An introduction to a new way of looking at history, from a perspective that stretches from the beginning of time to the present day, "Maps of Time" is world history on an unprecedented scale. Beginning with the Big Bang, David Christian views the interaction of the natural world with the more recent arrivals in flora and fauna, including human beings. Cosmology, geology, archeology, and population and environmental studies - all figure in David Christian's account, which is an ambitious overview of the emerging field of 'Big History.' "Maps of Time" opens with the origins of the universe, the stars and the galaxies, the sun and the solar system, including the earth, and conducts readers through the evolution of the planet before human habitation. It surveys the development of human society from the Paleolithic era through the transition to agriculture, the emergence of cities and states, and the birth of the modern, industrial period right up to intimations of possible futures. Sweeping in scope, finely focused in its minute detail, this riveting account of the known world, from the inception of space-time to the prospects of global warming, lays the groundwork for world history - and 'Big History' - true as never before to its name.

About the Author
David Christian is Professor in the Department of History at San Diego State University. He is the author of Living Water: Vodka and Russian Society on the Eve of Emancipation (1990), Imperial and Soviet Russia: Power, Privilege and the Challenge of Modernity (1997), and A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia: Volume 1: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire (1998).

Reviews
"Christian's clarity of style and modesty add grace and subtlety to an ambitious effort." * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *
"A remarkable work of synthesis and scholarship. . . . Christian's Olympian perspective on the story of time is exhilarating." * The Guardian *
"A fascinating read." * San Francisco Chronicle *
"An ambitious and clearly-written account." * Future Survey *
"Christian has hit a home run. . . . This book should be required reading for any extraterrestrials visiting the earth for the first time." * College & Research Libraries News *
"[Christian's] book is remarkably successful. It has the essential effect of first stimulating and then retaining the reader's interest." * New Scientist *
"A good read, a fascinating prospectus for a new kind of history." * American Scientist *
"Forges bold and ingenious connections between the physical and social sciences." * The Age *
"David Christian has given us a state-of-the-art instance of Big History, a work of breathtaking synthesis." * Books & Culture: A Christian Review *
"No brief can possible do even minimal justice to an author and his summa cum laude opus." * Journal of World History *
"No work in this genre [macro-history] is better than David Christian's Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History. . . . [I]t is a brilliantly executed act of provocation." * The Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780520271449
Author David Christian
Format Paperback
Page Count 672
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 953g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 43mm