"Sumptuously illustrated. . . . Perfect for reading to alert and curious children, but it’s even better as a secret pleasure, read alone, with no children in sight."-Philip Kennicott, Washington Post "Gombrich opens with the most magical definition of history I have ever read. . . . Tolerance, reason and humanity . . . suffuse every page of the Little History."-Amanda Vickery, Guardian Review "In simple, vivid prose, Gombrich surveys the human past from pre-history to his own time. . . . Lucky children will have this book read to them. Intelligent adults will read it for themselves and regain contact with the spirit of European humanism at its best."-Anthony Grafton, Wall Street Journal "A remarkable book, written in an amiable, conversational style, effortlessly explaining, without condescension, difficult matters like the achievements of Charlemagne, the monetary system of medieval Europe and the ideas of the Enlightenment. . . . This resurrected history deserves reading for all its delights."-Edward Rothstein, New York Times "His enthusiasm for his subject is irresistible. . . . With Gombrich's Little History, at last available in English there will be many generations of future historians who will attribute to it their lifelong passion for history - and for truth."-Lisa Jardine, The Times