The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia

The colorful text highlights periods in history from 40,000 B.C. to the present. It is divided chronologically into segments:"The Ancient World" 40,000 BC to 500 BC, and The Classical World, 499 BC - AD 500, Early Middle Ages, 501- 1100, Trade and Empire1601-1707 , Revolution and Independence 1708- 1835, etc.

I like that it covers all regions of the world, including African history, and Indian, Asian, South American, Judea, etc, rather than the typical European history we're all used to. The information is broad in each section and includes wars, empires and dynasties, architecture, culture and arts, science and technology, maps, small biographies of important people in those times. I like that the book is chronological and also broad based in its approach. Each reference takes a full page or full two pages, with easy to find headings at the top of the page. There is a time line across the heading of each page so you know where you are in history. There's a nice "ready reference" in the back with quick notations of rulers and popes and the time period they ruled. I highly recommend this book for middle school years and adults who want a cursory but thought-provoking look at history. This book makes you want to delve more deeply into the different time periods. It's a good starting place for beginning your understanding of ancient history and getting a sense of time and place with regard to history. I homeschool and this is a great resource.


Start your history studies here   December 7, 1999
Alan (Utah)
36 out of 37 found this review helpful

Learning Family Book Review

If you could only have one history book in your home library, this should be it. Written like an encyclopedia of historical events, the Illustrated History is an incredibly easy to access work, covering almost any historical even you could imagine. The illustrations and photos are excellent. The text is brief, but enough to get a basic understanding. I've begun using this one as a first source for history subjects, to get myself oriented, then continue into more specialised books as needed. The chronolgy is listed in the outside column of the pages, which makes thumbing through it quite easy. Though it isn't a history course in one volume, all of the more major events in history have several pages devoted to them covering archaeological data, social background, art and more. An outstanding book.


A Great Book! Shame on Kingfisher for ending print run.   July 10, 2000
Linda S. Taylor (Michigan)
88 out of 98 found this review helpful

This is a wonderful book, and I am so disgusted with Kingfisher for letting it go out-of-print, and for replacing it with the much lesser "red book." We homeschool and find this book invaluable! We learned of this book by reading a book I highly recommend: "The Well-Trained Mind, A Guide to a Classical Education at Home" by Wise. We feel badly for all of the parents still searching for this book. Kingfisher told me that they had about 200 in their warehouse, sold me two of them, and told me that other homeschooling parents could contact them to buy copies. Now that source suddenly dried up, and I wonder why. I have stopped buying all Kingfisher books until they reprint this one, and close out the 'red book.'


The Homeschooler's Best Friend (besides his mother)   March 22, 2000
46 out of 50 found this review helpful

This is *the* best history book to have for all your child's years from first grade through high school. He's not going to grow out of this book. A specific event or narrow time period is presented on each two-page spread in the book along with many, many helpful colorful drawings. Along each left and right side edge all through the book, however, is an extremely helpful world-wide timeline about everything else going on during the time of these two pages.

This is a very informative and riveting "children's" history book. We try and keep it by our reading chair so that with every book we read, the kids and I can find the same time period in this history book. I say "try" to keep it by our reading chair because my kids are always flopping down on the family room floor with it or taking it to the kitchen table to read through it on their own time. It's really that good of a book. It's out of print for now, but make sure to find a used copy so you can have this gem for your kids.


Complete History foundation   February 9, 2005
M. H Shamp (Columbia Falls, MT United States)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

I read this history encyclopedia from beginning to the end; took 2 weeks, an hour a day, in preparation for homeschooling my son. It's about 5th grade level, good descriptions, excellent pictures, covers every corner of the globe. It's a big, thick book and worth the money. I plan on having my son read 2 pages a day and finish it in a year. I can then supplement any information he wishes to know more. Doesn't cover any event in deep detail, but gives excellent overall impression of the history of the whole world. Even I learned a lot!

Highly recommended in addition to other more in depth history studies.