exciting true stories” (Deborah Heiligman, Vincent and Theo). The perfect Christmas gift, Absolutely Everything will inspire a thirst for knowledge in even the most reluctant young historians, making connections and giving larger context to the isolated topics taught in school.

About the Author: Christopher Lloyd graduated with a double-first class degree in history from Cambridge University. He was Science Correspondent with The Sunday Times newspaper in London and is now a bestselling author of more than 15 books, including What on Earth Happened? The Complete Story of the Planet, Life and People from the Big Bang to the Present Day (Bloomsbury) and the Big History Timeline Wallbook series from What on Earth Books. A TEDx speaker, he is in great demand throughout the world at conferences, educational seminars, museums, festivals, and schools.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from MMPublicity on behalf of the publisher and author to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine alone and are freely given. Winner's copy is sent directly to the winner by either MMPublilcity or the publisher.