Empire: A new history of the world, not a normal book, said every person who wrote something about a book, but this really isn’t.

The empire is not a textbook, it won’t give you perfect organized information, or information about a specific aspect of a society.

What it will give you is pure information. The book’s author Paul strathern packed a dense amount of information in this tiny book. 

The format of the book is simple, a single society is taken and all its most important accomplishments and downfalls are explained. 

In such a format, it is normal that people who read for knowledge won’t be obliged. But the people who read for genuine interest in the societies that are explored will be pleased. There’s also the fact  that readers who bought the book with interest in one or two societies, will be disappointed in the fact that there are not.

The book talks about 10 different societies, divided into 10 chapters., sorted by their times in the world.

The societies in order are: The Akkadian Empire, The Roman Empire, The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, The mongol Empire, The Yuan Dynasty, The Aztec Empire, The Ottoman Empire, The British Empire, The Russian Empire and The American Empire. 

One major criticism is that there were many important empires that were excluded from the book. Many important empires are arguably more important and more of an empire than some of the ones mentioned.

For example, the spanish empire, which influenced a whole continent and more’s future was thrown aside for the “American Empire.”

Which can barely be considered an empire, when looked at from a purely territorial point of view. Another couple of examples would be every empire that is not a part of the mainstream historical knowledge. The only expectation being the Akkadian Empire. 

Most of these empires are already known by people who are most likely to read a book like this. But the ones it does mention, it does a great job of expanding each important aspect of the Empire.

This book is a good read for those looking a quick look into world history. A very random but very informative overview of the most of the most important Empires throughout history.