Maps of time by David Christian – A review
August 12th, 2009 | by Digvijay Lamba |
David Christian more or less started the field of Big History and “Maps of Time: An introduction to Big History” is thus the first and best book on the subject available today.
David’s theme is the evolution of complex entities that can process increasingly larger energy flows and thus prevent disorder. He has a remarkable ability to tie in the entire story into this format. Starting from the Big Bang, the formation of galaxies and stars, to the formation of the Solar System and the Earth, cosmology is full of examples of increasingly complex objects that use the existing energy gradients to establish a flow of energy.
He continues on this theme through the evolution life, of complex organisms and the evolution of man. Finally, he uses the same theme to connect the evolution of complex societies.
The best part of the book is that it makes its main point well. Christian has been remarkably successful of showing that the same theme applies to Cosmology, Evolution, Social Evolution, Human Societies etc. He has also given a good overview of the major turning points.
The biggest issue with his book is that it never really manages to tell a coherent story for each part. He never goes into detail and shuffles the order of things around. At the end of it one definitely feels the need for a more deeper more coherent story. I would have liked him to spend a little more time organizing his thoughts into a sequence that makes his book flow better.
Still, his thesis is extremely strong and very valid. It connects history into a theme that makes complete sense. A must read for anyone interested in history.
Tags: Astronomy, Big History, Books, History, Reading, Reviews, World History