The Times Atlas of World History
Encyclopedia
The Times Atlas of World History is a historical atlas first published by Times Books Limited, a branch of Collins Bartholomew, which is a subsidiary of HarperCollins
, and which in the latest editions has changed names to become The Times Complete History of the World. The first two editions were edited by the late Oxford Chichele Professor of Modern History Geoffrey Barraclough
. It contains large full color plates and commentary on each map or set of maps. Includes approximately 600 maps covering the date span of 3000 BCE to 1975. It have been revised and reprinted for many times and the latest edition is the eighth edition, published in 2010, and reflects on the modern world up to the 21st Century.
Dimensions: 1.2 x 11.0 x 14.8 inches
The book is prefaced with an eleven page World Chronology which is quick-view timeline across general geographic regions. It is suffixed with a Glossary (38 pages), helpful in cross-referencing names and places, and an index (26 pages).
Each section is further divided into given subjects and contain between one and nine maps, charts to show economic, demographic, manufactures, agricultural output, drug trade and other data as needed. Occasionally illustrations are included on a topic.
In the introduction to the first edition, Geoffrey Barraclough notes that the desire of The Atlas was to provide a history based on the viewpoint of its creators, hence the spread of Islam, for example, is centred at Mecca, as might have been the view of the seventh century Arabs.
It was created by Himmay Winkleman, the Publishing Director of The Times, and Geoffrey Barraclough
, Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. They assembled a team of some 100 leading historians from around the world who wrote the texts and provided the map sources and recruited a team of illustrators and designers to create over 6 maps that were not primarily cartographers but illustrators. The map design was the work of Jeffery Sullivan, an art teacher and principal artist at The Saturday Times newspaper in London. The illustration team was from Product Support Graphics, a large design group once part of Rolls Royce Motors in Derby, England, who used technical illustration technology to create projections.
The Atlas was the first work of its kind to be published in Chinese, in Beijing, in 1981, by The Joint Publishing Company, and was a major success in French (Encyclopedie Universalis), German (Droemer Verlag), Italian (Mondadori), Hungarian (Akademiai Kiado), Serbo-Croat (Cankarjeva Zalozba) and in many other languages. In the UK it was published by Times Books Limited and in the USA, where it had a huge success, by Hammond, Inc
.
Following the death of Geoffrey Barraclough
in 1984, three other editors have since edited the atlas. The third edition was edited by Norman Stone
, then Geoffrey Parker
for the fourth, and Richard Overy
for the fifth to the present eighth edition. Also, since the fifth edition the atlas was fully updated with digitalized maps and is renamed as The Times Complete Atlas of World History, along with its smaller version of The Times Compact History of the World, previously known as The Times Concise Atlas of World History.
Edited by Norman Stone
Edited by Geoffrey Parker
Edited by Richard Overy
as The Times Complete History of the World
, Provost
of the Queen's College, Oxford, called it a "splendid book" (source: inside jacket comment) and the Whole Earth Catalog
called it "the most engrossing new reference book in decades." In the latest eighth edition of The Times Complete History of the World, Harvard
historian Niall Ferguson
stated that the atlas "conveys a sense not only of time, but also of place"; while English journalist and presenter Jon Snow
commented that "in the internet age, proof positive that this reference book still has the edge by a considerable margin".
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, and which in the latest editions has changed names to become The Times Complete History of the World. The first two editions were edited by the late Oxford Chichele Professor of Modern History Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough was a British historian, known as a medievalistand historian of Germany.He was educated at Bootham School in York and at Bradford Grammar School...
. It contains large full color plates and commentary on each map or set of maps. Includes approximately 600 maps covering the date span of 3000 BCE to 1975. It have been revised and reprinted for many times and the latest edition is the eighth edition, published in 2010, and reflects on the modern world up to the 21st Century.
Dimensions: 1.2 x 11.0 x 14.8 inches
Book Content
It contains seven sections:- The world of early man
- The first civilisations
- The classical civilisations of Eurasia
- The world of divided regions
- The world of emerging West
- The age of European dominance
- The age of global civilisation
The book is prefaced with an eleven page World Chronology which is quick-view timeline across general geographic regions. It is suffixed with a Glossary (38 pages), helpful in cross-referencing names and places, and an index (26 pages).
Each section is further divided into given subjects and contain between one and nine maps, charts to show economic, demographic, manufactures, agricultural output, drug trade and other data as needed. Occasionally illustrations are included on a topic.
In the introduction to the first edition, Geoffrey Barraclough notes that the desire of The Atlas was to provide a history based on the viewpoint of its creators, hence the spread of Islam, for example, is centred at Mecca, as might have been the view of the seventh century Arabs.
Publication Information
The Atlas, first published in 1978 in London, UK, sold more than 2 millions of copies in many languages. Its stated aim was to describe the major processes and events of world history across a broad canvas and omit tiny details of, say, ruling families, minor battles etc. It wished to give a dynamic view of population migrations, economic developments such as agriculture and industrialisation, wars, the spread of religions and political ideologies.It was created by Himmay Winkleman, the Publishing Director of The Times, and Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough was a British historian, known as a medievalistand historian of Germany.He was educated at Bootham School in York and at Bradford Grammar School...
, Chichele Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. They assembled a team of some 100 leading historians from around the world who wrote the texts and provided the map sources and recruited a team of illustrators and designers to create over 6 maps that were not primarily cartographers but illustrators. The map design was the work of Jeffery Sullivan, an art teacher and principal artist at The Saturday Times newspaper in London. The illustration team was from Product Support Graphics, a large design group once part of Rolls Royce Motors in Derby, England, who used technical illustration technology to create projections.
The Atlas was the first work of its kind to be published in Chinese, in Beijing, in 1981, by The Joint Publishing Company, and was a major success in French (Encyclopedie Universalis), German (Droemer Verlag), Italian (Mondadori), Hungarian (Akademiai Kiado), Serbo-Croat (Cankarjeva Zalozba) and in many other languages. In the UK it was published by Times Books Limited and in the USA, where it had a huge success, by Hammond, Inc
Hammond Map
Hammond Map or Hammond World Atlas Corporation is an American map company. It was formerly an operating subsidiary of The Langenscheidt Publishing Group, a major map publisher in the United States, but was sold to Universal Map, an affiliate of Kappa Publishing Group, in 2010.The company was...
.
Following the death of Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough was a British historian, known as a medievalistand historian of Germany.He was educated at Bootham School in York and at Bradford Grammar School...
in 1984, three other editors have since edited the atlas. The third edition was edited by Norman Stone
Norman Stone
Norman Stone is a British academic, historian, author and is currently a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University, Ankara...
, then Geoffrey Parker
Geoffrey Parker (historian)
Noel Geoffrey Parker is a leading hispanist and expert on military history. His best known book is Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800, first published by Cambridge University Press in 1988. A fellow of the British Academy, he holds his BA, MA, Ph.D. and...
for the fourth, and Richard Overy
Richard Overy
Richard Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich. In 2007 as The Times editor of Complete History of the World he chose the 50 key dates of world history....
for the fifth to the present eighth edition. Also, since the fifth edition the atlas was fully updated with digitalized maps and is renamed as The Times Complete Atlas of World History, along with its smaller version of The Times Compact History of the World, previously known as The Times Concise Atlas of World History.
Editions
Edited by Geoffrey BarracloughGeoffrey Barraclough
Geoffrey Barraclough was a British historian, known as a medievalistand historian of Germany.He was educated at Bootham School in York and at Bradford Grammar School...
- 1st edition, 1978, (Revisions, 1979; 3rd Imp), 1980 (4th Imp), 1981, 1983
- 2nd edition, 1984, 1985, 1986 (Revisions), 1988
Edited by Norman Stone
Norman Stone
Norman Stone is a British academic, historian, author and is currently a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University, Ankara...
- 3rd edition, 1989, 1992 (Revisions)
Edited by Geoffrey Parker
Geoffrey Parker (historian)
Noel Geoffrey Parker is a leading hispanist and expert on military history. His best known book is Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800, first published by Cambridge University Press in 1988. A fellow of the British Academy, he holds his BA, MA, Ph.D. and...
- 4th edition, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
Edited by Richard Overy
Richard Overy
Richard Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich. In 2007 as The Times editor of Complete History of the World he chose the 50 key dates of world history....
as The Times Complete History of the World
- 5th edition, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
- 6th edition, 2004, 2005, 2006
- 7th edition, 2007, 2008
- 8th edition, 2010
Reviews
Its critical reception was enthusiastic. For example Lord BlakeRobert Blake, Baron Blake
Robert Norman William Blake, Baron Blake was an English historian. He is best known for his 1966 biography of Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, and for The Conservative Party from Peel to Churchill, which grew out of his 1968 Ford lectures...
, Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of the Queen's College, Oxford, called it a "splendid book" (source: inside jacket comment) and the Whole Earth Catalog
Whole Earth Catalog
The Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998...
called it "the most engrossing new reference book in decades." In the latest eighth edition of The Times Complete History of the World, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
historian Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
stated that the atlas "conveys a sense not only of time, but also of place"; while English journalist and presenter Jon Snow
Jon Snow
Jon Snow is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...
commented that "in the internet age, proof positive that this reference book still has the edge by a considerable margin".