How We Got to the Moment That Just Passed
“Lincoln’s style is clever and capable, covering vast amounts of information while still engaging readers on a deeper level…. Those intrigued by high-level examinations of history’s power to determine the future will be engrossed.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
This book will change your outlook on history itself. In just over 250 pages, with over 100 illustrations, it clearly steps its way across centuries, through a logical progression of events that have shaped the present moment. It then ponders our future not as a mirror of our past, but as an extension of its still-developing plot.
From the author:
I have recently retired from teaching high school world history, civics and contemporary events in the Seattle area. I have written this book the way I taught my world history classes, using everyday language and occasional references young people can relate to.
But it is really a book for any adult who wants a baseline history of how we got to the state we are in. Maybe you have concerns about the direction of politics, the economy, technology or the health of the planet that cause you to wish you had more context for it all (and make you wish you had paid more attention in your own high school world history class).
Or maybe you did pay close attention and were inspired to learn more, but life and career have gotten in the way since then. You’ve had to fill your head with other things, and now you want an easy way to bridge the gaps in your understanding.
This isn’t a history for dummies. It is written to challenge ingrained perspectives –to potentially provide the reader new angles of view from which to answer questions like:
– How did we get to the present state of inequality in the world?
– How did our cultural differences develop?
– How did the modern political spectrum form?
– How did sub-Saharan Africa become so poor and racked by conflict?
– How did areas of the Middle East become so radicalized by religion?
And most importantly: Where are we headed next?
This book is for anyone who ponders that question, but it is dedicated above all to the generations who have the chance to write the answer.
