The Story of Mankind
1921
The Story of Mankind, written by Hendrik Willem Van Loon and first published in 1921, is a historical narrative that chronicles the journey of humanity from prehistoric times to the early 20th century. This work, awarded the inaugural Newbery Medal in 1922, presents the evolution of Western civilization through engaging storytelling and illustrations, covering significant events, cultures, and figures. Van Loon's unique approach involved selecting historical moments based on their impact on civilization, making this book a notable contribution to children's literature and world history.
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“High in the North in a land called Svithjod there is a mountain. It is a hundred miles long and a hundred miles high and once every thousand years a little bird comes to this mountain to sharpen its beak. When the mountain has thus been worn away a single day of eternity will have passed.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“On the other hand, when you grow up you will discover that some of the people in this world never passed beyond the stage of the cave-man.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“For tolerance (and you must remember this when you grow older), is of very recent origin and even the people of our own so-called "modern world" are apt to be tolerant only upon such matters as do not interest them very much.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“The history of man is the record of a hungry creature in search of food. Wherever food was plentiful, thither man has travelled to make his home. - Page 22””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England. Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“It is little enough we know and the rest is darkness.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“For history is like life. The more things change, the more they remain the same.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“History is the mighty tower of experience, which time has built amidst the endless fields of bygone ages. - Forward””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“The original mistake, which was responsible for all this misery, was committed when our scientists began to create a new world of steel and iron and chemistry and electricity and forgot that the human mind is slower than the proverbial turtle, is lazier than the well-known sloth, and marches from one hundred to three hundred years behind the small group of courageous leaders.””
— Hendrik Willem Van Loon
