If ever a book offered a wow factor, this is it.
It’s a pretty impressive challenge to talk about absolutely everything in just six and a half hours, but world history author Christopher Lloyd gives it an impressive shot as he narrates his own audiobook covering 14 billion years of history. He even has time at the end to look into the future.
Absolutely Everything! is a fast-paced snapshot that begins before the Big Bang and takes us up to the modern-day #BlackLivesMatter movement. Lloyd is articulate, funny, interesting and highly knowledgeable, it seems, on almost any subject you could care to know about.
Telling the history of the world in mostly chronological order, Lloyd covers all things scientific, natural and man-made including evolution, religion, our industrial and other revolutions, wars, animal life and societal matters. While he doesn’t stay long on any one subject, some discoveries do deservedly take up longer. Regardless of how much time he dedicates to a given topic, the listener always leaves it more aware than before and with a delightful sense of curiosity to do one’s own research.
The book and audiobook are promoted for ages seven and above, but any adult would be hard-pressed not to revel in Lloyd’s wonderful narration of facts, figures and cheeky asides. He’s a gold-class storyteller, not to be confused with the American actor of the same name who starred in Back to the Future!
As an advocate for connected learning, UK historian Lloyd tells large narratives to connect the present with the past. His previous book, What on Earth Happened: The Complete Story of the Planet, has been translated into 15 languages and serialised for Japanese television.
Absolutely Everything! is an absolute gem of book. Its educational value can’t be underestimated, and nor can its entertainment value. If ever a book offered a wow factor, this is it.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Distributed by: Spotlight Audio and available through Audible Australia
Released: June 2020
RRP: $21.44 or through an Audible subscription
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