We often say that history repeats itself. Which is something we try to avoid by learning from those who came before us. Some ways we can do this are by learning about the people, places, and movements in history through reading, discussions, videos, and museums.

National Geographic History at a Glance

National Geographic History at a Glance: Illustrated time lines from Prehistory to the Present Day {Disclaimer: I want to thank TLC Book Tours for supplying me with a copy of this book for me to review. While I received this free of charge in exchange for my review, my opinions are my own, and have not been influenced in any way.}

At 416 pages with 300 color illustrations, including more than three dozen maps, this book is packed with information on everything from politics to religion, geography, technology, and more!

What’s Inside?

1. Multi-tiered time lines, organized by topic and region.
2. National Geographic at a Glance is divided into nine eras.
3. It includes essays highlighting the major events and trends of each time period.
4. As well as discussions on how certain empires, trade routes, wars and religions changes the world.

The Topics

1. Politics & Power
2. Geography & Environment
3. Culture & Religion
4. Science & Technology
5. People & Society

The Regions

1. The Americas
2. Europe
3. Middle East & Africa
4. Asia & Oceania

The Eras

1. The First Societies: Prehistory – 500 B.C.E.
2. The Classical Age: 500 B.C.E. – 500 C.E
3. Faith and Power: 500 – 1000
4. Invasions and Advances: 1000 – 1500
5. Converging Worlds: 1500 – 1750
6. Empires and Revolutions: 1750 – 1900
7. Global Conflict: 1900 – 1950
8. Toward A New World Order: 1950 – 2000
9. Globalization and Disruption: 2000 – Present

Thoughts on Using History at a Glance

The first thing that drew me to National Geographic History at a Glance is that it’s done chronologically. Over the past few years I have found that using timelines with my kids really helps us to better grasp the scope of things happening, how one thing leads to another, and where things fall in relation to each other.

The second thing I really like is all the regions are together on one page, in one timeline. This definitely helps to make connections between things going on across the globe during a specific time period.

The third big thing I love about this book is the categories each timeline is broken down into. This allows students to get a quick overview of the who, what, where, when, and sometimes even the why of a specific time period.

More History Resources